Extension Staff Research Articles

ASSESSMENT OF TRAINING NEEDS OF EXTENSION WORKERS IN BAUCHI STATE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, NIGERIA

The study assessed the training needs of extension workers in Bauchi State agricultural development program, Nigeria. The study employed random sampling techniques to select 145 respondents across the three (3) agricultural zones. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results pointed out that majority (81.4%) of the respondents were male with small proportion of females. The results also showed that 26.5% and 25.0% of the respondents had Higher National Diploma and National Diploma, respectively. The findings revealed that all (100%) of the respondents reported the need for training of extension workers. The findings also showed that majority (58.6%) of the respondents received in-service training. The study recommended the needs to provide adequate financial support and continuous training in some key areas to support Bauchi State Agricultural Development Programme as at when due for proper planning and execution of training programmes for extension staffs. Motivation should also be put into consideration to improve in their job performance.

DIVERSIFICATION OF INDIGENOUS AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND IMPLICATIONS ON HOUSEHOLD FOOD SECURITY: PRACTICES AND LESSONS FROM LOCAL COMMUNITIES OF BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA

An estimated 690 million people worldwide are hungry denying them the fundamental human right on food. Agriculture, which ought to play a crucial role of sustaining household food security is climate sensitive, hence suffer from the effect of climate change and variability.The fundamental elements of food security which include availability, access, utilization and stability have become untenable. This paper examined the indigenous agricultural diversification strategies and their implication on household food security in Baringo County, Kenya. Descriptive survey design was used in the study. A sample of 140 households and 12 Agricultural Extension staff were selected using purposive, proportionate and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaire, Focus group discussion guide and observation checklist were used to collect data. The findings indicated that a wide range of diversification strategies including knowledge and skill based, enterprise based, diet based, food sources, farming routines and storage based diversification were adopted by households.The study concluded that diversification strategies were mitigation measure against climate change and food insecurity. The study recommended the up scaling best practices of diversification to improve household food security.

Social Media in Agricultural Extension Services: Farmers and Extension Agents Perspective

The study aimed to assess the present status of social media in agricultural extension services as well as attitude of the farmers with their problems towards social media. The study was conducted in five unions of Chapainawabganj Sadar Upazila, Chapainawabganj district. A total of 90 respondents (60 farmers and 30 extension officers) were randomly selected from the study area. The majority of farmers (75%) had a moderately positive view toward social media. According to the findings, all of the farmers were men, and 46.7% of them were in their middle years. The majority of the farmers (53.3%) were illiterate, the majority (38.3%) were small-group farmers based on land ownership, and only a small percentage (11.7%) used social media. The most popular social media platforms among them were Facebook and YouTube. Other respondents used social media at a rate of 93.3% for extension officers. About 46.7 percent of extension staff utilized both Facebook and YouTube to communicate with farmers, while 33.3% chose Facebook over other social media. They mainly used social media for agricultural information, amusement, personal reasons, and information sharing, but they did not find the use of social media solely for agricultural purposes to improve extended services agreeable. According to the extension officers, social media can assist farmers in receiving critical information and so bridge the gap between them and farmers. Farmers' lack of usage of social media is due to major issues such as lack of awareness, illiteracy, and lack of training, according to the study. As a result, it is proposed that researchers, extension officials, and the government take appropriate initiatives to encourage farmers to use social media.

A steady-state N balance approach for sustainable smallholder farming

Hundreds of millions of smallholders in emerging countries substantially overuse nitrogen (N) fertilizers, driving local environmental pollution and global climate change. Despite local demonstration-scale successes, widespread mobilization of smallholders to adopt precise N management practices remains a challenge, largely due to associated high costs and complicated sampling and calculations. Here, we propose a long-term steady-state N balance (SSNB) approach without these complications that is suitable for sustainable smallholder farming. The hypothesis underpinning the concept of SSNB is that an intensively cultivated soil-crop system with excessive N inputs and high N losses can be transformed into a steady-state system with minimal losses while maintaining high yields. Based on SSNB, we estimate the optimized N application range across 3,824 crop counties for the three staple crops in China. We evaluated SSNB first in ca. 18,000 researcher-managed on-farm trials followed by testing in on-farm trials with 13,760 smallholders who applied SSNB-optimized N rates under the guidance of local extension staff. Results showed that SSNB could significantly reduce N fertilizer use by 21 to 28% while maintaining or increasing yields by 6 to 7%, compared to current smallholder practices. The SSNB approach could become an effective tool contributing to the global N sustainability of smallholder agriculture.

Development of Tailored Early Warning Agromet Advisories for Farmers in Zambia, Indonesia, and South Africa

Farmers do not often use climate and weather information on a regular basis, as the specific influence of weather parameters on farm-level decision making is not well-known. Agromet advisories are needed for local farming systems. Effective agrometeorological advisory systems, need tailored agricultural weather forecasts, and two-way communication. Transdisciplinary teams together with farmers can co-develop early warning Agromet advisory systems to address farmers' needs. Three examples of Agromet advisories are discussed- CAPES in Zambia, Science Field Shops in Indonesia, and the AgriCloud mobile App in South Africa. Community Agrometeorological Participatory Extension Service (CAPES) began in Monze, Zambia to communicate seasonal climate forecasts to farmers through researchers and extension interactions. Participatory groups collected spatial and temporal data about local farming systems to highlight opportunities. Communication methods used were local radio, farmers' days, trials, with farm visits. CAPES resulted in lifelong learning about climate and co-development of tailored Agromet advisories to improve climate resilience. In Science Field Shops (SFS) groups of Indonesian farmers meet experts regularly to exchange information about climate and farming activities. Farmers measure rainfall and observe their agroecological systems each day. At monthly meetings, the seasonal forecasts are discussed using dialogue-discussion methods. Agrometeorological learning is trans-disciplinary through interaction between anthropologists, agrometeorologist, and extension personnel. SFS includes eight climate services that empower farmers to address challenges and sustain their productivity. AgriCloud is an online weather-based agricultural advisory system enriching weather forecasts with agricultural information and local knowledge. Real-time overviews and warnings are tailored to farmer's needs. AgriCloud provides farmers, extension staff, and advisors daily updated weather-related farm-specific advice in 11 South African official languages. AgriCloud is available as an android mobile App, or API to use via a platform. These examples illustrate the use of weather forecasting together with tailored forecasts and communication systems to deliver Agromet advisories, showing different aspects of the incorporation of local knowledge in co-developing advisories for the farmers. In the future, various combinations can be used around the world when co-developing with the farmers.

Exploring the design and adoption of a clean seed system for sweet potato in Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT Clean seed systems for vegetatively propagated crops can play an important part in improving rural livelihoods but continue to face adoption challenges. Using exploratory case-based methodology, this research explored the adoption of a clean seed system for sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) among farmers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. The research further explored the outcomes driven by adoption and how system design influences adoption and outcomes. Data were collected through a baseline survey (n = 73) in 2017, and an end-line survey (n = 94) in 2020, with observation and field notes used to validate and verify survey results. Results provide insight into how a pragmatic approach to design, led by local extension staff, can provide a contextually relevant system that inspired widespread adoption. Adoption of clean seed has created a new market for vines, connected commercial farmers and commercial feedlots to improved agricultural inputs while increasing the interest of farmers in investing in complementary technologies to get the most from clean seed.

Revival of Cotton Pest Management Strategies in Pakistan

Cotton is an important crop of Pakistan and a major foreign exchange contributor. Cotton yield has faced a significant decline in the past ten years from 12 million bales (2010– 11) to 7.06 million bales (2020–21). Poor pest management, shift in cotton area to other crops, climate variability, early sowing, poor quality Bt cotton seed, traditional methods of spraying and gap between farmers and extension staff have been realized as the possible reasons behind cotton yield reduction despite the introduction of genetically modified varieties. A plan to revive cotton production has been developed to improve pest management. Combination of whitefly control strategy and updating the curriculum of universities in connection with current agricultural issues faced by farming community may provide sustainable cotton production in Pakistan.

Small Scale Maize Farmers Attitude towards Opinion Leaders in the Western Region of Kenya in the Agricultural Reform Era

Agricultural reforms in Kenya led to the government cutting down incentives to small scale farmers. These also coincided with reduction of agricultural extension staff hence farmers have to rely on advice from opinion leaders. The study looked at farmers’ attitude towards opinion leaders on maize farming in the western region of Kenya because maize is the main staple for most of the Kenyan population and Western Region is the food basket. The study used Ex-post facto research design via cross sectional survey. The counties were purposively selected to represent the Western Region of Kenya. Two sub-counties from each of the four Counties were selected by simple random sampling. Small scale farmers were selected from focal areas through systematic random sampling. Four key informants were sampled purposefully based on their positions of authority. In addition, 52 extension staffs were sampled through systematic random sampling. The small scale farmers were interviewed with the help of interview schedule containing both open and closed ended questions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that a high percentage of respondents from all the study Counties agreed that what other farmers said about maize production helped them to invest in the enterprise. The study concluded that small scale farmers from all the Counties, were influenced by other farmers to invest in maize production. In addition most of the respondents always followed the recommendations given by the chief and other local leaders concerning agricultural production. The study recommended that extension staff use farmer groups and local leaders to ensure that the innovations are diffused to a large number of farmers.

The influence of privatised agricultural extension on downward accountability to smallholder tea farmers

ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the extent to which privatised extension service, which is premised to be demand-driven, delivers downward accountability to smallholder farmers who are both owners and users of agricultural services. Design/methodology/approach The research collected data through focus group discussions with smallholder tea farmers and key informant interviews after which the information were corroborated with semi-structured interviews with 104 smallholder farmers. Findings Our findings show that KTDA (Kenya Tea Development Agency) extension service has in recent years embraced methodologies that allow two-way information exchange and farmers’ involvement in planning, implementing and evaluation of extension programmes. While this transition has provided opportunities for increased accountability and empowerment of smallholder farmers, downward accountability is limited by among others; presence of multiple accountabilities, a heavy top-down governance structure, higher incentives for upward accountability, limited resourcing of extension delivery, excessive workload and unrealistic targets on the part of extension staff and weak extension–research–farmer linkages. Practical implications The findings of this study may be used by policymakers, extension practitioners and organisations delivering extension services to improve downward accountability and quality of advisory services Theoretical implications The paper contributes to the debate on outcomes of privatisation on extension provision using the accountability lens in an area dominated by perceptions on costs and payment for the services. Originality/value The literature on downward accountability on privatised extension services is lacking. The paper also extends the framework for assessing the performance of pluralistic extension services to develop and apply a framework for assessing downward accountability in privatised extension.

A Process Evaluation of the HappyHealthy Social Marketing Campaign

Social marketing campaigns are effective in promoting health behavior changes in individuals and communities. Mississippi State University Extension Service’s (MSU Extension) Office of Nutrition Education launched a statewide social marketing campaign branded HappyHealthy to target nutrition and healthy lifestyle-related behaviors of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-eligible individuals and families. In this study, a process evaluation was conducted with MSU Extension staff to assess perceptions of the campaign’s relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. In the early stages of the campaign, external evaluators conducted in-depth interviews with MSU Extension staff members (n = 17). After the campaign had been active for several months, the same external evaluators developed a web-based survey instrument for administration with MSU Extension staff (n = 54). Interview and survey responses were interpreted in accordance with Roger’s diffusion of innovation theory. Staff responses indicated it is important that campaign messages and materials align with and enhance staff members’ job responsibilities and that campaign messages are consistent with other education being delivered. Allowing staff to get familiar with some campaign materials before they are responsible for using them may also be advantageous for successful adoption and implementation.

Administrative Awareness of Agricultural Extension Staff and its Impact on Extension Activity in the New Valley Governorate

Administrative Awareness of Agricultural Extension Staff and its Impact on Extension Activity in the New Valley Governorate

Survey to Determine Knowledge of Bioactive Forages Among Small Ruminant Producers

Abstract A short survey was conducted in 2019 to determine knowledge of bioactive forages for parasite control, including specifically Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata), before or during small ruminant workshops (also available online via SurveyMonkey® - link sent to a small ruminant email list). Questions also included livestock owned, hay grown and/or fed, and interest in bioactive forages, among others. Descriptive statistics were obtained by using weighted (by region for goat numbers) SURVEYMEANS procedures (SAS). A total of 151 surveys were completed, including paper (n = 45) and online responses (n = 106). Response rate for paper surveys was 90%. Twenty-six of the fifty states were represented and assigned to regions: Southeast (SE), Midwest (MW), Northeast (NE), and southwestern and western combined (SWW). The highest responses came from the SE (unweighted), but after weighting, the SWW region was represented at the highest level (P < 0.001). Nearly 100% of respondents had small ruminants on their farm, most fed both grass and legume hay (P < 0.001), 36.5 ± 8.6% raised hay, but very few sold hay (4.9 ± 1.5%; less than those that did not, P < 0.001). The most popular method of marketing for hay was “word of mouth” (P < 0.001). Prior knowledge of forage plants with bioactivity was noted for 78.0 ± 8.1% (P < 0.001) vs those without. Approximately a third of respondents had used or grown sericea lespedeza (32.8 ± 8.4%; P < 0.05) and most (tendency, P < 0.07) thought of it favorably. Almost half of respondents indicated they were willing to grow sericea lespedeza (P < 0.02). Other sericea lespedeza products of interest to respondents included primarily pellets (around 85.3 ± 8.3%), with little interest in silage (2.2 ± 1.1%; P < 0.0001). Producer surveys, such as this, help inform efforts for researchers and Extension staff.

Reliability of the Agricultural Extension and Technological Services among Rice Farmers in the Rural Areas of Tanzania

This study provided insights into the availability and use of agricultural information by small scale farmers in the Mbeya Region of Tanzania. The research used structured questionnaires to interview 240 rice farmers in the Mbeya region. The findings revealed that farmers accessed agricultural information from various agents including local government extension staff, neighbors and friends, advertisements, electronic media including the internet, television, radio, and other channels. The identified technological information application methods included by lectures, field demonstrations, exposure visits to various places, and printed production. The majority of farmers perceived to have dissatisfied (43%), strongly dissatisfied (25%), strongly satisfied (20%), satisfied (8%), and no opinions (4%) concerning accessibility to agricultural information and technological services. The majority of farmers claimed that both agricultural information and technological communication are strongly needed for agricultural performance. The study suggests that government and non-government organizations should collaborate to bridge the existing information-sharing gap between farmers and information providers.
 Keywords: extension communication, technological information, rural areas, rice farmers, Tanzania.

The Role of Extension Farms in Developing the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes of Farmers in the Provinces of Central Iraq

The study aimed to identify the role of extension farms in developing the knowledge and skill capabilities of farmers in the governorates of central Iraq through the following areas (the extent to which extension farms depend on the preparation and planning process, coordination and cooperation with the relevant authorities, the dissemination and transfer of agricultural innovations, the use of modern means of communication, the conduct of Research and development of agricultural innovations to address the problems of farmers, interaction and reactions of farmers with extension farms, the possibilities available). Also, this study dealt with identifying the problems and obstacles facing work in those farms. This study included (66) respondents were representing all extension employees working in extension farms, which numbered (19) farms in (5) provinces. The questionnaire form was used as a tool to collect data from respondents after ensuring its validity and consistency, and results showed that the role of extension farms in developing and developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the targeted farmers is weak and not at the required level, and the study showed weakness in process of preparing and planning extension activities, and absence of coordination and cooperation process and integration with the relevant authorities, and there is a great perception in process of spreading and transferring agricultural innovations and the lack of use of modern means of communication to interact with farmers, and that extension farms do not implement scientific research procedures to address the problems and needs of farmers, as it has been shown that there are material and financial problems and obstacles facing the workflow in these farms. The lack of number of extension staff and their weak knowledge and skills expertise, as well as administrative and communication problems. The study included some scientific recommendations to address the weaknesses, which will contribute to improving the performance and efficiency of work in extension farms.

Assessing the impact of the adoption of agroforestry technology on food production and poverty reduction among farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria

Assessing the impact of the adoption of agroforestry technology on food production and poverty reduction among farming households in Oyo State, Nigeria

Communicating through Calamity: Rural and Urban Extension Professionals’ Communication during and after a Hurricane

The purpose of this study was to determine the role urban and rural community status plays in the communication of University of Florida Cooperative Extension faculty and staff during and after a disaster by identifying the extent to which technology was utilized, the communication messages conveyed, and organizational communication versus personal communication. The crisis used for understanding these efforts was Hurricane Irma in 2017. An online survey methodology was used to collect data from Extension personnel across Florida. Results indicate there are differences between how rural and urban Extension faculty and staff communicate during and after a hurricane. The internet was used to a great extent as a communication channel by both rural and urban Extension professionals, but how they used the internet differed. Urban audiences chose more personal mediums when communicating personally about the hurricane, while rural participants used more social media when communicating on personal channels. Implications for this study are an increased need for templates and communication training for Extension personnel. Future research should focus on understanding crisis communication during times of power loss and examine the different roles played by Extension in rural and urban counties.

A Qualitative Analysis of Factors Influencing Household Water Treatment Practices Among Consumers of Self-Supplied Water in Rural Ethiopia.

BackgroundThe health of a community depends greatly on the availability of sufficient and clean water. Rural households relying on self-supplied drinking water must take full responsibility for the treatment of their drinking water. Globally, not many inquiries appear to have been carried out to satisfactorily inform us regarding how and why improvements in behavior related to water treatment occur in some selected individuals and not in others. Related investigations in Ethiopia are even fewer.MethodsIn the rural Aleta Wondo district of Ethiopia, a total of fifteen focus group discussions were conducted with community members. Similarly, ten key informant interviews were conducted with officers responsible for organizing water and hygiene programs. To gather data for this study, two qualitative data collection methods, viz., key informant interviews and focus group discussions, were used. Open code software 4.03 was used for thematic analysis.ResultsFactors influencing household water treatment practices were categorized into individual-level factors (eg cognitive factors, emotional factors), household-level factors (household means and decision-making balance), community-level factors (the value that is given for water quality and Public resources) and, environment and context-related factors (access to products and reliance on external sources).ConclusionHousehold water treatment practice has a range of multilevel influences. Beyond the model of providing ongoing safe water education by health extension workers, potential initiatives could be improved by community mobilization activities that include community leaders, women’s groups, etc., in promoting water treatment at community engagements. Also, the results of the present study indicate that it could be beneficial to provide health extension staff with additional training to improve their ability to encourage community members across, a wide range of user types or levels of readiness, to treat their water.

Covid-19 management by farmers and policymakers in Burkina Faso, Colombia and France: Lessons for climate action

CONTEXTDuring crises, adaptation or recovery measures or plans at local or national scales may not necessarily address longer-term or structural problems such as climate change mitigation. OBJECTIVEThis article describes farmers and policymakers' responses to mitigate the adverse effects of Covid-19 on the agricultural sector. We then assess the responses' possible effects on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. METHODSThe study is based on surveys conducted with farmers, traders, and extension staff in Burkina Faso, Colombia, and France, and literature. We used the Cool Farm Tool calculator to assess GHG emissions associated with fertilizer production, crop production and produce transportation to international markets for the three main cash crops in the three countries. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSWe identified contrasting responses by the agricultural sector mostly driven by changes in the consumption patterns at local or international levels. We also identified contrasting state responses to mitigate Covid-19. These responses at farm and policy scales led to similar trends in decreasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions across the studied countries. However, none of the studied countries linked Covid-19 response measures to long-term climate change mitigation actions. Therefore, an opportunity to sustain Covid-19 induced short-term decreases in GHG emissions was overlooked. SIGNIFICANCEAnalyzing the impacts that Covid-19 had on agricultural systems and the decision taken by policymakers to handle its direct and indirect effects can help society draw lessons on how to improve climate action.

Challenges associated with livestock extension practice in agropastoral Fulani settlement areas of Ogun State, Nigeria.

The study assessed the challenges associated with sustainable provision of livestock extension service in selected agropastoral fulani settlements in the state. The data for the study were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire, and analysed with descriptive statistics, Chi Square and Pearson Product Moment Correlation coefficient. The result from the study revealed that the challenges of livestock extension practice in agropastoral settlements are; lack of incentives to work in agropastoral areas and poor road networks perceived by (61.4%) and (54.47%) of the extension service providers respectively. The transhumance lifestyle of some of the households was perceived by (50.95%) of the extension service providers as a major challenge to livestock extension service provision in these areas. Pearson Product Moment Correlation analysis showed that, the challenges of livestock extension service were significantly related to the working experience of the extension staff (p< 0.05). Chi square analysis result also shows a significant relationship between the challenges of livestock extension practice in agropastoral settlements and the area of specialisation and language competency of the extension staff. It was therefore concluded that, the traditional organizational structure of extension services may be inappropriate for working in pastoral areas. The study recommended that, to reduce these challenges, extension staff from pastoral backgrounds, which are based in pastoral communities, could be recruited and trained for specialised livestock extension services to the agropastoral settlements. 

Frontline Extension Workers’ Information Use, Protective Behaviors and Counseling Practices During Covid -19 Pandemic in Imo State, Nigeria

The only people close to the farmers are the extension workers, and to function well, they need the right information, good health and sound mind all the time. However, the sources of information on covid 19 available to them is unknown, hence this study. The study seeks to identify covid 19 information sources of extension workers, examine their protective behaviors, and describe counseling practices they adopt to reach farmers. A total of 120 extension staff purposively chosen from Imo ADP was used to elicit information for the study using questionnaire. Data were analyzed descriptively. The results revealed that the extension staff get information from a variety of ways, such as health organizations (72.5%), healthcare professionals (74.2%), ministries of Health and Agriculture (79.2%). They practice social distancing (83.3%), wearing of face masks (70.5%), avoid contact with eyes, nose and mouth (68.3%), promote hand washing (70.5%), avoid public gathering and many more. In counseling the farmers, the educate them regularly (85%), training of farmers (78.3%) and many more. It is worthy of commendation that since life has no duplicate, the extension staff are doing great job by adhering to covid 19 protocols and should be praised for service to humanity.