21 pages, We evaluate causal impacts of a large-scale agricultural extension program for smallholder women farmers on technology adoption and food security in Uganda through a regression discontinuity design that exploits an arbitrary distance-to-branch threshold for village program eligibility. We find eligible farmers used better basic cultivation methods, achieved improved food security. Given minimal changes in adoption of relatively expensive inputs, we attribute these gains to improved cultivation methods that require low upfront monetary investment. Farmers also modified their shock-coping methods. These results highlight the role of information and training in boosting agricultural productivity among poor farmers and, indirectly, improving food security.
Bu Zhong (author), Fan Yang (author), Yen-Lin Chen (author), and College of Communication, Pennsylvania State University
Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education, College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2015
Published:
Elsevier
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 16 Document Number: D10462
10 pages., Via online journal., Agricultural extension systems often fail due to inadequate knowledge of farmers’ information needs and sharing strategies. This study aims to meet an urgent need of studying information needs and sharing strategies among vegetable farmers and vendors in Chengdu, China, whose results might be used in building a center of agricultural information disseminating vegetable production and marketing information. The findings disclose interesting differences between the farmers and vendors regarding their willingness to join such a center, information needs, sharing strategies and preferred information sources. Ample evidences justify the construction of the proposed center of agricultural information, which should not only empower the vegetable farmers and vendors but also enhance the efficiency of the existing vegetable supply chain and food security. Cross-discipline research involving both agriculture and communication scholars, like this, should shed more insights on working out strategies to cope with agricultural challenges.
10 pages, Sustainable livestock farming practices have the potential to improve productivity and high income, reduce greenhouse gases, and improve household food security. Despite previous efforts to disseminate these technologies, the rate of adoption has remained very low in Ethiopia. In this study, we investigate the determinants of adoption and the impact of improved dairy farming practices (IDFP), which include improved breed, improved feed, and improved feeding conditions, on household food security in the central highland of Ethiopia.
15 pages., Via online journal., Plant pests cause crop losses of 30–40%, contributing significantly to global food insecurity. The Plantwise program works alongside national agricultural extension services, who advise smallholder farmers on plant health issues and collect data on problems they face. In a 1-year pilot, Plantwise tested the use of information and communication technologies (ICT)—tablets and short message service (SMS)—with 60 Kenyan extension workers. They were able to assist more farmers with better advice, had significantly improved access to plant health information, valued being able to ask their peers for advice, and dramatically improved the quality and speed of the data they collected.
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.
