8 pages., via online journal., Land degradation and soil nutrient depletion have become serious threats to agricultural productivity in sub- Saharan Africa. To improve agriculture production, research has led to recommendation of a range of integrated Soil fertility Management (ISFM) options, of proven effectiveness, for soil fertility improvement. Although many factors contribute to the low adoption of ISFM by farmers, communication gaps between extension agents and farmers lie at the heart of the problem. Hence, the study sought to investigate factors considered by agricultural extension agents in selection of communication channels to disseminate soil fertility information in the central highlands of Kenya. Structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from 105 extension agents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis. In choosing the communication method to be used in dissemination of soil fertility management (SFM) practices, target group was scored as the most relevant factor followed by type of SFM, time available then number of staff sequentially. Education was perceived to highly influence the selection of workshop (M= 3.4) while age was perceived to highly influence the selection of video showing (M= 2.8) as extension methods in dissemination of SFM. The implication of the study is that diverse communication channels should be utilized to get to farmers of different socio economic characteristics.
9 pages., via online journal., Natural Resource Management (NRM) can be looked upon from different perspectives: (1) the bio‐physical science perspective, (2) the economic perspective and (3) the social actor perspective. After briefly contrasting the three complementary perspectives, the article focuses on the third, which is the least developed. The social actor perspective requires that one distinguish between (1) the natural resource (be it a farm, a water catchment, underground water resources, etc.) and (2) the social actors who hold a stake in, and/or affect it. These stakeholders ideally form a platform for integral decision making about the natural resource. The platform/resource combination highlights communication processes of interest in sustainable NRM: creating a rich picture of intentions and realities; (land use) negotiation and accommodation; making things visible; raising the level of social aggregation at which platforms operate; and information systems for platform decision support. Such and other platform processes need active facilitation. The article outlines the implications for communication support, and explores professional contributions.
Toepfer, Stefan (author), Kuhlmann, Ulrich (author), Kansiime, Monica (author), Onyango Owino, David (author), Tamsin, Davis (author), Cameron, Katherine (author), and Day, Roger (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-04
Published:
Germany: Springer
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 12 Document Number: D10360
4 pages., Via online journal., This is an opinion paper to the perspective paper “The spread of the Fall Army Worm Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa—what should be done next?” from the “Section Plant Protection in the Tropics and Subtropics” at the 61st German Congress of Plant Protection, held at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, on 11 September 2018. It highlights the best approaches in communication, information sharing, and advisory services to raise awareness for fall armyworm detection and area-wide management by farmers.
9 pages., Via online journal., In a world where the notion of ‘sharing of knowledge’ has been gained much prominence in the recent past, the importance of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to promote sustainable agriculture, especially when combined with mobile and open source software technologies is discussed critically. On this rationale, this study was carried out to explore the applicability of the concept of converging ‘Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)’ to promote sustainable knowledge sharing amongst the agricultural communities in Sri Lanka. A multi-stage community consultative process with a set of designated officials (“Sponsors”) and a series of semi-structured questionnaire survey with a cross section of smallholder agriculture farmers (n=246), were carried out in the Batticaloa, Kurunegala and Puttalam districts to gather the baseline data. This was followed by a number of field experiments (“Campaigns”) with the farmers (n=340) from same geographical areas. The two FOSS, namely: (1) “FrontlineSMS” for ‘Text Messaging’ and (2) “FreedomFone” for ‘Interactive Voice Responses’, were applied to evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge sharing within the farming communities. It was found that FOSS intervention increases the ‘Text messaging’ and ‘Voice Call’ usage in day-to-day agricultural communication by 26 and 8 percent, respectively. The demographic factors like age and income level of the farmers has positively influence on the knowledge sharing process. And also the ‘Mobile Telephony’ was the most extensive mode of communication within the communities. The outcome of analysis, as a whole, implies that, with a fitting mechanism in place, this approach can be promoted as a “drive for positive changes” in agriculture-based rural communities in developing countries like Sri Lanka, and those in South and East Asia with similar socio-economic and cultural perspectives.
4 pages., Online from publisher., "For the first time, a landmark report on digitalisation for agriculture (D4Ag) in Africa compiles and highlights data on digital solutions that are enabling the transformation of African agriculture."
Chataway, Joanna (author), Robbins, Peter (author), and Smith, James (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2010
Published:
Kenya
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08703
Notes:
Pages 194-202 in Gordon Wilson, Pamela Furniss and Richard Kimbowa (eds.), Environment, development and sustainability: perspectives and cases from around the world. Oxford University Press, Oxford, England. 290 pages.
