Agricultural Extension Project Research Articles

Analysis of Cornell Cooperative Extension under the Background of Big Data

In the era of knowledge economy, higher education has become the support and engine of socio-economic development, and the importance and urgency of its social service function have become more prominent. The content and form of services urgently need to be updated and innovated. Analyzing the history and current development status of typical university social services undoubtedly has important exemplary value. As one of the earliest universities born in the United States to serve society, Cornell University has a deeply rooted concept of social service, a complete social service system, and a unique social service promotion system. The development of information technology and big data has greatly improved the social service field of the university. In order to have a deeper understanding of the development track and operation logic of Cornell University's social service extension system, this paper adopts the method of literature research, historical research and case study to trace the source of Cornell University's social service concept and explore Cornell University's social service extension model -- agricultural extension project with advantages of traditional "land-grant college". Learn about natural resources, environment and sustainable energy development projects that keep pace with The Times, as well as youth development and family upbringing services for family education. This article believes that the social services provided by Cornell University under the social service promotion system have a strong academic and professional nature, and the direction, content, and social needs of serving society are highly matched and coupled, which helps the university form a complete social service system. Its mature social service promotion system and successful experience in social services have important implications for the construction and improvement of university social service functions.

Crop biocultural traits shape seed networks: Implications for social-ecological resilience in south eastern Senegal

CONTEXTAgroecosystems' social-ecological resilience largely depends on the crop diversity generated and maintained by farmers, which provides insurance against changing environmental and socio-economic conditions. In turn, crop diversity generation, maintenance, and distribution is influenced by seed circulation networks. Thus, patterns of seed circulation can support or constrain households' access to crop diversity, affecting on-farm crop diversity. OBJECTIVEWe aimed at understanding the mechanisms shaping seed circulation and farmers' access to crop diversity by: 1) assessing how crop biocultural traits influence patterns of seed circulation; 2) exploring the connections between household position in the seed circulation network and on-farm crop diversity for different crops. METHODSWe conducted research in south-eastern Senegal applying crop diversity inventories and a survey to document seed acquisitions for the six local staple crops, which differ in biocultural traits. Household's varietal diversity and household- and community-level network measures calculated for each crop were used to compare seed circulation patterns among crops. Then, we analyzed the association between households' position in the seed circulation networks and households' on-farm crop diversity using generalized linear models. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSOur research advances two main findings about the importance of seed circulation networks for farmers' access to crop diversity.First, several seed circulation networks operate in the same community and at the same time. Each species circulated differently, which can be explained by crop's biocultural traits. Socio-cultural traits, like the cultural relevance of a crop, and biological traits, like crop's functional group (e.g., legumes, cereals), affect the patterns of seed circulation. Seed circulation networks that involved external actors, like agricultural extension projects or NGOs, were more centralized than seed circulation networks in which these actors were absent.Second, household's centrality in the network of seed circulation (indegree and betweenness) was generally associated with higher on-farm varietal diversity. However, the factors that determined household's access to seeds differed among crops and variety types. SIGNIFICANCEFarmer-to-farmer seed circulation networks are instrumental for the maintenance and distribution of agrobiodiversity and catalyze the introduction of new diversity in the agricultural system. However, tensions exist between traditional and new (e.g., interventions) mechanisms of seed sharing, resulting in centralized and unidirectional seed distribution, which might affect the social-ecological resilience of the system.

Enabling environment for PPPs in agricultural extension projects: Policy imperatives for impact

Abstract Most of the world's agricultural extension services are funded and delivered by the public sector with the private sector contributing approximately 5%. The low private sector engagement in provision of agricultural extension may be attributed to poor enabling environment, which has deterred rather than encouraged private sector investment. Debates on engaging private sector in agricultural extension argue that private investment in extension is bound to generate agricultural productivity. Consequently, PPPs in agriculture are considered to be drivers for modernization of the sector. However, the promotion of PPPs for agricultural development to-date has placed limited emphasis on the enabling environment which supports the formation and implementation of these partnerships. This article adopts an exploratory research design and used a qualitative approach backed by document review and semi-structured interviews to collect data. This article presents a sector diagnosis of the policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for PPP in agricultural extension in Uganda.

Linkages between the Agricultural Development Programme and the Local Government Agricultural Department in Southeast, Nigeria

The study assessed the inter-organizational relationship between the agricultural development programme (ADP) and the local government agricultural department (LGAD) in implementing participatory extension policy in Southeast, Nigeria. Two sets of questionnaires were used in collecting data from purposively selected 260 staff of the ADP and LGAD personnel involved in the execution of agricultural extension projects of the two agencies. Data were presented and analysed using descriptive statistics. Greater proportion (41.5%) of the ADP staff and LGAD personnel were within the age range of 40-49 years. About 87% of ADP staff and 90% of LGAD personnel were males. There was existence of formal and informal linkage between the two agencies that should be strengthened by governmental effort for more extension coverage. Keywords : Linkage, Agricultural Development Programme, Local Government Agricultural Department

Extension Services, Production and Welfare Evidence from a Field Experiment in Ethiopia

The paper assesses the impact of a small-scale agricultural extension project implemented in rural Ethiopia and aimed at introducing the cultivation of horticultural gardens along with some innovative techniques, products and inputs. Our main outcome of interest is the level of adoption of new horticultural products. We also assess the consequent impacts on the level of revenues from sale and diet diversification. We use a mixed impact evaluation design combining across-villages comparisons, through difference-in-differences estimations, with a within village randomized control trial. To this aim, we make use of micro-data collected through surveys administered to 602 households in two time periods (2013 and 2014). We find that the project contributes to production diversification as the number of households growing vegetables increases by about 30%. Overall, such changes do not seem to influence in a relevant way the total revenues from sales of agricultural products and do not consequently affect household welfare. We do not find significant changes in the consumption of vegetables and only marginal increase in fruit uptake. This leads to an overall irrelevant impact on diet diversification.

Are Agricultural Extension Programs Gender Sensitive? Cases from Cambodia

Despite the recent increase in women farmers’ participation in agricultural extension projects in many parts of the world, it is still questionable whether active participation of women has been ac...

Are Agricultural Extension Programs Gender Sensitive? Cases from Cambodia

Despite the recent increase in women farmers’ participation in agricultural extension projects in many parts of the world, it is still questionable whether active participation of women has been achieved. It is known that socio-cultural restrictions based on gender ideology often impede women farmers’ active participation. However, the interplay of gender relations and learning processes in extension activities has received little attention. Conceptualizing knowledge generation and dissemination as a social process, which reflects power relations between those involved in the process, allows us to view agricultural extension programs as sites of knowledge generation, where trainers and women and men farmers act and interact to shape the outcomes, exercising their agency to achieve the goals under specific socio-cultural conditions. Thus, the interaction in extension activities reflects, and at the same time reproduces or modifies, existing social relations and social structures. Drawing from two agricultural extension programs conducted in Cambodia in 2003, this article discusses how gender relations in a community affect extension activities. It concludes that, in order for women farmers to benefit from extension services on par with men farmers, an understanding of the workings of gender relations needs to be incorporated into its methodological deliberation.

Maternal Education and Child Health: A Feminist Dilemma

In recent years, feminist scholarship has transformed the field of international development by articulating a strong case for the in­ clusion of women in development planning.1 However, as the field has matured, a curious dilemma has emerged: strategic choices that served an emerging field have become problematic for a mature field. Feminist scholars initially approached the field of international development by arguing that development plan­ ning could not be efficiently undertaken without incorporating women and issues into the planning process. Docu­ mentation of the differences in women's and men's farming pat­ terns in sub Saharan Africa, for example, was used to suggest that exclusion of women from agricultural extension projects has a negative impact on food production. Similarly, research showing that women's incomes are more likely to be used for household food expenses than men's was used to argue that greater income­ earning opportunities for women would have a beneficial social effect. 2 By appealing to policymakers' desire for increased efficien­ cy and economic growth, these arguments provided an easier entree into a world that had hitherto excluded gendered ap­ proaches. However, by focusing on efficiency arguments for wom­ en's inclusion into the planning process instead of outright advo­ cacy for equity between women and men, this approach renders considerations of gender inequality relevant only as long as they increase overall economic efficiency. Although this can be a very effective strategy in some situations, in others, it leaves feminist advocacy vulnerable to the dictates of economic efficiency, often resulting in policy prescriptions antithetical to interests of the

Effectiveness of development-radio programming among poor farmers: a case study.

The number of radio receivers has increased 118% worldwide since 1966, and the penetration in developing countries is substantial and growing. Radio is much more effective then printed media with illiterate and neo- literate people in the 3rd world. A recent research project measured the effectiveness of a radio messages broadcast as part of an agricultural extension project. The radio component of an agricultural project in India, organized under the training and visit system of the World Bank ongoing to disseminate information on improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and better cultivation methods to selected farmers was analyzed. The information was transferred in 2 steps, workshops and scheduled visits. The agricultural radio program broadcast the information every morning and was taped for the study. The data analysis for the study was limited to rice crop knowledge and technical terms associated with the extension materials. Most of the farmers were 45 years old or younger. 90% had less than 6 years of schooling. Most were poor and 94% owned less than 6 hectors of land. 96% of those interviewed were males, and over 50% listened to the radio broadcast everyday. The results indicate very little convergence between the extension source and the farmers. In order to communicate effectively, the proper subjects must be selected and presented in simple, colloquial, and familiar words. None of the material was tested, nor were the recipients involved in the process of message preparation. The study suggests that no matter what medium is used, message content and presentation have an important effect on the distribution of the information, and the comprehension and the behavior of the recipient. To be most effective it is important to study not only the content of the message, but the code, structure, and treatment, and to determine the extend of adequate comprehension of those with low literacy.

Impacts On Farmers of a Computerized Management Decision‐Making Model

A number of states are currently developing comprehensive programs for making computerized decision aids available to farmers (Harsh; Infanger, Robbins, Debertin; LaDue; Schoonaert; Walker). While Cernea and Tepping have outlined procedures for a general evaluation of agricultural extension projects, only a few efforts have been conducted with a corresponding research effort aimed at quantifying the impacts of computerized decision models on farmer behavior. (Erickson; Erickson, Sandborg, Byers; Knoblauch). This paper summarizes results from a pilot research project designed to provide measurements of changes in farmer behavior as the result of being exposed to a computerized planning model in extension. This study is an attempt to determine the specific management decisions that the farmers intended to make as a result of having been exposed to the planning model. A follow-up effort one year later identified managerial decisions that actually had been implemented as a result of exposure to the planning model a year earlier. Hence, both farmers' intentions and realizations were measured in this