17 pages, The positive spillover impacts of the efficiency of information and communication technology (ICT) and land accessibility as factor inputs to agricultural productivity are well documented in the literature. Furthermore, input-output efficiency as a measurement of factors contributing towards gross production is no exception in this regard. Few studies on agricultural production and ICT at the household level in South Africa show divergent empirical results. This study investigates the effect of information and communication technology (ICT) and land for farming in the context of household food production in South Africa. Household engagement in agricultural activities is proxy for agricultural production, farm land size is a proxy for land accessibility, telephone and internet use are proxies for ICT in this study. Household data of twenty-one thousand, six hundred and one (21,601) households on agricultural activities and ICTs were generated from the existing survey data of General household survey, 2015 by Statistics South Africa. Majority of the households are not engaging in agricultural activities due to no access to land for farming, but more than 80 percent of the households have access to at least one form of ICTs penetration i.e. mobile telephony. The logit regression shows that internet connection in the household have positive and significant impact on household agricultural production but land accessibility is indirectly related and significant to household food production in South Africa. Therefore land accessibility may be a barrier to agricultural activity involvement in South Africa. The study shows that the positive spillover impacts of ICT may not be possible due to lack of access to land for agriculture. Land for farming, CDMA telephony and internet are highly required for agricultural activities in order to promote food production, reduce cost of telecommunications, promoting agricultural research and development via internet accessibility.
6 pages, Despite the huge potential for milk production, interventions to improve productivity in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are barely based on specified farm classifications. This study aimed to develop robust and context-specific farm typologies to guide content of extension farm advice/services in Uganda. From a sample of 482 dairy farmers, we collected data on farmer socio-demographics, farm management practices, ownership of farm tools and facilities, willingness to pay for extension services, milk production, and marketing. Farm typologies were obtained based on principal component and cluster analyses. Thereby, of the three dairy production systems that emerged, small-scale, largely subsistence yet extensive and low productive farms were more prominent (82.6%). Farms that were classified as large-scale, less commercialized yet extensive with modest productive systems were more than the medium-scale commercial farms with intensive and highly productive systems. However, the later were considered to potentially transform dairy farming in Uganda. It was also predicted that the validity of our farm classification may persist until half of the farms have moved between clusters. The study gives new insights on dairy production systems in Uganda, which can be used to organize more targeted research on farmers’ extension needs for facilitating delivery of relevant and effective extension services and designing appropriate extension policies
24 pages, In this work, an exhaustive revision is given of the literature associated with advanced information and communication technologies in agriculture within a window of 25 years using bibliometric tools enabled to detect of the main actors, structure, and dynamics in the scientific papers. The main findings are a trend of growth in the dynamics of publications associated with advanced information and communication technologies in agriculture productivity. Another assertion is that countries, like the USA, China, and Brazil, stand out in many publications due to allocating more resources to research, development, and agricultural productivity. In addition, the collaboration networks between countries are frequently in regions with closer cultural and idiomatic ties; additionally, terms’ occurrence are obtained with Louvain algorithm predominating four clusters: precision agriculture, smart agriculture, remote sensing, and climate smart agriculture. Finally, the thematic-map characterization with Callon’s density and centrality is applied in three periods. The first period of thematic analysis shows a transition in detecting the variability of a nutrient, such as nitrogen, through the help of immature georeferenced techniques, towards greater remote sensing involvement. In the transition from the second to the third stage, the maturation of technologies, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, wireless sensor networks, and the machine learning area, is observed
15 pages, A significant emphasis on scaling up food security efforts is needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030. Scaling up sustainable intensification efforts for Cambodian smallholder farmers is key since they face greater exposure to the uncertainties of climate change, globalizing markets, and rural-to-urban migration. One way to increase the effectiveness of efforts and the scaling up of sustainable intensification technologies is through improving access to information about production and marketing technologies. This study aimed to identify sources of information about sustainable technologies available to smallholders and barriers that may be preventing adoption. Information was gathered from a household survey to document the sources of agricultural information for smallholders in Northwest Cambodia. This research suggests Cambodian smallholders are receiving agricultural extension services, however, the overall quality and effectiveness of these messages are unknown, since NGOs with competing foci are the primary provider of extension information. Smallholders face significant barriers that prevent the adoption of sustainable technologies and participation in markets, such as low price for goods, poor product quality, lack of time, and concerns for safety. Future endeavors to strengthen the price of goods and alleviate market-related challenges would likely result in increased smallholder income and food availability.
