Agunga, Robert A. (author / Ohio State University) and Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education
Format:
conference papers
Publication Date:
1997-03-04
Published:
Zambia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: C20283
Notes:
Burton Swanson Collection, Section E; from "1997 conference papers : Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education", 13th Annual Conference, 3, 4, 5 April 1997, Arlington, Virginia
Botha, C.A.J. (author), Van Rooyen, C.J. (author), and Post Graduate School for Agriculture and Rural Development, University of Pretoria; Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development, University of Pretoria
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
South Africa: South African Society for Agricultural Extension, Pretoria
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 100 Document Number: C08423
Rees, David (author), Momanyi, Martha (author), Wekundah, Joseph (author), Ndungu, Felister (author), Odondi, Jacob (author), Oyure, A. O. (author), Andima, Dymphina (author), Mwaura, Lucy (author), and Joldersma, Rita (author)
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
2000-07
Published:
Kenya: Agricultural Research and Extension Network, Overseas Development Institute
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 136 Document Number: C20788
Notes:
Burton Swanson Collection, pages 8-19, Network Paper no. 106b
7 pages, Agricultural extension is the medium through which external agricultural technologies have been transferred to and transplanted in Africa to improve agricultural performance. Over a period of close to a century, different agricultural extension models have been proposed but their structure and content has virtually been the same: top-down, linear, non-participatory transfer of technology with no feedback loops for reverse diffusion. This presumably explains the poor performance of Africa’s agriculture and the scale of food security challenges facing the continent. In this review paper, we trace the history of agricultural extension and examine various agricultural extension delivery models to identify their major strengths and weaknesses, using Ghana and Burkina Faso as case studies. We then review the most recent literature in the field about the philosophy, scope, content, delivery, and outcomes of agricultural extension. The conclusion that agricultural extension has consistently remained out of sync with the needs and aspirations of stallholder farmers was reached. Smallholder farmers are now calling for new agricultural extension delivery models that are truly farmer-led, indigenous knowledge-based, context-specific, culturally-relevant and environmentally-sustainable to guarantee efficient farming systems into the future.
12 pages., The study reported on in this paper investigated smallholder farmers’ access to extension services. The study sought to distinguish the varying degrees of access to services of smallholder farmers engaged in different production systems, that is, home gardening, field cropping, and livestock production. The study was conducted in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, specifically in two communities, namely Ngcabasa and Phathikhala villages. Research activities included a survey of 100 farmers as well as focus group discussions. Employing logistic regression analysis, the study aimed to understand what influences whether or not a smallholder farmer accesses extension. The study also used various types of comparative statistics (T-test) to assess the implications of access to extension support, for instance for production and farm income. The main findings of the study were that 68% of the farming households interviewed in Ngcabasa and 71% of those in Phathikhala had access to extension services. Farmers who had access to extension had more farm income in both enterprises compared to those who had no access to extension services. From the regression analysis, farmers who were more likely to receive extension support appeared to be those who were older, those with less education, and those farming with livestock.
