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2. Perceptions of precision agriculture technologies in the U.S. fresh apple industry
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Gallardo, Karina R. (author), Grant, Kara (author), Brown, David J. (author), McFerson, James R. (author), Lewis, Karen M. (author), Einhorn, Todd (author), Sazo, Mario Miranda (author), and Washington State University Michigan State University Cornell Cooperative Extension
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019-02-28
- Published:
- United States: American Society for Horticultural Science
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 15 Document Number: D10435
- Journal Title:
- HortTechnology
- Journal Title Details:
- 29(2) : 151-162
- Notes:
- 12 pages., Via online journal., Advances in precision agriculture technologies provide opportunities to improve the efficiency of agricultural production systems, especially for high-value specialty crops such as fresh apples (Malus domestica). We distributed an online survey to apple growers in Washington, New York, and Michigan to elicit stakeholder perceptions of precision agriculture technologies. Findings from this study demonstrated that growers are willing to adopt precision agriculture technologies when they receive results from applied research projects and are engaged with active extension programs. The availability of customized services and purchasing and rental options may minimize the effects of the economies of size that create barriers to adopting increasing access to technologies. Finally, respondents deemed collaborative efforts between industry and academic institutions crucial for adapting the innovation to better address the needs of growers.
3. Tapping the full potential of the digital revolution for agricultural extension: an emerging innovation agenda
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Steinke, Jonathan (author), van Etten, Jacob (author), Muller, Anna (author), Ortiz-Crespo, Berta (author), van de Gevel, Jeske (author), Silvestri, Silvia (author), and Priebe, Jan (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-03-27
- Published:
- International: Taylor and Francis
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12480
- Journal Title:
- International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability
- Journal Title Details:
- 5-6
- Notes:
- 26 pages, Agricultural extension in the Global South can benefit greatly from the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT). Yet, despite two decades of promising experiences, this potential is not fully realized. Here, we review the relevant research literature to inform future investments into agricultural information services that harness the full potential of digital media. We describe a recently emerging innovation agenda that is, in part, a response to the eventual failure of many new agro-advisory initiatives. One important cause of failure has been a focus on pushing certain technologies, rather than responding to the particular communication challenges of potential users. To avoid such bias in designing new services, the new innovation agenda rests on two major foundations: strong user-centredness and problem-orientation. In our review, we first describe how user-centred design methods help in specifying both problems and (digital) solutions in agricultural extension. To inform responses to the communication challenges defined by that analysis, we then describe eight emerging aspects of using ICT for development, and how they can address common deficiencies of agricultural extension. Practical examples from the literature highlight the possibilities and limitations of these innovation directions. Beyond digital design, however, technological innovation requires enabling institutions.
4. Towards a Revolutionized Agricultural Extension System for the Sustainability of Smallholder Livestock Production in Developing Countries: The Potential Role of ICTs
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Mapiye, Obvious (author), Makombe, Godswill (author), Molotsi, Annelin (author), Dmaza, Kennedy (author), and Mapiye, Cletos (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-04-02
- Published:
- International: MDPI
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12537
- Journal Title:
- Sustainability
- Journal Title Details:
- 13 (11)
- Notes:
- 17 pages, The creation of commercialization opportunities for smallholder farmers has taken primacy on the development agenda of many developing countries. Invariably, most of the smallholders are less productive than commercial farmers and continue to lag in commercialization. Apart from the various multifaceted challenges which smallholder farmers face, limited access to extension services stands as the underlying constraint to their sustainability. Across Africa and Asia, public extension is envisioned as a fundamental part of the process of transforming smallholder farmers because it is their major source of agricultural information. Extension continues to be deployed using different approaches which are evolving. For many decades, various authors have reported the importance of the approaches that effectively revitalize extension systems and have attempted to fit them into various typologies. However, there is a widespread concern over the inefficiency of these extension approaches in driving the sustainability of smallholder farming agenda. Further, most of the approaches that attempted to revolutionize extension have been developed and brought into the field in rapid succession, but with little or no impact at the farmer level. This paper explores the theory and application of agricultural extension approaches and argues the potential of transforming them using digital technologies. The adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones and the internet which are envisaged to revolutionize existing extension systems and contribute towards the sustainability of smallholder farming systems is recommended