7 pages., Via online journal, The study assessed the awareness and use of e-resources among public
extension personnel in the area. Stratified sampling technique was used in
selecting respondents from each cadre of the Anambra State Agricultural
Development Programme (ASADEP). A total of sixty-nine (69) agricultural
extension staff was used for the study. Findings show the major e-resource tool
that was available to the majority (94.2%) of extension staff in the area was
mobile phone, while 62.3% indicated that computer was available to them. The
majority (69.6%) of the respondents were each aware of Facebook, and email,
while 56.5% were aware of twitter. Among those who were aware of email, the
majority (59.4%) indicated they used it while 43.5% of those that were aware of
Facebook indicated they used it. Results show that 15.9% of the respondents
indicated they used e-journal in exchanging information on pests and diseases,
10.1% exchanged weather and climate information on e-mail, while 11.6% each
indicated they used email to exchange information on farm inputs and market
prices. On the other hand, 10.1% each used e-journal and e-mail to exchange
information on processing methods. The study concluded by drawing attention
to the very low adoption of e-resources in extension service delivery in the area.
Efforts should be made by both federal and state governments to provide
enabling technological environment and training opportunities for extension
personnel in order to improve e-extension which is a veritable alternative
towards solving the issues of dearth in extension staff that has been a persistent
problem plaguing extension service in the country.
27 pages., Research in agricultural communications is not guided by a national research agenda. Therefore, the substantial body of research produced from scholars working in the discipline represents scattered efforts. We conducted a content analysis of journal articles published in the Journal of Applied Communications between 2000 and 2019 to identify the research themes that establish the discipline’s scholarly base. Through an examination of n = 259 journal articles, we identified N = 27 research themes, the most prevalent of which included agriculture and media relations/practices (f = 30; % = 11.58), public perceptions/understanding of agriculture and natural resources (f = 25; % = 9.65), and agricultural communications academic programs and curricula (f = 21; % = 8.11). Then, we used Q methodology to identify viewpoints of agricultural communications scholars (e.g., faculty, graduate students; n = 45) as they relate to perceptions about the importance of research. We identified four dominant viewpoints of scholars in agricultural communications: Message Framing Influencers, Extension-Focused Scholars and Practitioners, Discipline-Conscious Researchers, and Tech-Savvy Scholars. Together, these viewpoints explained 59.43% of the study variance. Although participants who represented each of these groups had unique perspectives, participants generally agreed that public perceptions/understanding of agriculture and natural resources and crisis communications in agricultural communications were important research themes. Likewise, they generally agreed that the role of agricultural communications professional organizations, agricultural communications efforts during historical events, and agritourism were not important research themes.
20 pages., Via online newsletter article., This paper describes the challenges of decentralisation and privatisation of rural services from the perspective of
communication strategy development. The wave of decentralisation and privatisation in rural services worldwide creates challenges for rural communities, service providers and local governments. Local organisations – both in government and civil society – are confronted with rules and procedures that are unprecedented. The new roles require significant changes in attitudes, skills, and especially a new level of accountability. While communication strategies are only a part of the transformation, they are strategic tools that merit attention. This is an account of two cases where the authors have been involved in developing communication strategies aimed specifically at helping stakeholders make this transition. The first is the case of the Communication and Information Strategy for the National Agricultural Advisory Services Programme (NAADS) of Uganda. The second is the formulation of a plan to communicate the National Water Policy (NWP) and Rural Water Transition Plan in Mozambique. The paper concludes with some design principles for other strategies and with a review of the importance of communication research and planning.
16 pages., Via online journal., This study explores potential factors that lead to environmental opinion leadership behaviors such as informing the public about environmental issues and encouraging preventative behaviors among various social groups. Building on the theoretical framework of the diffusion of innovations model, these analyses explore the effects that mass media may have on perceptions of self-efficacy among opinion leaders and how self-efficacy may, in turn, encourage leaders to communicate about aquatic invasive species (AIS) to others in their social networks. Results indicate that mass media and governmental media can have both a positive and negative influence on levels of self-efficacy, and that opinion leaders with higher levels of self-efficacy are more likely to participate in behaviors that could potentially influence their social network(s). These findings not only highlight factors that influence opinion leadership regarding advocacy of environmental behaviors, but also offer insights as to how future campaigns can work with these groups to promote prevention strategies.
