AGRICOLA IND 92018417, The appropriate combination of extension-teaching methods for rapid farm-technology diffusion and sustained productivity growth in the World-Bank-Assisted Agricultural Development Project in rural Nigeria is examined. The multiple extension-teaching methods in the Ilorin and Oyo North Projects have led to self-defeating and counterproductive results. Using principal-components analysis, the ten extension-teaching methods (variables) are transformed into a linear equation by allocating relative weights to each variable. These weights (coefficients of the equation), which are reasonably unique to each variable, measure the relative importance of the variables and therefore facilitate their ranking in each of the project districts. The usefulness of the principal component model in the World-bank-assisted Agricultural Development Projects in particular, and the rural Nigerian agricultural industry in general, are briefly discussed. (original)
14 pages., via online journal,, Effective agricultural extension is key to improving productivity, increasing farmers’ access to information, and promoting more diverse sets of crops and improved methods of cultivation. In India, however, the coverage of agricultural extension workers and the relevance of extension advice is poor. We investigate whether a women's self‐help group (SHG) platform could be an effective way of improving access to information, women's empowerment in agriculture, agricultural practices, and production diversity. We use cross‐sectional data on close to 1,000 women from five states in India and employ nearest‐neighbor matching models to match SHG and non‐SHG women along a range of observed characteristics. We find that participation in an SHG increases women's access to information and their participation in some agricultural decisions, but has limited impact on agricultural practices or outcomes, possibly due to financial constraints, social norms, and women's domestic responsibilities. SHGs need to go beyond provision of information to changing the dynamics around women's participation in agriculture to effectively translate knowledge into practice.
