Briese, Lee Galen (author) and The University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Format:
Dissertation
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
Ann Arbor: ProQuest
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10472
Notes:
81 pages., ISBN: 9781392073537, Via ProQuest Dissertations and Theses., Agronomy is not simply the selling of agricultural products to farmers, nor is it the process of solving singular production problems. Agronomy is defined as the integrated, holistic perspective of agriculture (ASA, 2019) and “agronomists are specialists in crop and soil sciences, as well as ecology” (ASA, 2019). While scientific investigation and discovery are essential to understanding systems function, the tangible benefits from our knowledge stems from the application to solve problems. Clear communication is vital to successfully help stakeholders understand the importance of the science and help scientists understand the challenges stakeholders face. However, to successfully put science into action, solutions need to address the whole system and strategies need to be customized. To this end it is critical to be able to detect, accurately diagnose and prioritize the problems and challenges within agricultural systems. These steps cannot be carried out remotely or by those who lack the skills or knowledge. Rather, they must be performed by well-trained, experienced people who can translate information into actionable practices. Furthermore, stakeholders need to trust that the advice is accurate and applicable to their system, hence the important role of the trusted adviser. The trusted adviser is someone with the knowledge and skills to assess the entire system, access to scientists and full comprehension of the research. They also must understand the needs and challenges faced by the stakeholder farmers and gain their trust. These trusted advisers play a pivotal role in the capability of agriculture to respond to climate change, population increase and establishing sustainable systems. Our future depends not only on the discovery of scientific knowledge but more so on the application of it. What good are the solutions if no one ever uses them?
The following document was written to address communication challenges discovered during an internship working with university extension specialists to deliver programming to farmers and directly advising university researchers on practical challenges that farmers face. These on-farm barriers often prevent farmers from adopting new practices. It is also the culmination of twenty years of field experience serving farmers by scouting, identifying, prioritizing, problem solving, communicating, compromising and building trust. This document is intended to urge all practitioners of agronomy and the related agricultural sciences to become trusted advisers, elevate their practice to a new level and approach the challenges of agriculture from a systems point of view. They also need to create actionable strategies not only to protect crop yields but also to protect the soil, the environment, the ecosystem and the wellbeing of the farmer and of everyone who partakes of the bounty.
16 pages., via online journal., Organic farming is knowledge intensive. To support farmers in improving yields and organic agriculture systems, there is a need to improve how knowledge is shared. There is an established culture of sharing ideas, successes and failures in farming. The internet and information technologies open-up new opportunities for knowledge exchange involving farmers, researchers, advisors and other practitioners. The OK-Net Arable brought together practitioners from regional Farmer Innovation Groups across Europe in a multi-actor project to explore how online knowledge exchange could be improved. Feedback from the groups was obtained for 35 ‘tools’, defined as end-user materials, such as technical guides, videos and websites informing about practices in organic agriculture. The groups also selected one practice to test on farms, sharing their experiences with others through workshops, exchange visits and through videos. Farmers valued the same key elements in face-to-face exchanges (workshops and visits) as in online materials. These were the opportunity for visual observation, deeper understanding of the context in which a practice was being tried and details about what worked and what did not work. Videos, decision support tools and social media can provide useful mechanisms for taking knowledge exchange online, enabling farmers and researchers to share experiences and practical implications. Visual information, economics, details of the context, successes and failures were considered to be critical factors in good knowledge exchange tools. Online platforms and forums should not be expected to replace but rather to complement face to face knowledge exchange in improving organic farming.
19 pages., Article 3945, Via online journal., Information communication technology (ICT) has changed the traditional agricultural extension service mode worldwide. This paper examines the effects of the Rural Distance Education Project (RDEP) on the household income, agricultural productivity, and off-farm employment of farmers in peri-urban areas in Beijing. Using the survey data of 783 randomly selected farm households from 54 villages in three Beijing peri-urban districts in 2014, and the propensity score matching method (PSM), we find that the RDEP has a significant and positive effect on agricultural productivity and input use. Meanwhile, the program’s effects are heterogeneous across districts and households. For example, the RDEP has significant impacts on several outcome indicators, such as agricultural labor productivity (at a 5% level of significance), agricultural land productivity (at a 10% level), and input use intensity (at a 1% level) in Tongzhou (an agriculturally more important district, with a more intensive RDEP usage), but none of these effects is significant in Pinggu district. Furthermore, the RDEP is found to have bigger, and statistically more significant effects, for households with junior high school education than for those with either lower or higher than junior high school education. Furthermore, the RDEP is more effective for households with more assets than those with fewer assets. These results point toward the importance of using a rural distance education program as an effective extension service, and the need to take community and individual characteristics into account in the implementation and design of future programs.
5 pages, Sugarcane industry is at second position after textile industry in Pakistan. By the export of refined sugar, it plays a significant role in the economy of the country. Public and private sectors extension field staff work with sugarcane growers to improve their per acre yield. The research was conducted to compare and identify the services provided by those two sectors. A total of 150 respondents were selected randomly and interviewed to collect data through a structured interview schedule. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS). It was revealed that private sector provided commodity services such as improved sugarcane seed more than the public sector. However, public sector provided agriculture machinery on subsidized basis whereas private sector did not have any of such facility but was ahead in providing the advocacy services, arranging trainings/workshops, paying farm/home visits, organizing method demonstrations and arranging agricultural fares (Kissan Mellas) for farmers due to better funding. However, Agri. Helpline calls system of public sector was found more effective.
9 pages., via online journal., Mobile apps such as social media have friendly attributes and unbiased usage across gender and age; and have become one of the most promising channels for dissemination of agricultural information. The current sources of agricultural information available to farmers do not allow a two-way flow of information and instant feedback. The information disseminated using such channels are generally not customized to specific farmers’ needs. Despite the availability of various mobile apps providing agricultural information, the adoption rate is too minimal. The aim of this study was to determine the usability attributes of social media influencing its adoption and use. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample of 149 respondents. The respondents were selected through purposive sampling technique from a population comprising of farmers, extension staff, lecturers and students enrolled in agricultural courses participating in the Farm Attachment Program of Egerton University. Data collected was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) and probit regression was used to analyse expected probability of social media adoption. The findings indicate that the main usability attributes of social media are Ease of use, usefulness, credibility, flexibility and Internet availability. Mobile apps being used to disseminate agricultural information should incorporate some of the usability attributes that have significantly influenced the adoption and use of social media to enhance its uptake and use.
33 pages, This study used an in-depth interview and information horizon maps to investigate information seeking behavior of 15 farmers in Central Taiwan. The results show that increased work roles led to more categories of information needed by farmers. Six types of information sources were used by farmers to obtain agricultural information. Interpersonal network was the most preferred information source by farmers. Especially, most farmers contacted other farmers first. Requesting agricultural organizations and farmer groups was the second preferred information source, followed by searching the Internet. Few farmers obtained information from libraries. Several factors affected farmers to select information sources. In addition, barriers to seeking agricultural information faced by farmers were identified. To strengthen the effect of agricultural information dissemination, some suggestions were made. Government agencies related to agriculture should focus the greatest influence of interpersonal network on disseminating agriculture information and improve the communication between agricultural extension agents and farmers. The content and time of agricultural courses were set based on farmers' needs. Improving farmers' information literacy is an essential issue as well.
