Murdock, Graham (author), Rowe, Gene (author), Pidgeon, Nick (author), Horlick-Jones, Tom (author), Walls, John (author), Poortinga, Wouter (author), and O'Riordan, Tim (author)
Format:
Book
Publication Date:
2007
Published:
United Kingdom: Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, England.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C26047
Enghel, Florencia (author) and International Association for Media and Communication Research, London, UK.
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
2010-07-18
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 179 Document Number: C36284
Notes:
Retrieved 03/22/2011, Via online. Pages 13-14 in Book of Abstracts: Participatory Communication Research Section of the IAMCR Conference, Braga, Portugal, July 18-22, 2010.
Garrucio, Maria (author / Bioversity International) and International Association of Agricultural Librarians and Documentalists.
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
2009-02-19
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 172 Document Number: C28920
Notes:
3 pages., Summary of discussion during a session about this subject at ShareFair held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, January 20-22, 2009.
6 pages., ISSN: 2311-6110, via online journal., Agricultural universities invest substantial resources in postgraduate research that generate knowledge products. These are aimed at providing solutions to practical constraints impeding increased productivity in the agricultural sector, which plays a vital role in Kenya's economic development. Using a case study of Egerton University, this study aimed to determine the strategies most frequently used to share the generated knowledge products, and to find out their preferences of the knowledge sharing strategies in use. The actors' perception of the relevance and accessibility of the knowledge products generated at the University was also examined. The study was conducted through desktop study which reviewed the Masters and Doctorate Theses that targeted livestock value chain actors generated between January 2005 and December 2011. A survey was conducted using structured questionnaires to collect data from a sample size of 198 actors. The findings indicated that the knowledge products were 25 to 29 times more likely (P<0.001) to be disseminated through the library than any other sharing strategy examined. The sampled actors in livestock value chain perceived media briefs to be the most accessible with a mean of 4.26. The Masters Theses were perceived as more relevant to their needs with a mean of 4.07. The findings indicate that the livestock value chain actors were not fully utilizing the knowledge sharing strategies used to reach them. The study concluded that the defined primary beneficiaries of knowledge products from the university were not effectively reached.
Purpose: The impact of agricultural knowledge transfer (KT) is related to the access to and the quality of services available. Within this context, the allocation of resources in terms of KT offices and the number of advisers are important considerations for understanding KT impact. This quantitative study evaluates the impact of KT resources on farm profitability for clients in Ireland during the recessionary period 2008–2014.
Design/Methodology: Teagasc, the public KT service provider in Ireland, experienced significant office closures (43%) and a reduction in advisers (38%) during the economic crisis, yet client numbers declined only slightly (4.5%). Administrative data are merged with a panel data set on farm-level performance to evaluate the impact through Random Effects estimation.
Findings: The results show that clients gained a 12.3% benefit to their margin per hectare over the period. However, there was a negative effect of 0.2% for each additional client assigned to the adviser which averaged at 9.6%.
Practical Implications: The quantitative findings provide a measure of impact that represents the value for money for the KT service. The key implication is that the client ratio for advisers should be considered when allocating resources and lower ratios would positively impact client margins.
Theoretical Implications: This article outlines the value of quantitative studies to estimate impact in a clear translatable manner which can aid the policy discussion around resource deployment.
Originality/Value: This study evaluates the impact of KT during a recessionary period when resources were constrained, and uses client ratios to examine the spatial effects.
