8 pages., via online journal., Land degradation and soil nutrient depletion have become serious threats to agricultural productivity in sub- Saharan Africa. To improve agriculture production, research has led to recommendation of a range of integrated Soil fertility Management (ISFM) options, of proven effectiveness, for soil fertility improvement. Although many factors contribute to the low adoption of ISFM by farmers, communication gaps between extension agents and farmers lie at the heart of the problem. Hence, the study sought to investigate factors considered by agricultural extension agents in selection of communication channels to disseminate soil fertility information in the central highlands of Kenya. Structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from 105 extension agents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. In choosing the communication method to be used in dissemination of soil fertility management (SFM) practices, target group was scored as the most relevant factor followed by type of SFM, time available then number of staff sequentially. Education was perceived to highly influence the selection of workshop (M= 3.4) while age was perceived to highly influence the selection of video showing (M= 2.8) as extension methods in dissemination of SFM. The implication of the study is that diverse communication channels should be utilized to get to farmers of different socio economic characteristics.
12 pages., via online journal., Present world belongs to the era of information explosion. With the information edge on hand, the world is getting much competitive. Students are required to develop rigorous digital skills to suit themselves to the multi-faceted world. It is no coincidence that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools form the bulwark of this new age digital literacy. ICTs have been establishing themselves for so long as the futuristic tools of teaching and learning. In addition, ICT has become a polynary and systematic concept in the field of education. Thankfully, agricultural education is not left behind and it is getting more and more realized that agricultural information professionals must support agriculture by managing and improving access to a proliferating and increasingly complex array of information. This paper is limited to the usage and effects of ICT tools in the classroom teaching-cum-learning setup of agricultural education. Research studies show that for massive deployment of ICTs, the student community needs to be exposed to various courses of computer usage and application software. Besides, bottlenecks that hinder widespread ICT deployment have also been identified amongst agricultural community. Apart from the poor or inadequate availability of interactive multimedia, self-learning modules and online class courses in agricultural domain, it has been ascertained that poor signal strength of wifi also pose as barrier in inhibiting the adaptability of ICT tools in countries like India. The study suggests that the students should foster information awareness, build their knowledge about ICT, develop competence in ICT, and the teaching faculty should determine methods for how to use ICT to achieve information literacy in agriculture.
