7 pages, The study was carried out to investigate the use of New media for communication among extension agents and farmers in Oyo State, Nigeria. Forty Extension agents and eighty farmers were randomly selected. Data collected were subjected to descriptive analysis using frequencies and percentage. Majority of extension agents (90.0%) were aware of Social Media. Farmers (97.5%) were aware of Agricultural websites. Extension agents (85.0%) have access to Agricultural Blogs, farmers (87.5%) have access Agricultural Websites. Extension agents also have high access (75.0%) to New media and farmers have high access (67.5%) to New media. Majority of Extension agents in the study area have a benefit derived from the use of New media as to enhance their job commitments. Farmers have the benefits derived from the use of New media as it saves time and money. Majority of Extension agents in the study area used new media to source for information on farmers’ livelihood and possible ways of improving their living standards. Extension agents (55%) and also farmers (60.0%) have high level of use of new media. It is recommended that Extension agencies should organize in-service training for the staff on skill acquisition and importance of New media use in sourcing and disseminating innovation and also the Nigerian government should address the problem of using the New media in agricultural and rural development via focusing on providing broadband connectivity and a content centric development approach particularly in the rural areas.
21 pages, Climate change continues to impact the livelihoods of smallholder farmers due to low adaptive capacity. In South Africa, the challenge is exacerbated by water scarcity and shortened crop-growing seasons. Climate-smart irrigation innovative technologies (CSIT) enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change. However, there is still a limited level of effective adoption and usage of these technologies in smallholder communities. This study investigated the barriers affecting the adoption of CSIT in rural areas of the Vhembe and Capricorn districts in Limpopo Province, South Africa. We explored the farmers’ socioeconomic factors extracted from farmers’ perceptions of CSIT-specific attributes. A multi-stage randomized sampling technique was used to select 100 smallholder farmers (SHF). Data analyzed by descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution are presented in graphs and tables. According to the findings, insufficient communication channels, a lack of financial availability, unstable land tenure systems, and insufficient training are the main obstacles to implementing CSIT. There is a need for policy and decision-makers to improve the communication channels for disseminating agro-meteorological information to the intended beneficiaries.
10 pages, Goat farming is a major livelihood activity for most smallholder farmers in Botswana. To ensure sustainable livelihoods for these farmers, a shift from the prevalent traditional and subsistence system to a more market-oriented one is considered necessary. Market participation is widely viewed as an effective means of addressing poverty which is particularly rampant in most rural areas of Botswana and other developing countries. Little evidence is however available on the link between market participation and household welfare, especially among livestock and, in particular, small stock farmers. This paper evaluates the effect of market participation on household welfare among smallholder goat farmers. Estimating an endogenous switching regression model, the results show a positive and significant effect of market participation on household income for both participant and non-participant farmers. This effect was found to be more pronounced among the non-participants had they decided to sell. The results suggest that goat farmers should be encouraged to engage in market participation other than their traditional ways of keeping goats. This implies that existing policies and programs that increase market participation and encourage market-oriented farming should be revised in order to provide efficient and sustainable support. Furthermore, the study recommends that information on goat markets should reach rural areas where most farmers reside and are unable to access technology.
16 pages, The importance of smallholder farming is increasingly recognized in rural areas where increased crop productivity and market participation can effectively improve their dietary diversity and nutrition quality. However, rural households are still faced with severe food insecurity and malnutrition. The study sought to assess the role of smallholder farming in crop productivity and market access on rural household dietary diversity. The secondary data were collected using a quantitative research method, and 1520 participants were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The descriptive results showed that cereals were the most (98%) consumed food group, while vegetables and fruits were the least consumed food groups, at 37% and 23%, respectively. The results from the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) showed that 57% of smallholder farmers consumed highly diverse diets (more or equal to six food groups), whereas 25% and 18% of smallholder farmers consumed medium dietary diversity (four to five food groups) and low diverse diets (less or equal to three food groups), respectively. The findings from the Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) and Poisson endogenous treatment effect models showed that household size, ownership of livestock, wealth index, and involvement in crop production positively influenced household dietary diversity. On the other hand, output and access to market information showed a negative effect. Social grants had contradicting effects: they had a negative impact on the HDDS received from crop productivity while they had a positive effect on the HDDS from market participation. Providing different ways smallholder farmers can use their funds effectively can help improve household dietary diversity and nutrition quality. The study recommended that more workshops and training be conducted that cover all the sustainable production systems that smallholder farmers can undertake to produce different food groups. These will raise awareness among smallholder farmers about the requirements for balanced diets for food and nutrition security.
8 pages, Background:
Despite the growth of palliative care (PC), access to PC remains challenging for rural Americans living with chronic diseases. Given the demand and benefits of PC, a comprehensive view of PC access would inform policymakers in developing PC services in rural areas.
Objective:
This scoping review aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to PC access in rural areas from the voices of service users and service providers during the past decade.
Methods:
A scoping literature review was conducted from 2010 to 2020 using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO databases. Results: Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Barriers to PC access in rural areas mostly arose in structural issues: (1) the inadequate knowledge and awareness of PC among both service users and providers and (2) the poorly structured PC system. Other barriers included communication gaps/challenges between providers and patients/families and cultural barriers. The facilitators mainly originated in patients/families’ connectedness with local providers and with other social networks such as friends.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the need for funding support to increase provider competency, service availability and accessibility, and the public knowledge and awareness of PC in rural areas. A holistic and tailored PC model that standardizes care delivery, referral and coordination, including family caregiver support programs, can improve care access. Future practice and research are warranted to implement and evaluate innovative approaches, such as a coordinated community-based approach, to the successful integration of PC in rural communities.
12 pages, Background
Health risk communication plays a key role in promoting self-protective measures, which are critical in suppressing COVID-19 contagion. Relatively little is known about the communication channels used by rural poor populations to learn novel measures and their effectiveness in promoting self-protective behaviors. Behavioral change can be shaped by people’s trust in government institutions which may be differentiated by social identity, including indigeneity.
Methods
During an early phase of the pandemic, we conducted two telephone surveys with over 460 communities – both Indigenous and mestizo – without road access and limited communication access in the Peruvian Amazon. This is the first report on the association of information sources about self-protective measures against COVID-19 with the adoption of self-protective behaviors in remote rural areas in developing countries.
Results
People mainly relied on mass media (radio, television, newspapers) and interpersonal sources (local authorities, health workers, neighbors/relatives) for information and adopted handwashing, mask-wearing, social distancing, and social restrictions to varying degrees. Overall, self-protective behaviors were largely positively and negatively associated with mass media and interpersonal sources, respectively, depending on the source-measure combination. Mistrust of the government seems to have shaped how Indigenous and mestizo peoples distinctively responded to interpersonal information sources and relied on mass media.
Conclusions
Our findings call for improved media access to better manage pandemics in rural areas, especially among remote Indigenous communities.
23 pages, Young farmers play a significant role in sustaining food security and the communities’ and rural areas’ viability. However, as with many countries, Thailand is facing a decline in the number of young farmers who, if not productive and satisfied with their farm business, are likely to exit farming to take advantage of their increased educational level and off-farm job opportunities. Data were collected by interviewing young farmers in the Prachin Buri province, Thailand, with the aim of assessing their reason for farming in the long-term and the type of farming. Farming decisions can be categorised into three types: full-time profit-oriented farming with a focus on rice production (~53%), full-time multifunctional farming in innovative mixed or organic production systems (~23%), and part-time farming where young farmers work off-farm and farm outside regular working hours (~24%). Using path analysis, we investigated which physical and psychological factors affect young farmers’ decisions to pursue these three farming types. The results show that non-monetary farming’s benefits are as important as monetary benefits. Education, farming and regular off-farm work experience, farm production, market and pest problems, and government support directly affect the farming types. These effects were also mediated by attitudes towards farming and net farming income. Young farmers choosing to pursue multifunctional farming have higher incomes, more often apply sophisticated technologies, and farm more sustainably than those choosing the other types of farming. This indicates that a shift from conventional rice production to more diversified production systems using innovative technologies is needed to sustain farming success and retain young people in the farming sector.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 155 Document Number: C25140
Notes:
Retrieved December 17, 2006, Presented at the Newspapers and Community-Building Symposium XI of the National Newspaper Association and Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 29-30, 2005. 14 pages., Department of Communication and Journalism, Auburn University, designs a journalism education program that involves students in working with high school-based community newspapers in two rural communities.
Committee to Protect Journalists, New York City, New York.
Format:
Article
Publication Date:
2005-04-11
Published:
Afghanistan
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 155 Document Number: C25268
Notes:
Retrieved September 16, 2006, Via CPJ web site. 1 page., Brief notice that rural reporters in Afghanistan remain at risk of threats and violent attacks in reprisal for their work.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 155 Document Number: C25270
Notes:
Retrieved September 16, 2006, Via organization web site. 5 pages., Notes that since February 1,"reporting from rural and remote areas of the country has become even more dangerous. Reporters are risking their lives, without having proper security and insurance for their lives. Dozens of journalists have been picked up by the security forces and interrogated. Some were held for only a few hours, but 10 remained in custody in mid-April."
Australia: University of Western Australia Press, Crawley.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25274
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Insights about life, conditions, people and perspectives in rural Australia, as reflected in selected sayings from essays, poems, Bush songs, novels, books, advertisements, rural residents and other sources. Photographs by Richard Woldendorp, widely acclaimed for his landscape photographs.
Describes change in programming thrust of Ontario AgRadio Network from market information for producers to broader themes: food crops, livestock, technology and finance, and health (food safety) and environmental issues.
Torero, Maximo (author) and von Braun , Joachim (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2006
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25433
Notes:
Pages 64-89 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25435
Notes:
Pages 100-110 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
Chowdhury, Shyamal K. (author) and Bayes, Abdul (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2006
Published:
Bangladesh
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25436
Notes:
Pages 110-122 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
Song, Gi-Soon (author) and Bedi, Arjun S. (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2006
Published:
Laos
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25443
Notes:
Pages 251-267 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25444
Notes:
Pages 267-277 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C25446
Notes:
Pages 283-287 in Maximo Torero and Joachim von Braun (eds.), Information and communication technologies for development and poverty reduction: the potential of telecommunications. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. 362 pages.
