Agricultural extension: A time for change

Agricultural extension: A time for change PDF Author: Pye-Smith, C.
Publisher: CTA
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
Three-quarters of the world’s poorest billion people live in rural areas, and the vast majority depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Encouraging the growth of the agricultural sector is therefore one of the most effective ways of tackling poverty. Smallholder farmers, fisherfolk and livestock keepers produce 50-80 per cent of the staple foods consumed in developing countries, yet many are inadequately served by research, extension and advisory services. Revitalising these services was the focus of a landmark conference held in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2011, the findings of which are summarised in this booklet.

Agricultural extension : a time for change ; linking knowledge to policy and action for food and livelihoods

Agricultural extension : a time for change ; linking knowledge to policy and action for food and livelihoods PDF Author: Charlie Pye-Smith
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Africa
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Book Description


Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia

Accelerating technical change through video-mediated agricultural extension: Evidence from Ethiopia PDF Author: Abate, Gashaw T.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 74

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Book Description
Despite a rapidly growing enthusiasm around applications of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to smallholder agriculture in developing countries, there are still many questions on the effectiveness of ICT-based approaches. This study assesses the effects of videomediated agricultural extension service provision on farmers’ knowledge and adoption of improved agricultural technologies and practices in Ethiopia. The study focuses on a program piloted by the Government of Ethiopia and Digital Green and poses three questions. First, to what extent does video-mediated extension lead to increased uptake of improved agricultural technologies and practices by smallholder farmers? Second, is video-mediated extension targeted at both spouses of the household more effective than when only targeted at the (typically male) household head? Third, how cost-effective is a video-mediated approach to extension provision? The study explores these questions with a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the video-mediated approach as applied to three priority crops (teff, wheat, maize) and three technologies (row planting, precise seeding rates, and urea dressing). The trial was implemented in 347 kebeles (village clusters) during the 2017 meher (rainy) season in Ethiopia’s four most agriculturally important regional states. Analysis of data from our surveys of 2,422 households and 896 extension agents indicates that the video-mediated approach is more effective than the conventional approach in achieving several key outcomes. Specifically, we find that videomediated extension reaches a wider audience than the conventional approach and leads to higher levels of agricultural knowledge and uptake of technologies in those kebeles randomly assigned to the program. While our results do point to greater participation and greater knowledge of female spouses in kebeles where both male and female spouses were targeted by the program, we do not find clear evidence that the more inclusive approach translated into higher uptake of the subject technologies and practices. Finally, we find that the video-mediated approach becomes less costly as the scale of operation increases.

Challenge and Change

Challenge and Change PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural extension work
Languages : en
Pages : 46

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Book Description


Engendering Agricultural Research, Development and Extension

Engendering Agricultural Research, Development and Extension PDF Author: Ruth Meinzen-Dick
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896291901
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154

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Book Description


The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India

The Million Farmers School: An evaluation of its impact on farmers’ agricultural knowledge in Uttar Pradesh, India PDF Author: Kumar, Anjani
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers across all districts of the state. Unlike traditional extension services, MFS integrates various facets of agricultural knowledge into a packaged product and delivers through village-level trainings where printed material on the topics of training are also distributed among participants. This study presents early findings of a process evaluation, involving assessments of program design, implementation strategies, and estimation of benefits from program participation. In addition to consultation with public officials and community organizations, a state-level representative survey was conducted on a sample of both participating and non-participating households. The early results based on matching and instrumental variable methods—suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. The study also qualitatively assesses various aspects of the program’s design and implementation, highlighting the constraints and challenges it faces and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in its future course.

A Decade of Change in the Agricultural Extension Service

A Decade of Change in the Agricultural Extension Service PDF Author: W. M. Lawson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural extension work
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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Book Description


Agricultural extension: Global status and performance in selected countries

Agricultural extension: Global status and performance in selected countries PDF Author: Davis, Kristin E., ed.
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896293750
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries provides a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compares extension systems at the national and regional levels, examines the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the book contributes to the literature on extension by applying a common and comprehensive framework — the “best-fit” approach — to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms — in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods — to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.

Publicly Funded Agricultural Research and the Changing Structure of U.S. Agriculture

Publicly Funded Agricultural Research and the Changing Structure of U.S. Agriculture PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309170346
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requested that the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources of the National Research Council (NRC) convene a panel of experts to examine whether publicly funded agricultural research has influenced the structure of U.S. agriculture and, if so, how. The Committee to Review the Role of Publicly Funded Agricultural Research on the Structure of U.S. Agriculture was asked to assess the role of public-sector agricultural research on changes in the size and numbers of farms, with particular emphasis on the evolution of very-large-scale operations.

A Catalyst for Change

A Catalyst for Change PDF Author: United States. Extension Service
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural extension work
Languages : en
Pages : 52

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Book Description