Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 196 Document Number: D08054
Notes:
John L. Woods Collection, Presentation visuals involving views, problems, and sample elements of agricultural technology systems. Development Training and Communication Planning, UNDP Asia and the Pacific Programme, Bangkok, Thailand. 13 pages.
Feller, Irwin (author), Kaltreider, Lynne (author), Madden, Patrick (author), Moore, Dan (author), Sims, Laura (author), and The Pennsylvania State University; The Pennsylvania State University; The Pennsylvania State University; The Pennsylvania State University; The Pennsylvania State University
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1984
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 63 Document Number: C02121
Notes:
Evans; 2 copies, INTERPAKS Collection; Burton Swanson Collection, University Park, PA : The Pennsylvania State University, 1984. 33 p.
Johnson, Eldon L. (author), Fliegel, Frederick C. (author), and Chu, Mel C. (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
1987-12
Published:
Taiwan
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 195 Document Number: D07937
Notes:
John L. Woods Collection, Report by the International Program for Agricultural Knowledge Systems (INTERPAKS), College of Agriculture, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. December 1987. 72 pages.
Spurk, Christoph (author), Asule, Pamellah (author), Ofori-Baah, Rebecca (author), Chikopela, Louis (author), Diarra, Boubacar (author), Koch, Carmen (author), and Wageningen University
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-08-21
Published:
Netherlands: Taylor & Francis
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 108 Document Number: D10944
22 pages, via online journal article, Purpose: Soil fertility is decreasing in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. To mitigate this trend, various agricultural technologies are available, but their uptake by farmers has been low. Perception of the problem, information exposure, and knowledge play a major role in adoption of technologies. This study assessed empirically the levels of perception, knowledge and information exposure among African farmers as an indicator for potential adoption of soil fertility technologies.
Design/Methodology/approach: The study used survey data of more than 2,400 small-scale farmers selected through random sampling from Ghana, Kenya, Mali and Zambia. The survey investigated socio-economic factors, exposure to media, perception and knowledge of soil fertility and other information.
Findings: Many farmers did not perceive soil fertility as a major challenge, except in Mali; farmers were hardly receiving information on soil fertility from professional agricultural sources, and they often lacked accurate knowledge about soil fertility technologies. Radio was by far the most used information source for farmers.
Practical implications: The study has exposed the need for interventions to increase awareness, information exposure, and knowledge about soil fertility among farmers to strengthen the adoption of soil fertility technologies. It also calls for innovative ways of strengthening extension services through links with radio.
Theoretical implications: The role of communication in the uptake of agricultural innovations is still under-researched, and hence this study exposes the need to investigate in-depth knowledge, perception levels, and quality and frequency of information exposure on various channels of soil fertility management.
Originality: This is one of the few studies empirically measuring perception, information frequency on various channels, and knowledge of soil fertility among small-scale farmers in African countries.
