Agricultural Service Providers Research Articles

African women and young people as agriculture service providers—business models, benefits, gaps and opportunities

We use a combination of a global desk review of the literature with information from an on-going action research in Kenya to provide insights into the main characteristics, benefits and shortfalls of business models for engaging women and young people in agricultural service provision in Africa. The findings demonstrate that the engagement of African women and young people in agricultural service provision is not a panacea to the challenges they face. However various business models have been successful in contributing to economic empowerment, to increasing entrepreneurial activities and to upskilling of women and young people engaged as service providers. Business models that are successful are place-based and people-focused, market-driven and focused on value chains. Challenges however abound due to various factors, hence for sustainability there is need for multi-sectoral inter-institutional collaboration that pulls in funding and which makes a case for private sector buy-in. Future research should focus on increasing the evidence base to understand if successes with inclusion of women and young people in agricultural service provision has an influence on emerging agricultural policy. Research should also rigorously assess the extent to which successful agricultural service provision business models are engendered, provide sufficient levels of renumeration and the extent to which they impact farmer outcomes.

Building resilience of agricultural workers in the agrifood system in a post COVID-19 Era in Africa

In many economies in Africa, agriculture is the backbone for the economy. Additionally, it contributes significantly to the employment of many citizens in Africa. The COVID-19 pandemic affected various sectors across the world ranging from economically, socially, and physically. COVID-19 impacted agriculture and the work life of many agricultural workers in Africa. The effects of COVID-19 in African agriculture, calls for reengineering of the future and work life for agriculture workers in a post COVID-19 era. Agricultural workers are the drivers of agriculture, they are classified into various categories ranging from farmers, extension service providers, agribusiness development providers, among others. This paper through a theoretical review of thematic literature highlights how COVID-19 impacted on agricultural workers and agriculture in Africa. It also provides solutions towards the re-engineering of work life for agricultural workers in a post COVID-19 era. Reconstructing of work life in a post COVID- 19 era is key to job creation and a food secure continent. This results in an active workforce and other economic sectors working well and a thriving continent. The paper entails findings that farmers, agribusiness service providers and governments in Africa will find useful to ensure sustainable agriculture in Africa. Agricultural service providers, local and international organizations in the agriculture space will use the findings to design interventions that will enable smooth transition in the work life in a post COVID-19 era leading to a thriving agriculture landscape in Africa.

Construction of AGRISERV Scale to Assess the Service Quality of Agricultural Service Providers in Karnataka, India

The research being conducted in 2022–2023, describes how the AGRISERV scale was developed to assess the quality of service rendered by Karnataka's agricultural service providers from the perspective of the farmers. The construction of the scale followed the guidelines provided by Parasuraman et al. 1998. An informational questionnaire that was self-administered was completed by fifty farmers. The multi-item scale consists of 22 items total from five dimensions: Assurance, Responsiveness, Empathy, Tangibility, and Dependability. The scale was standardized using the item whose Cronbach's alpha value fell between 0.73 and 0.83 for each of the five dimensions. Utilizing the validity, factor structure, and a1n6d reliability, the scale was standardized. The combined reliability of the 22 items was 0.92, indicating that the scale was internally consistent. The analysis indicated that the scale had construct, content, and face validity. The final scale on a five-point continuum was presented to the farmers.

Service quality of public, private and cooperative agricultural service providers in Karnataka

Service quality of public, private and cooperative agricultural service providers in Karnataka

Requirements for Developing the Technical Capabilities of Agricultural Extension Service Providers to Face the Effects of Climate Change in Baghdad Province

The aim of the research is to determine the requirements for developing the technical capabilities of the agricultural extension service providers to face the effects of climatic changes in Baghdad Governorate, to achieve the goal of the research and in order to obtain the respondents’ approval of the requirements (28) requirements were identified in the light of the literature and studies related to the subject and the opinions of specialists to develop the technical capabilities of the agricultural extension service providers distributed on two axes (the ability to know the effects of climate changes, the ability to know the practices to reduce the effects of climate changes). The research community and sample included all workers in the provision of agricultural extension service in the province of Baghdad and distributed to the Department of Agriculture Baghdad Al-Karkh and agricultural divisions affiliated to it and the Department of Agricultural Extension and Training in the province of Baghdad, the number of (110) persons. The results of the research showed that there was a great agreement by the respondents on all requirements for developing technical capabilities.As the requirement (developing the ability of the extension service provider to inform farmers of the impact of climate changes on the production of summer and winter crops) ranked first in terms of the level of approval of the respondents, which obtained a weighted average of (3.84) and a percentage weight of (96.1%). While the requirement (developing the ability of the extension service provider to educate farmers about the possibility of fires occurring in farms as a result of rising temperatures due to climate changes) came in the last order in terms of approval with a weighted average of (3.36) and a percentage weight of (90.9%). The researcher recommended the importance of the competent authorities considering the requirements for developing the technical capabilities of agricultural extension service providers and working on applying them to develop the performance of agricultural extension service providers in the face of climate changes.

Protecting the data of African agricultural producers: a review of national laws, compliance and perceptions

ABSTRACT With the rapid spread of digital tools that collect large amounts of data from agricultural producers across Africa, there is a growing need to strike a balance between data protection and use. To inform this debate, this article examines the level of and demand for the protection of data collected from African producers. To this end, the article presents a review of national personal data protection laws in Africa and assesses compliance of digital agricultural service providers with these laws. It also offers a first insight into perceptions on personal data protection among African agricultural producers. The analysis shows that data privacy regulations in Africa have been evolving, but several countries have yet to adopt related legislation. Existing laws generally reflect the basic elements of the 2014 African Union Convention on personal data protection, but often fall short on provisions of particular importance to digital service provision. Compliance with national data privacy laws among digital agricultural service providers is limited, highlighting enforcement challenges. Awareness of data protection issues is low among agricultural producers, as is the ability to control access to their data.

Factors Impacting Agricultural Production and the Role of Agricultural Extension Services in Kenya

Productivity in agricultural is also important for spurring economic growth in other sectors. Farmers live in remote rural areas and make up 75% of the world’s poor. In Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA), productivity in agriculture lags behind globally, and is below the required standards of achieving food security, poverty goals and food sufficiency. As an important sector in the Kenyan economy, agriculture continues to dominate other sectors despite its declining contribution to real GDP. The development in agriculture is that one which revolutionizes the industry by bringing forth profitable agriculture and environment friendly solutions. Kenya government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, have in the past tried to pass information to the farmers via agricultural extension officers. However, the quality of the information disseminated to the farmers has not been up to date, information delivery has not been good, the mode of communication also questionable owing to literacy levels of our farmers and indeed that of the extension officers, information technology has not been embraced fully making it difficult for our farmers to progress with their counterparts in other parts of the world. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the factors impacting agricultural production and the role of agricultural extension services in Kenya. This study is anchored on Diffusion of Innovations Theory. The study employed a mixed design involving a combination of both quantitative and qualitative approach. And the target population was made up of farmers, officers from the ministry of agriculture and officers from agricultural extension service providers. Data was gathered using both structured questionnaire and interview guides. The collected data was analysed with the aid of SPSS software using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed a coefficient of determination (R squared) of 0.319 implying that agricultural extension services explains 31.9 % of the variation in agricultural production in Kenya. The study also showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between agricultural extension services and agricultural production in Kenya (β=1.561, p=.003<.05). The study concludes that agricultural extension services play a significant role in improving agricultural production in Kenya because agricultural extension services offers technical advice on agriculture to farmers. It is thus recommended that agricultural extension service delivery should be boosted through timely recruitment, periodic training of agents and provision of adequate logistics to the farmers. Keywords: Agricultural extension services, agricultural factors, agricultural production, farmers in Kenya

Towards climate action at farm-level: Distinguishing complements and substitutes among climate-smart agricultural practices (CSAPs) in flood prone areas

In recent times, climate change has become a serious threat to crop production in many parts of the globe. Particularly, in Bangladesh, climate-smart agriculture practices (CSAPs) are promoted as a practical tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change in an effort to enhance productivity. Despite myriad studies on determinants of CSAPs adoption, complements and substitutes among CSAPs are seldom emphasized and recognized, thus up till now policy has not been cogently informed on how to satisfactorily promote adoption of multiple CSAPs in salinity risk hotspots. Therefore, the aim of this present study is to examine the factors that affect the likelihood and intensity of adoption of multiple CSAPs in Bangladesh with special emphasis on compliments and substitutes. To this end, survey and plots level observation data were collected from 600 farm households and 1260 plots in flood prone areas, respectively. Also, five CSAPs are under consideration – use of stress tolerant varieties (STV), intercropping with legumes (ICL), minimum tillage (MT), crop rotation with legumes (CRL) and furrow irrigated bed planting (FIBP). Multivariate and ordered Probit models were applied to achieve the objectives of the study. In the interest of effective climate action, we find two sets of complementary CSAPs (STV × ICL × MT or STV × ICL × FIBP) and substitutes (CRL with ICL and MT or FIBP with MT). Key determinants of complements are sources of information, training on CSA, extension service, and government support. Therefore, the study strongly recommends effectively coordinating the functions of multiple stakeholders such as farmers, agricultural institutions, agricultural service providers, and concerned government departments at the local level to enhance successful adoption of multiple CSAPs (compliments). This is pivotal especially against the background of the sustainable development goals on climate action as it could potentially recuperate the dynamism of agriculture in salinity risk hotspots of Bangladesh.

ADOPTION AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF UAF FERTILIZER PREDICTION MODEL UNDER IMPROVING SOIL FERTILITY PROJECT, ICARDA

It is widely recognized that by balancing the present use of N (Nitrogen) and P (Phosphorous), the yields of important crops in Pakistan can be increased from twenty five to forty five percent. University of Agriculture, Faisalabad has developed Fertilizer Prediction Models that can be used to predict the exact quantity of N and P for the desired yield of major crops on the basis of soil test values of the specific field. These models were validated and disseminated under the project titled “Improving Soil Fertility and Soil Health in Pakistan Through Demonstration and Dissemination of Best Management Practices for Farmers” from 2014-18. The particular aspect of the model investigated through the present research was disseminated by Agricultural Service Providers (ASPs) in three villages viz; 81 JB Pansera, 109 JB Jarawala and 411 GB Tandailiawala of Faisalabad district. The basic objective of research was to quantify the economic benefits of fertilizer prediction model disseminated and implemented through ASPs in the selected villages. ASPs applied doses of fertilizers to selected farmers after soil tests in accordance with UAF fertilizer model in case of wheat crop. A primary data was collected through random sampling technique from 60 wheat growers including 10 adopters and 10 non adopters from each village. The data was analyzed by applying descriptive statics in SPSS software. The survey results revealed that overall income gain from balanced use of fertilizer and higher yield of wheat crop was Rs. 4194.6 per acre. Further, the balanced use of fertilizers also helped in improving the fertility status of sampled farms. There was definitely increase in awareness and adoption intention of model among the farmers of selected villages after the project campaign. It is concluded that a continuous effort from public or private sector is required to adopt the UAF model by the farming community and reap maximum benefits from it.

Perceptual Differences of the Multidimensional Value of a Relationship with Agribusiness in South Mozambique: A Multi-group Confirmatory Factor Analysis

In developing countries, the integration of family farmers and wage earners (WEs) into petty commodity producers (PCPs) in global value chains linked to international agribusiness is evident. These forms of production were driven by colonial governments and were associated with the plantation sector. Currently, these forms of integration are encouraged by the state, development agencies, and agribusiness. This study investigated the invariance in the perceived value (PV) between WEs and PCPs about their relationship with Xinavane Sugarcane (ADX), a foreign multinational capital agribusiness in Maputo Province, Mozambique. The reduced 12-item PERVAL scale related to four first order latent constructs of PV underlying the concept was explored: functional value (FV), emotional value (EV), social value (SV), and monetary value (MV). The perceptual differences between the groups were assessed using multi-group confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA). The results indicated no statistically significant differences regarding the groups’ perceptions of MV, while the remaining perceptual differences can be partly explained by the PCPs’ characteristics. Future research should compare both groups’ PV, according to the modalities of integration, functions and the type of partnership agreement established with ADX. The study highlighted cognitive-economic judgment as a crucial factor in relational value creation in the agricultural context, and the dependence of the affective and social aspects on cognitive-utilitarian aspects of the relationship. The study also served to gauge the benefits and sacrifices perceived by the PCPs’ and WEs’ decision whether or not to continue their relationship with ADX. The PV was applied in the context of a relationship in the provision of agricultural services. The study captured the PV from a multidimensional perspective which encompassed cognitive-utilitarian and hedonic aspects in emotional terms as well as social consequences derived from the relationship, in a comparative approach of groups with distinct characteristics evaluated simultaneously.

Supply Chain Scheduling Optimization in an Agricultural Socialized Service Platform Based on the Coordination Degree

In order to create a sustainable agricultural production system and meet the multi-stage and differentiated production needs of farmers, this study proposes to build an agricultural service platform to dispatch agricultural service providers. Reasonably handling the collaborative relationship between farmers and service providers is a key issue in platform scheduling. Based on the analysis of the operation characteristics of the agricultural service platform, this study redefines the core issue of handling the collaborative relationship—the coordination degree—from the special characteristics of agricultural services, then analyzes it in depth and proposes a portrayal method. On this basis, a multi-stage and multi-objective scheduling optimization model, which integrally reflects the service utility and service combination operation efficiency, is constructed, and an improved genetic algorithm is proposed for solving it. Then, this study designs a numerical experiment which describes the multi-stage decision making of farmers, and the simulation results show that the optimization model can provide a balanced multi-objective supplier scheduling solution for them. Further, the validity and feasibility of the model and algorithm are verified through comparative tests of optimization effects and sensitive analysis. This study contributes to research on sustainable agriculture by modeling collaboration between smallholder farmers and agricultural service providers, and provides an effective decision-making tool for agricultural service platforms.

Rural households’ perception of climate change in the central and north Gondar zones, northwest Ethiopia

In the Central and North Gondar Zone, climate change is causing a challenge for smallholder farmers to improve their living standards. Rural communities face different climate change variables which negatively affect their livelihoods. Hence, this paper investigates rural households’ perception of climate change, its determinants and their indigenous mitigation strategies in response to the perceived impacts of climate change. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a review of different documents. To carry out the study, a multistage sampling procedure was employed. From each zone, study districts were selected purposively based on their economic activity and agroecological representativeness of the zone. A systematic sampling technique was employed to select 130 rural households. Primary data collected were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics and a logit regression model. The study results revealed that rural households did not similarly perceive climate change due to socioeconomic factors. Socioeconomic factors that significantly (at p≤0.05) determined rural households' perceptions of climate change were age, sex, educational status and access to extension services (at p≤0.01). The finding indicates that smallholder farmers used different indigenous mitigation strategies such as reforestation, minimizing deforestation, planting trees on their farmland and protection and tillage management practices for resolving climate change. According to the study, female-headed households participated less in agricultural training and had less access to information and restricted mobility outside the community to share information that help them to perceive climate change. Hence, equity issues should be considered for female-headed households and concerned bodies such as environmental protection experts and agricultural extension service providers should emphasize the upgrade of the farmer's capacity to mitigate climate change through indigenous knowledge for enhancing their living standard. In addition, development agents’ facilitation of indigenous knowledge sharing among farmers should be emphasized to mitigate climate change. Key words: Climate change, mitigation strategies, perception, respondents, rural

Tripartite Evolutionary Game of Agricultural Service Scale Management and Small Farmers' Interests under Government Preferential Policies.

In agricultural production with small farmers as the main body, the service scale operation is one of the ways to obtain scale operation benefits. This paper constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model of agricultural scale service providers (integrators), demand subjects (farmers), and agriculture-related government departments and analyzes the influencing factors, influencing relations, and evolutionary stable equilibrium results of each participant's strategy choice. The results show that improving rewards and punishments and strengthening supervision by agriculture-related government departments will help integrators provide high-quality services and encourage farmers to actively produce and reduce speculation; when the cost difference between high-quality service and low-quality service is large, the probability of high-quality service provided by integrators will be reduced, and the evolution result of low Pareto efficiency may appear in the system; when the speculative cost of farmers is not high, the lobbying efforts of integrators will increase the speculative behavior of farmers. Finally, MATLAB2018a is used to simulate and analyze the validity of the model results, which provides a theoretical reference for the scale operation of agricultural services.

Big Data Privacy in Smart Farming: A Review

Smart farming aims to improve farming using modern technologies and smart devices. Smart devices help farmers to collect and analyze data regarding different aspects of their business. These data are utilized by various stakeholders, including farmers, technology providers, supply chain investigators, and agricultural service providers. These data sources can be considered big data due to their volume, velocity, and variety. The wide use of data collection and communication technologies has increased concerns about the privacy of farmers and their data. Although some previous studies have reviewed the security aspects of smart farming, the privacy challenges and solutions are not sufficiently explored in the literature. In this paper, we present a holistic review of big data privacy in smart farming. The paper utilizes a data lifecycle schema and describes privacy concerns and requirements in smart farming in each of the phases of this data lifecycle. Moreover, it provides a comprehensive review of the existing solutions and the state-of-the-art technologies that can enhance data privacy in smart farming.

An Effective Mental Health Literacy Program for Farm Financial Service Providers

ABSTRACT Objectives Mental health literacy programs related to agriculture can help enhance skills among agricultural community members and service providers to assist farmers and producers who are experiencing distress. The aim of the current article is to describe an agricultural mental health literacy education-based intervention program offered to USDA Farm Service Agency farm financial service providers. The program was implemented as a self-paced, online training through USDA’s AgLearn platform to N = 500 FSA staff Methods Pre-/post-evaluations were used to measure objective and self-rated knowledge and skills. Correlations, paired-samples t-tests, ANOVA, and content analysis were used to analyze data. Results The training resulted in significant improvements in objective and self-rated knowledge. While there were no gender differences in objective knowledge, men’s self-rated knowledge and skills were significantly higher than that of women at pre-test; at post-test, there were no significant gender differences in self-rated knowledge and skills. Conclusion Evaluations of this agricultural mental health literacy program demonstrate its effectiveness for farm financial service providers. Expanding access to such trainings among agricultural service providers who interact with producers regularly can help improve agricultural communities’ skills to initiate and engage in critical conversations about mental health.

Farmers’ Demonstrate Rationality and Transitivity in Variety Choice: Empirical Evidence From two Rice Growing Niches in Coastal Kenya.

Purpose: A cross-sectional survey was designed to study farmers’ preference and choice framework for rice varieties in Kwale and Taita-Taveta counties of coastal lowland Kenya.
 Methodology: The survey used a multi-stage sampling technique; systematic selection for the study counties/niches, a purposive sampling approach for the study population (rice growers only) and a systematic random sampling for the respondents on an nth occurrence. Data was collected with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire and key informant interviews from key rice value chain actors; including farmers as producers as well as consumers and agricultural extension service providers (AESPs) and other stakeholders. A total of 137 individual respondents were interviewed using the semi-structured questionnaire while the key informant interviews engaged a total of 29 AESPs. Data analysis focused on exploring on the varieties that farmers grew and whether they had a criteria or pattern for choosing the varieties to grow and seed source.
 Findings: Results confirmed that the Kwale rice growing niche had a higher rice variety diversity (more than 12 varieties) while Taita-Taveta had only around seven (7) common varieties. Rice was more traditionally grown in Kwale with low acreage and low yields compared to Taita-Taveta. Common varieties grown were Pachanga, Supa, Kitumbo, Makonde and Kibawa in Kwale while in Taita-Taveta, Japan, Supa and Hybrid 6444 rice varieties were common (with prevalence rating of 44.8%, 25.4%, 22.4%, 20.9 and 17.9% in Kwale respectively and 55.7%, 54.3% and 18.6% in Taita-Taveta respectively). Varieties grown by farmers in Kwale had a long history of seed recycling and were characterized by low productivity (less than 6, 90-kg bags per acre) and subsistent in nature than in Taita-Taveta. The general picture for variety prevalence in both (Kwale and Taita) growing niches was that farmers mostly relied on traditional (own-preserved, farmer-to-farmer exchange or market) seed systems for the recycled rice varieties. Variety choice by farmers who are both producers and consumers demonstrated a rational and transitive behavior with land resource allocation.
 Contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study provided evidence of an urgent need for strategic interventions towards improving the production system through on-farm researcher-led demonstrations for superior rice varieties, agronomic practices as well as an input subsidy and sustainable market linkages. Formation of farmer producer groups and strategic facilitation of the groups with rice certified seed and mills are proposed as positive drivers to improving rice marketing and increased productivity.

Assessment of Digital Technology Adoption and Access Barriers Among Agricultural Service Providers and Agricultural Extension Professionals

HighlightsAgricultural service providers and Extension professionals were surveyed on technology use and barriers.Data privacy and security and hiring qualified IT staff are barriers in the industry.Surveys point to major opportunities for digital agriculture professional development and education. Abstract. As agriculture becomes an increasingly data-driven sector, it is important to understand the technology use and barriers by the service providers who work closely with producers. This is especially important as these individuals can serve as drivers for technology adoption by farmers and ranchers. Although many surveys have looked at technology adoption by producers, little data on agricultural industry service providers exists. Surveys of Extension Professionals (EP) in Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, and several categories of Agricultural Service Providers (ASP) in Wisconsin were administered in 2018 to determine satisfaction with internet service and to learn more about information and technology usage and potential barriers to its adoption within the industry. In addition, follow-up informational telephone interviews were conducted with 13 Wisconsin EP. A paper survey was administered to ASP, which had a response rate of 35% (N=462). A similar online survey was administered to EP having an estimated 23% response rate (N=223). The frequency of transmission of data, information, and recommendations was high but specialized for both groups with more frequent use in crop production versus livestock (including dairy). The most commonly-cited barriers associated with the adoption of digital technologies by ASP were related to attracting and hiring well-qualified IT employees, training for both employees and clients, and data security. While data security was a commonly cited barrier, 16% of ASP worked for companies that did not have written policies on data privacy. ASP and EP consider their clients to be adept at using text messages, images, maps, and smartphones. They do not consider their clients to be skilled in their use of digitally accessed and used financial statements, spreadsheets, or laboratory analysis reports. Additional training should be better focused on these areas for ASP and EP which would allow them to be more effective in educating producers and to better realize the value associated with more thoughtful and widespread digital technology adoption. Keywords: Agricultural data, Agricultural service provider, Extension professional, Internet access, Technology adoption, Technology barriers.

CONTRACT FARMING IN SOUTH MOZAMBIQUE: SMALL OUTGROWER FAMILY FARMERS’ PERCEPTION IN THE SUGAR VALUE CHAIN

Since the end of the twentieth Century, Mozambique has registered important foreign investments in agriculture, especially in the implantation of agribusiness. In the sugar sector, there were investments in large monoculture companies, and the first transformation supported by a subcontracting system for small family producers with positive, and negative effects in rural areas. The knowledge of perceptions that small out-grower family farmers attribute to their effective experience with these companies is relevant for the consolidation of this form of integration in the market. The study aims to assess the Perceptions of Value that small out-grower family farmers attribute to the relationship they establish with an agribusiness in the production of sugarcane in the sugar value chain. The study was carried out applying Confirmatory Factor Analysis to a reduced version of a scale of values, which relates four constructs underlying the concept of value. The results indicate that the judgment evaluated by the small out-grower family farmers is multidimensional focused on utilitarian (performance/cost), emotional and social aspects, with a greater magnitude of monetary dimension (cost). The study highlights the significance of cognitive/economic judgment as a crucial factor in the creation of relational value in farming context and of dependence of affective and social aspects on the utilitarian aspects of the relationship. In this study, the concept of Perceived Value, which determines the adequacy of customer/consumer retention/loyalty strategies in the context of consumption, has been extended to the study of a relationship in the context of the provision of agricultural services.

ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF EDO STATE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (ADP) EXTENSION SERVICES AMONG SMALL-SCALE CASSAVA FARMERS.

This study assessed the expectations of cassava tuber farmers from the agricultural extension service providers in Edo State, Nigeria. It examined the support presently given to cassava farmers by the extension service viz-a-viz the needs of the farmers. To achieve these objectives, data were collected from 196 cassava tuber producers, randomly sampled from the three agricultural zones in the State. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential (multiple regression, Friedman and Cochran tests) statistics. Cochran test (χ2 = 596.35; p<0.01) revealed that information delivery on available improved varieties (0.939), land clearing/preparation methods (0.878), cassava stem treatment (0.872), recommended planting distance/spacing (0.867) and fertilizer application methods (0.857) were significant areas in which farmers have been supported by the extension service. Friedman test results (χ2 = 135.52; p<0.05) revealed that linking farmers to input suppliers (mean rank = 9.17) and training on proper cutting of cassava stems (mean = 9.10) were among the most significant needs. Multiple regression revealed that farm size (p<0.05) was the only variable significantly correlated with the extension needs of the farmers. The major constraints facing cassava tuber producers included high cost of improved varieties (mean = 3.85) and farming inputs (mean = 3.82) as well as poor access roads for transportation of cassava tubers. Taking advantage of group formation and linkage to credit were recommended

The optimization of agricultural machinery utilization in enhancing the implementation of modern agricultural programs

The provision of agricultural machinery in the Modern Agriculture Program is to overcome labor shortages. However, the utilization of agricultural machinery aid is underutilized. This study aims to analyze the optimization of the use of agricultural machinery in enhancing the implementation of modern agricultural programs. West Sumatera, Central Java, Banten, Bali, and South Sulawesi were purposively chosen as the study areas. The study was conducted in 2017. Respondents of this research were policymakers from central to local institutions, key informants, extension agents, agricultural machinery service providers (UPJA), and farmers. The method used was descriptive explanatory and financial analysis. The results showed that the utilization of agricultural machinery in the Modern Agricultural Program was still not optimal. It was still underutilized. There were several obstacles, both from economic and social aspects. The utilization of 4-wheel tractors and rice transplanters has not been economically managed. As a result, they cannot generate funds for equipment maintenance and the development and UPJA’s sustainability. Not all types of agricultural machinery are socially suitable for farmers’ needs. There is a competition between agricultural machinery uses and workers. Moreover, not all local governments fully supports agricultural machinery uses. To optimize and succeed on the modern agriculture program implementation, agricultural extension workers with certification as UPJA Facilitators are required.