20 pages, Smallholder agriculture is one of the imperative segments in the South African economy and it remains the imperative sector for livelihood generation. Farmers use mass media to access information needed for agricultural purposes to enhance agricultural practice and profitability. This study investigates the socio-economic drivers of using mass media for agricultural purposes by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The study applied a descriptive survey research design to interview 200 smallholder farmers using a semi-structured survey. Data engendered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Logistic regression model. The investigation outcome displays that 80% of the smallholder farmers currently use mass media for agricultural purposes. The study concludes that socioeconomic factors influence the use of mass media for agricultural purposes by smallholder farmers. Therefore, the study recommends the government to train farmers on the use of mass media usage and subsidize farmers so that they can purchase these modern technology tools.
USA: Oxmoor Press, a subsidiary of The Progressive Farmer Company, Birmingham, Alabama
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D10009
Notes:
Copy also located in the James F. Evans Collection, 114 pages., An edited collection written to "build something of the spirit that has always pervaded the lives of rural people." Features brief stories, poems, and commentaries. Sections include love of the land, joys of country living, the farmer and his family, creeds for farm living, the soil and growing things, cotton, animal friends, the business of farming, and the lighter side.
Todd, J.M. (author / Senior Field Officer, Education and Training, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara, Solomon Islands) and Senior Field Officer, Education and Training, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara, Solomon Islands
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1983-09
Published:
Solomon Islands
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 78 Document Number: C04344
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08629
Notes:
Located in Review of Extension Studies, volumes for 1946-1956, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., Summary of thesis research for the master of arts degree, University of Maryland, College Park. 78 pages., Comparison of farmers who attend and do not attend extension meetings.
9pgs, This study was conducted to identify the agricultural extension needs of women farmers and to assess the impact of their participation in agricultural extension programs on vegetable production in the area. A sample of 145 women farmers from five Grama Niladhari (GN) divisions of the DS division was randomly selected for the study. Data were collected from a researcher administered survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a regression analysis. As per the results, a significant number of the women farmers have
participated in most of the extension and training programs. However, some of them haven’t registered in the farmer organization present in the area. Agricultural extension agents of the area have focused on dissemination of more information regarding modern farming technologies, organic farming, application of agrochemicals and fertilizers, and improving market systems. The majority of women farmers have
used the knowledge received from the extension programs in vegetable farming activities. Furthermore, there is a significant and positive relationship between participation in extension programs by women farmers and an increase in vegetable production. Therefore, encouragement of women farmers to register in the farmer organization, provision of timely important extension service to them, organizing training programs, and workshops to disseminate agricultural information are crucial to further enhancement of vegetable production in this area.
8 pages, Agricultural extension can be defined as the entire set of organisations that support and facilitate people engaged in agricultural production to solve problems and to obtain information, skills and technologies to improve their livelihoods and well-being. Extension officials should ensure that farmers are engaged and capacitated so that they can make production decisions that are not in conflict with nature, yet such decisions ensure that their well-being is improved. With 75% of the world’s poor living in rural areas, the topic of improved agriculture through agricultural extension is viewed as central to poverty reduction. There have been questions posed by stakeholders (communities, policy-makers and politicians) about the non-visibility and accountability of agricultural extension in the communities that it is supposed to help. There are however a number of factors (perceived or real) that make agricultural extension less or not visible nor accountable. Therefore, this paper investigates and proposes a theoretical framework or model to ensure that agricultural extension is visible and accountable to all stakeholders. This will in turn ensure that there are noticeable increases or improvement of the lives of the resource poor farmers and communities.
