Preconceived notions exist about small-scale farmers in the U.S. Beyond research on new and beginning farmers, few empirical studies have learned directly from small-scale farmers in the U.S. about their perspectives and experiences. By analyzing semi-structured interviews of small-scale farmers in Indiana, this study develops an in-depth understanding of the multi-dimensional motivations and experiences of small-scale farmers and the interconnected, multi-scalar challenges they face. The lack of social infrastructure to support small-scale farmers becomes paramount as they contend with dilemmas of engaging in pluriactivity, securing reliable labor, and navigating relationship building with consumers and peers for both short-term profits and long-term social capital. This study contributes to understanding how small-scale farmers’ motivations, experiences, challenges, and strategies interact to shape their relationship to the land, their farming enterprise, and their perception of and position in the larger agro-ecological-social-economic system, and highlights the need to improve social infrastructure to support small-scale farmers.
Hunter, Guy (author / Senior Research Officer, Overseas Development Institute, London, UK) and Senior Research Officer, Overseas Development Institute, London, UK
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1977
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 44 Document Number: B05322
Notes:
duplicated in C19432, James F. Evans Collection; Burton Swanson Collection, In: Gajendra Singh, J.H. de Goede, eds. Proceedings of the International Conference on Rural Development Technology : an Integrated Approach, June 21-24, 1977, Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok, Thailand: Asian Institute of Technology, 1977. p. 15-34., This paper examines what modification, in the concept of planning, would be needed if Districts were to have far more discretion in adopting nationally-conceived programmes to real local needs and also in particular to local initiatives and localised programmes which may emerge from local diagnosis and consultations with farmers. The paper distinguished between executive planning (where the government controls the executive changes, e.g., building a dam) and enabling planning (where the objective is to increase any output by farmers which the government can control or plan in detail because the response of farmers to offers and persuasion is wholly in the discretion of the farmers themselves). The paper considers how plans which must necessarily be made at the centre and proposals which must necessarily come from the farmers can be reconciled. (original)
Anandajayasekeram, P. (author / International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Eastern African Economics Program, P.O. Box 25171, Nairobi, Kenya)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1984
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 95 Document Number: C07381
Notes:
INTERPAKS, Mimeographed, 1984. Paper presented at the Farming Systems Research Symposium, Kansas State University, October 7-10, 1984. 20 p., Describes Kenya's restructuring of the research and extension network to meet the needs of the majority of small farmers. In order to improve the extension services the government of Kenya adopted the T and V approach to extension. It also became necessary to re-direct agricultural research towards definite goals, related to national needs rather than the customary disciplinary interests. To make the research process more efficient in generating appropriate recommendations for the target group of farmers, the on-farm research with farming systems perspective (OFR/FSP) has been accepted and will be integrated into the research process in Kenya. The major task is that a strong linkage mechanism is established to make sure the limited research and extension resources are utilized efficiently. Concludes with a discussion of the linkage mechanism that could be established within the existing institutional framework to improve the technology generation and dissemination process.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 199 Document Number: D09929
Notes:
NCR-90 Collection, From Document D09924, "Department of agricultural journalism University of Wisconsin-Madison: Faculty and graduate student research, 1990". Page 6.
Norman, David W. (author / Professor of Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University)
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1980
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 94 Document Number: C07263
Notes:
Evans, cited reference, East Lansing, MI: Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State University, 1980. MSU Rural Development Paper No. 5. 26 p.
9 pages, via online journal, The overall willingness of smallholder farmers to adopt new green technologies remains low, in spite of the great progress made in understanding the factors that affect their decision. The present study introduces an interdisciplinary approach combining positive psychology and sustainable development studies to show that two personal resources – self-control (a learned repertoire of goal-directed skills that enable people to act upon their aims) and cognitive goal-oriented hope (the ability to follow different routes to pursue one's goal), prompt the adoption of technologies by smallholder farmers. Both personal resources facilitate achieving future goals and changing existing circumstances. A theoretical moderation model on the adoption of agricultural technologies aimed to protect soil degradation in Nepal is proposed and empirically tested. Data were collected from 268 households in the Jhapa district by a face-to-face questionnaire. A multiple regression analysis tested and confirmed the hypothesized moderation model. Following the discovery of a significant interaction, the nature of the interaction was farther explored by calculating simple slopes. Analysis results show a significant positive connection between self-control (p-value = 0.002), hope (p-value = 0.005), information (p-value < 0.001), and technology adoption. Self-control was also found to have a significant moderating effect in enhancing a positive association between receiving information and technology adoption (p-value = 0.017). In addition to its theoretical innovation and empirical contribution, the importance of this study lies in its practical implications, given that policy, education, and communication may influence hope and self-control levels.
