10 pages, The study was focused on identifying sources of agricultural information and analyzing challenges faced by smallholder farmers in accessing agricultural information in Southern Ethiopia. To achieve the stated objectives the study district was selected purposively from Wolaita zone by selecting five kebeles randomly. At the end, a total of 150 sample households were randomly selected from these five kebeles. To collect the data both primary and secondary sources were used for the purpose of this study. Primary data were collected directly from sample respondents through structured and semi-structured interview schedules, observation and focus group discussions. Secondary data were collected from Woreda agriculture and rural development office report, and other relevant books, journal articles and the Internet. After the relevant data were collected, the descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, and percentage, and the inferential statistics such as chi-square tests were also used. The findings indicate that female farmers, illiteracy, location of market center, information seeking behavior of farmers, low rate of extension-farmers linkages, inadequate operational skill of aids, language barriers, lack of training, lack of rural electrification, lack of development agents, absence of rural networks, inadequate reading materials, and inappropriate time of broadcasting are the main challenges smallholder farmers were faced with. Therefore, to overcome the challenges strong commitment and reformation should be done in the study area by the concerned stakeholders.
12 pages., Online via Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)., Findings showed that women smallholders' uptake was affected by limited access to credit, extension, restricted membership in cooperatives and water user associations, lack of access or user rights to land, skill training, information, and restricted mobility. Authors suggested that expanding off-farm diversification and rural employment opportunities through changing the land tenure system, which is currently state-owned, are essential to enhance women smallholders' access to land and other agricultural inputs.
19 pages., Information is an important factor in agricultural development. The study investigated farmers’ agricultural information needs and seeking behavior in the Southern Regional State of Ethiopia. A cross-sectional research design was employed and the study population included all household heads of the eight sampled villages in four administrative zones. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to obtain a sample of 320 farmers. Quantitative data were collected and research adopted descriptive statistics. The results revealed information on crop production technologies; information about diseases, pests and weather forecasts, and market information were identified as the top three most important types of agricultural information. Similarly, crop production technologies; animal husbandry technologies, and information about agricultural inputs were the information farmers seek frequently. Farmers use development agents as the first source of agricultural information. All of the respondents communicate with development agents face-to-face.
9 pages, Poverty is an important issue for third world Sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia. To assist with poverty alleviation, a great number of nongovernmental organizations have moved resources into the region, but the problem has not significantly improved. This paper studies the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization (JeCCDO), an NGO that has engaged in poverty alleviation programs in Ethiopia for more than 35 years. The study examines communication practices used by JeCCDO as part of its poverty alleviation programs in Negede Woito community (Bahir Dar, Ethiopia). We use a qualitative research methodology to assess the organization’s communication practices, as well as the challenges it and the Negede Woito community face. Poverty is perceived as lack of resources by JeCCDO, but the community also prioritizes other forms of poverty such as psychological and cultural. Our findings reveal that JeCCDO is renowned for using a social enterprise development model and a participatory communication approach. However, in practice we find these are not used. In the models, endogenous knowledge and grassroots communication were vital to community development, but JeCCDO did not implement them during planning, implementing, and evaluating community-based programs. Community workers who coordinated the organization and the community were Negede Woito community members. Besides grassroots communication, knowing the context and living situation of the community is mandatory for development agents. JeCCDO did not contextualize development efforts, such as sheep fattening and poultry for people who did not have shelter. In conclusion, we propose that nongovernmental organizations and development workers should reconsider their communication contexts and practices while launching new poverty alleviation programs.
22 pages, Smallholder farmers in developing countries encounter multiple barriers in access to inputs and technology, which prevent them from reaping the benefits from market participation. Women farmers face additional constraints due to gender norms that further limit their engagement in productive activities. While collective action has been shown to improve access to markets and economic outcomes for farmers overall, the evidence on the effects of cooperative membership for women smallholders remains limited. We investigate empirically the economic benefits of collective action for women farmers in the honey sector in Ethiopia. Relying on a rich data set on women honey producers, both cooperative members and non-members, we evaluate the effects of belonging to a cooperative on three outcome variables through coarsened exact matching and regression analysis. Our results indicate that cooperative membership significantly increases the market price and the production quantity and, while the average effect on the share of product marketed is statistically insignificant, significant differences emerge for women with given characteristics. These results are shown to be robust to a number of tests that address biases from selection on observables and unobservables. An analysis of the heterogeneous effects of household membership in multiple groups finds that membership of self-help groups or farmer associations amplifies the positive outcomes from belonging to a formal cooperative. Finally, qualitative findings derived from the same communities indicate self-reported improvements in agency and self-esteem among women members, thus reinforcing the importance of the quantitative findings.
21 Pages, Purpose: The article examines the implementation and effects of the model farmer-based approach of farmer-to-farmer extension delivery that is in use in Ethiopia.
Methodology: The study used mixed methods, combining focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and a household survey.
Findings: The model farmer approach has increased extension coverage, improved the possibility for information and technology dissemination, and enabled the inclusion of virtually all farming households in extension and advisory networks. Simultaneously, the approach has become a mechanism for the top-down control of farmers, for the identification and favouritism of better-off farmers, and those with political commitments.
Practical implications: The findings show that there is a need to critically reflect on who model farmers are, how they are selected, what their historical and current roles and impact have been, as well as follower farmers’ feedback on the approach in order to avoid perpetuating the misuse of the approach.
Theoretical implications: The article argues that the Ethiopian context that rewards rapid increase in production and productivity, modernisation of agriculture, competitive commercialisation, and a context that allows the continued entanglement of extension delivery with politics have enabled such misuse of the approach to proliferate. The article questions the extent of applicability of the core farmer-to-farmer extension principles that relate to social ties, reciprocity, collaboration, and minimal social hierarchies in such a context.
Originality/value: The study generates important insights about the effects of model farmer-based extension approach, its political dimensions, and the importance of context for successful farmer-to-farmer extension.
