Quality Of Extension Services Research Articles

Characterization and Identification of Major Constraints and Potentials of Kiltu Sorsa Watershed, in Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country seriously affected by different natural resource degradation that included soil, vegetation, biodiversity and water degradation and climate deterioration. The study was conducted at Adola Rede District of Guji Zone, in Southern Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to document baseline information on socioeconomic aspects and to document major biophysical and socio-economic constraints and potentials of the study watershed. The survey data were collected using key informant interview, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and guided field observations. A total of 60 respondents were selected for semi-structured interviews by means of simple random sampling methods. The majority (65%) of the respondent households were practiced physical and biological soil and water conservation activities. However, about 35% of the sampled households were not practiced soil and water conservation activities due to lack of awareness, lack of materials and labor. In the study watershed five major constraints such as land and soil related constraints, production related constraints, institutional and infrastructure related constraints, livestock related constraints and socio-economic related constraints were identified. However, suitable agro-ecology, availability of labor force, youth and women associations and informal institutions were the major identified potentials in the study watershed. Therefore, by using the potentials/opportunities of the study watershed and through providing quality extension services and training on soil and water conservation practices it is possible to enhance farmers participation and technical limitations. Moreover, for sustainable watershed management of the study area different soil and water conservation structures are very significant in various land use system of the study watershed through active participation of the local communities.

Bottom-Up Approaches and Decentralized Extension Structures for Improving Access to and Quality of Extension Services and Technology Adoption: Multi-level Analysis from Malawi

Bottom-Up Approaches and Decentralized Extension Structures for Improving Access to and Quality of Extension Services and Technology Adoption: Multi-level Analysis from Malawi

Determinants of local community participation in forest fire management in the northern Iran

Forest fire is one of the environmental events that occur under the influence of human and non-human (such as lightning, volcanoes, etc.) factors. In Iran, forest fires are a recurring problem. Human activities, such as negligence by local communities or travelers, play a major role in their occurrence. Intentional and unintentional fires pose the most significant threats, leading to the destruction of vast forest areas, especially in northern Iran, in recent years. In this regard, the participation of local communities in the management of such occurrences is essential. The purpose of this study was to analyze the determinants of local community participation in forest fire management (CPFFM) in Northern Iran, focusing on Nowshahr township. The research includes seven independent variables: quality of extension services (QES), awareness of rules and regulations (ARR), social norm (SN), place attachment (PA), environmental belief (EB), pro-environmentalist attitude (PEA) and social capital (SC) and their impact on CPFFM was measured. This research is a type of descriptive-correlational and causal-relational research that was conducted with a survey. The statistical population included local communities living on the edge of the forest in Nowshahr township (N = 78,786), of which 350 people were selected as a sample using stratified random sampling with proportional assignment. The research instrument was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by subject experts and the reliability of its items was achieved with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.711 ≤ α ≤ 0.921). The results of causal analysis indicated that QES (β = 0.522), SN (β = 0.156) and ARR (β = 0.305) have the highest direct effect on CPFFM, respectively. Also, EB had the greatest non-causal effect (0.083) on CPFFM. This research, by emphasizing the variables of human ecology from the point of view of environmental psychology in the conceptualization of some key variables affecting CPFFM, can be useful for decision makers and planners of forest fire management.

Job satisfaction of local extension agents for fisheries: Insights from farm level survey in Bangladesh

The present study was conducted to assess job satisfaction of local extension agents for fisheries (from here and later in LEAFs) in Melandaha and Islampur sub-districts under Jamalpur district of Bangladesh. Data were collected by the researchers from LEAFs during September to November 2021 through face-to-face interviews by using a structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics, rank order, and coefficient of correlation were used to analyze the data. Almost all of LEAFs (97.8 percent) had low to medium job satisfaction in extension service delivery. Among fifteen job satisfaction indicators, ‘supervisor’s guidance’ was identified as the most important one. The least ranked indicator was ‘job security’. Correlation analysis showed that age, level of education, job experience, training exposure, and organizational participation of LEAFs are significantly associated with their job satisfaction. All of the LEAFs (100 percent) faced medium to high problems in the research area. The most severe of the fourteen problems was ‘farmers’ reluctance to accept new technologies,’ followed by ‘shortage of manpower’. The least important problem of LEAFs was ‘farmers are non–cooperative’. Therefore, it is highly recommended that if an advance training program for LEAFs could be organized to solve their problems, it would be great to get quality extension services and build a well-organized fisheries sector in Bangladesh which will finally help to enhance nutritional security and poverty reduction in the country.

Determinants of choice of climate change adaptation practices by smallholder pineapple farmers in the semi-deciduous forest zone of Ghana

This paper explored the extent to which the awareness of climate change affects the choice of climate change adaptation practice by smallholder pineapple farmers. This study used a cross-sectional data collected from 150 farmers in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality, Ghana. We applied the Latent Class Analysis (LCA) to identify sub-population of pineapple farmers based on their awareness levels of climate change and socioeconomic characteristics. We then used a multinomial logistic regression to examine the extent to which differences in climate change awareness influence adaptation choices. Results indicated that, smallholder pineapple farmers are well aware of climate change and perceived changes in rainfall and temperature patterns. Further, the findings revealed that smallholder pineapple farmers are implementing a host of on-farm and off-farm climate change adaptation practices including irrigation, adjusting planting time, land fragmentation, the use of agro-ecological knowledge, and seasonal migration. The LCA identified three subgroups of smallholder pineapple farmers based on their level of awareness of climate change – strong climate change awareness group (n = 111; 74%), moderate climate change awareness group (n = 18; 12%) and poor climate change awareness group (n = 21; 14%). Results showed marginal differences in the adoption rate of adaptation practices across the observed subgroups of farmers. We identified that institutional factors including the quality of climate information, quality of extension services, access to credit, education and access to extension services have a stronger effect on climate change awareness and the choice of adaptation practice compared to individual factors such as gender, marital status and farmers' age. • Smallholder pineapple farmers are aware of climate change effects. • Climate change awareness levels vary amongst smallholder farmers. •Smallholder farmers are responding to climate change threats through adaptation. •Climate change awareness levels influence the choice of adaptation strategy. •Institutional factors have a widespread effect on the choice of adaptation strategy.

BPP UTILIZATION BY FARMERS TO SUPPORT INDONESIA AS BARNS THE WORLD

One of the efforts to achieve national food security is by strengthening assistance and counseling to farmers as the main actors. One of the extension links closest to the community and located at the sub-district level is the Peratanian Extension Center (BPP). The function and role of BPP is developed to achieve the desired expectations, namely food self-sufficiency and improvement of farmer welfare. Therefore, there is a need for a special study to be able to determine the level of responsiveness, responsibility and quality of agricultural extension services carried out by the BPP in Sidenreng Rappang Regency. This reserch aims to determine the performance of agricultural extension agents in Sidenreng Rappang Regency in terms of the level of accountability of agricultural extension activities based on indicators of responsiveness, responsibility and quality of extension services. The research was conducted from July to October in Sidenreng Rappang Regency. This research used a survey method. Determination of the sample of this study was carried out purposively on extension workers at the local BPP. Data collected descriptively by cross tabulation. Data analysis used scoring parameters, proportion, maximum, minimum and average values. The results show that the agricultural instructor's Performance Score is 294 which is interpreted into a moderate category score, which means that the ability of the BPP is sufficient to be able to recognize the needs of the assisted farmers, is sufficient to develop extension programs / activities that are in accordance with the wishes / aspirations of local farmers, and sufficient in providing service to farmers.

The Technical Efficiency of Small-scale Tea Plantation in Sri Lanka

The tea smallholding sector is the leader in national tea production in Sri Lanka. However, it is believed that increasing profit is very difficult without increasing costly inputs, considering the high cost of production. This paper investigates the technical efficiency of smallholder tea farmers (STFs) in Sri Lanka by employing stochastic production frontier using a sample of 120 STFs. The results showed that the average technical efficiency of selected STFs is 78.44 per cent. This indicates that output can be further increased by 21.56 per cent without increasing the level of input. Gender and access to quality extension services were identified as the variables that have the greatest impact on technical efficiency. The results further showed the labour is the most important factor for tea production.

Influencing Factors of Maize Production in South Africa: The Case of Mpumalanga, Free State and North West Provinces

Aims: Maize is of great significance in the national food security of South Africa. Maize production levels in South Africa continue to decline, further deteriorating the situation of increased food insecurity, unemployment and increased poverty levels in the face of increasing population. This paper investigated fundamental variables influencing maize yield in the South African major maize producing regions.
 Study Design: A multi-stage stratified sampling method was employed to select maize producing farmers in the major maize producing provinces, namely Mpumalanga, Free State and North West provinces of South Africa. Furthermore, three districts were selected from which maize farmers were then selected.
 Methodology: Using linear multiple regression for a sample of 202 maize farmers, maize yield as a dependent variable was regressed against land size, fertilizer usage, labour, herbicides and seeds as independent variables. The paper employed the Cobb-Douglas production function to estimate parameters. The data obtained from the field were subjected to analysis using inferential statistics using SPSS v20.
 Results: The study showed that fertilizer, labour, and herbicides used in the production of maize in the study area were positively and statistically significant at a 5% confidence interval (P<0.05) with elasticity coefficients of 0.55, 0.47 and 0.198 respectively. The independent variables computed in the model had positive elasticity coefficients indicating a direct positive relationship between the input variables and maize output. The study also revealed that farmers in the study area were applying fewer amounts of fertilizer than the recommended rates per hectare.
 Conclusion: The study recommends that the South African government should supply inputs to maize farmers at subsidized rates to promote correct application rates and attain higher yields. The promotion of good quality extension services to foster good agricultural practices in the production of maize is also recommended.

English

The aim of the study was to determine the farm level technical efficiency and its determinants among smallholder sugarcane farmers in Malava Sub-county, Western Kenya. Primary data were collected using questionnaires from a sample of 384 farmers through systematic random sampling.  The study applied stochastic frontier analysis and Tobit regression analysis using computer software STATA. The results found that technical efficiency of sugarcane farmers ranges from almost zero to 0.9829, with mean value of 0.7069, implying that an average farmer could increase sugarcane productivity by 29.31% at the existing level of resources. Maximum likelihood estimate of technical efficiency depicted that the use of fertilizer, labour, seed-cane and farm size are positive and significant at 1% level in determining technical efficiency. Tobit regression analysis showed that education, farming experience, family size, credit access and extension services were positive and significant in contributing to technical efficiency. However, age of the farmer, farm distance from home and contract engagement was negatively influencing technical efficiency. The study recommends the Kenyan government to formulate policies that ensure provision of quality extension services, increased credit access and education among smallholder sugarcane farmers. The results also recommended the need for a review of the existing contract engagement policies among sugarcane farmers. Key words: Technical efficiency, stochastic frontier analysis, tobit, sugarcane. &nbsp

Exploring Drivers of Livelihood Diversification and Its Effect on Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in the Upper Blue Nile Basin, Ethiopia

Land degradation poses a major threat to agricultural production and food security in Ethiopia, and sustainable land management (SLM) is key in dealing with its adverse impacts. This paper examines the covariates that shape rural livelihood diversification and examines their effects on the intensity of adoption of SLM practices. Household-level data were collected in 2017 from 270 households in three drought-prone watersheds located in northwestern Ethiopia. We used the Herfindahl–Simpson diversity index to explore the extent of livelihood diversification. A stochastic dominance ordering was also employed to identify remunerative livelihood activities. A multivariate probit model was employed to estimate the probability of choosing simultaneous livelihood strategies, and an ordered probit model was estimated to examine the effect of livelihood diversification on the adoption intensity of SLM practices. In addition to mixed cropping and livestock production, the production of emerging cash crops (e.g., Acacia decurrens for charcoal, and khat) dominated the overall income generation of the majority of farmers. Stress/shock experience, extent of agricultural intensification, and agro-ecology significantly affected the probability of choosing certain livelihood strategies. Livelihood diversification at the household level was significantly associated with the dependency ratio, market distance, credit access, extension services, membership in community organizations, level of income, and livestock ownership. A greater extent of livelihood diversification had a significant negative effect on adopting a greater number of SLM practices, whereas it had a positive effect on lower SLM adoption intensity. Overall, we found evidence that having greater livelihood diversification could prompt households not to adopt more SLM practices. Livelihood initiatives that focus on increasing shock resilience, access to financial support mechanisms, improving livestock production, and providing quality extension services, while also considering agro-ecological differences, are needed. In addition, development planners should take into account the livelihood portfolios of rural households when trying to implement SLM policies and programs.

Understanding the Spatial Agglomeration of Participation in Agri-Environmental Schemes: The Case of the Tuscany Region

Agri-environmental schemes (AESs) constitute one of the main agricultural policy instruments that address environmental objectives in the Common Agricultural Policy. However, in spite of a 20-year application window and large budgetary shares allocated by EU member states, several studies demonstrate lower-than-expected environmental impacts. The reasons for poor environmental outcomes are the lack of targeting, low participation rates, spatial heterogeneity, and information asymmetry between farmers and public administrators. This study comprehensively analyses the determinants of AES adoption while highlighting patterns of the spatial agglomeration of participation in organic and integrated production. For this, we combine the results of farm-level adoption analysis with a spatial analysis of the participation rate. The results show that both micro- and meso-level characteristics strongly impact AES participation. In fact, farm and household structure, quality of extension services, and territorial conditions all significantly affect AES adoption.

English

The purpose of the study is to determine farmers’ perception on agricultural extension delivery approaches on Mbororo female livestock farmers in North-West Cameroon. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaires established to Mbororo women. Interviews guides were used to get more information on the perception of Bororo female livestock farmer on effectiveness extension services delivery. Secondary data was collected from books, journals, research projects and articles and internet search. The study made use of simple random sampling method.400 questionnaires were distributed randomly to Mbororo women in Mezam, Momo, Boyo, Donga-Mantung divisions of the North-West region of Cameroon. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social science (SPSS). Results revealed that farmers perception on participation in extension delivery services is 76.6% not effective,organisation of field days is 63.35% not effective, farm visit by extensionagents is 53.3% not effective, holding field meetings with farmers is just 30.3% effective. Generally the Mbororo female livestock farmers have a negative perception on the quality of extension services delivered to them in livestock farming.They believe that the qualities of extension services are not effective at all level of implementations. Thus extension agents should strive well to develop strategies that can improve on service delivery to female livestock farmers of North-West region Cameroon. Key words: Farmer’s perception, extension, delivery approaches, livestock farming.

Factors affecting the choice of marketing outlet selection strategies by smallholder farmers in Swaziland

This paper explores smallholder vegetable farmers’ marketing channel selection decisions using data collected from a sample of 140 farmers from Manzini and Hhohho regions of Swaziland. Multivariate probit analysis was applied to examine the determinants of marketing channels participation. The results show that the marketing outlets are substitutes, suggesting that farmers select one over the other. The selection decision is influenced by risk attitude, assets ownership, institutional variables, transaction cost and market attributes. Therefore, it is important that policymakers and other stakeholders invest in quality extension services, programmes to improve marketing information and infrastructure development to enhance smallholder market participation.

Systematic review of the effects of agricultural interventions on food security in northern Ghana.

BackgroundFood insecurity and poverty rates in Ghana are highest in the districts from latitude 8° N upwards. These have motivated several interventions aimed at addressing the food insecurity via promoting agricultural growth. An assessment of the overall impact of these interventions on food security is necessary to guide policy design and future interventions.Methods and findingsA systematic review was used to assess the cumulative evidence of the effect of development interventions, implemented from 2006 to 2016 on food security, especially in Northern Ghana. Information were retrieved from over 20 Government and non-Governmental organisations through online search and actual visits. The number of studies included in systematic review was 22. The study showed that a large number of interventions have been implemented in Northern Ghana over the study period. Access to quality extension services, training and capacity building was a major intervention strategy. About 82% of studies considered increasing production but only 14% of the studies reported on changes in yield. About 42% of the included studies used market access as a strategy but about 44% reported increase in incomes of beneficiaries (with only seven studies providing numerical evidence for this claim). The ranking of frequency of intervention strategies was in the order extension and capacity building > production > postharvest value addition > water and irrigation facilities > storage facilities > input supply. A substantial number of the studies had no counterfactuals, weakening confidence in attributing impacts on food security for even the beneficiaries.ConclusionsIt is concluded that evidence for impacts of the interventions on food security was weak, or largely assumed. A logical recommendation is the need for development partners to synchronise their measurement and indicators of food security outcomes. It is also recommended that some food security indicators are explicitly incorporated into intervention design while bearing in mind the potential need for counterfactuals.

English

Clear agricultural policies and strategies are very crucial for influencing the performance of agricultural extension and advisory services (AEAS). Malawi has implemented its agricultural extension policy titled “agricultural extension in the new millennium: towards pluralistic and demand driven services in Malawi” for a period of seventeen years. The policy specified seven guiding principles which include provision of demand-driven extension services, ensuring accountability, promoting user participation in extension financing, ensuring resource sustainability, ensuring equal access to extension and advisory services, promotion of pluralism and provision of decentralised but well-coordinated AEAS. The study assessed the effectiveness of four of the seven principles in ensuring user access to quality AEAS. The study used a mixed methods approach which included action research, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and review of various documents. The results show that the four guiding principles which included pluralism, demand-driven services, decentralised coordination and user participation in extension financing had some potential for a positive influence on increasing access to quality AEAS. Pluralism helped in increasing number of service providers thereby increasing farmer access but did not influence the quality of extension. Most of the farmers are not demanding for services and most districts do not have functional District Agriculture Extension Services System (DAESS) structures. Most service providers are not using DAESS structures and this is resulting in poor coordination of services. Malawi should put more efforts in implementing the policy if its fruits are to be fully realised. Particularly, institutionalization of DAESS structures and ensuring their effective operationalization will help to ensure that the benefits of the principles of demand driven services and decentralised coordination are realized. The country also needs to train and engage more extension workers in order to increase farmer access to quality extension services. Key words:  Agricultural extension policy, accountability, coordination, decentralised extension, demand-driven services, extension financing, pluralism.

Adoption and Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Smallholder Farmers’ Crop Productivity and Income in Luapula Province, Zambia

Despite efforts to systemically disseminate Conservation Agriculture (CA) technology in Luapula Province of Zambia, the adoption rate remains limited. Furthermore, no empirical evidence has been presented on the factors influencing adoption of the technology or the extent to which farmers’ livelihood has been influenced due to uptake of the technology. This study therefore examined the adoption and impact of CA on crop productivity and income on farming households in the Province. Using the 2012 Rural Agricultural Livelihood Survey (RALS) data, the study employed a probit regression model to identify factors influencing adoption of CA among the smallholder farmers in the Province. The probit regression analysis showed that advice on CA and access to wetlands/dambos by households increased the probability to adopt CA. The study also adopted the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) approach to help match the adopters and non-adopters based on observable covariates in order to assess technology impact by providing consistent estimates of the Average Treatment Effect on the Treated (ATT). The results showed a small but insignificant positive impact of CA on crop productivity and income. This suggests that adoption of CA has the potential to generate an improvement in farming households’ livelihood in Luapula Province, Zambia. Therefore, adoption of CA in Luapula Province should be explicitly encouraged. This can be further enhanced by increased access to quality extension services that incorporates promotion of CA practices among the smallholder farming households in the area.

Analisis Kepuasan Petani Terhadap Pelayanan Penyuluhdi Badan Pelaksana Penyuluhan Dan Ketahanan Pangan Kabupaten Magelang Tahun 2014

The research was conducted in Magelang Regency which aimed to determine the level of satisfaction of farmers to services of Civil Servant extension workers and Tenaga Harian Lepas-Tenaga Bantu Penyuluh Pertanian (THL-TBPP) in Badan Pelaksana Penyuluhan Dan Ketahanan Pangan (BPPKP) of Magelang Regency.Type of the research is quantitative descriptive analytical approach by using the Servqual method and followed IPA (Importance Performance Analysis) approach. Sampling of villages were randomly selected with purposif random sampling method, sample of farmers were taken by simple random sampling method. The total samples of villages were 50 and total samples of farmers were 200 persons. The results of the research showed that the services of Civil Servants extension workers in BPPKP of Magelang Regency on all dimensions of quality of extension services by farmers has not been satisfactorily assessed . Dimensions that need to be improved as the main priority were Reliability Dimension attributes that were related with mentoring and consultancy marketing of agricultural products and new technological innovations . In the service of THL-TBPP , all dimensions of quality of extension services by farmers has not been satisfactorily assessed. Dimensions that need to be improved as the main priority were Reliability Dimension attributes that were related with mentoring and consultancy marketing of agricultural products and the innovation of new technologies and Assurance Dimension attributes that primarily related to the settlement of the problems of farmers in their farm .

Cotton production under risk: a simultaneous adoption of risk coping tools

Agricultural production explicitly involves dealing with multiple risks, often simultaneously, and applying risk management strategies contemporaneously. However, farmers’ behavior of concurrent adoption of multiple risk management tools was ignored in previous studies and formed the rationale for this research. This study was designed to assess the effect of socioeconomic factors, farmers’ risk perceptions, the production management technologies, and access to information and credit on the adoption of price, climate, biological, and financial risk management strategies. The potential for simultaneous adoption of these strategies was also hypothesized and evaluated. Allowing for prospective correlation between the risk management strategies, a multivariate probit model was used on 302 randomly selected cotton farmers from Punjab province of Pakistan using multistage random sampling. The research findings established the simultaneous adoption of the four risk management strategies and that the adoption of one strategy encourages the farmer to adopt other strategy(ies). Significant factors in the adoption of various risk management strategies were found to be education, farming experience, land ownership, farmers’ risk perceptions, the production management technologies, information access and credit access. The improvements in information access through quality extension services from the government and provision of alternative risk management options, including Crop Loan Insurance Scheme, are crucial to assist farmers in managing risks at farm level.

Kualitas Pelayanan Penyuluhan Pertanian dan Kepuasan Petani dalam Pengembangan Usahatani (Kasus di Desa Sukadamai Kecamatan Dramaga Kabupaten Bogor)

<p>Agricultural extension has significance in changing the behavior of farmers into a better, but the it will be able to realize the goal of agricultural extension if done well and qualified. This study aims to assess the quality of agricultural extension in Sukadamai Village and its relationship with satisfaction and capacity of farmers. The study was designed as a research survey with 38 respondents taking with simple random sampling from 50 farmers in the Sukadamai. Data analysis was conducted by descriptive statistics to describe the distribution of respondents in each measured variable, whereas inferential statistics are used to see the relationship between the variables, in this case used Spearman Rank Correlation analysis. The results showed that formal education and the length of farming relate to assessment of farmers to agricultural extension methods; farm land area associated with the assessment of farmers to agricultural extension agent appearance; the intensity of the visiting agricultural extension agent, agricultural extension materials and methods associated with assessment of the accuracy of agricultural extension; accuracy of extension and methods related to the ability of farmers to identify potential farms, while farmers' personal characteristics not related to the capacity of farmers.</p><p>Keywords: Quality of extension services, farmer satisfaction, the capacity of farmers, farm development</p>

Crop Farmers' Willingness to Pay for Agricultural Extension Services in Bangladesh: Cases of Selected Villages in Two Important Agro-ecological Zones

Purpose: Globally, many extension professionals and policy-makers are advocating fee based services, in addressing the fund shortage and sustainable provision of agricultural advisory services. Hence, the article attempts to expose the farmers' willingness to pay (WTP) as agricultural extension in Bangladesh is experiencing chronic fund crisis.Methodology: This study used contingent valuation method (CVM) for investigating farmers' WTP. Logit and Tobit model was employed to assess the determinants of WTP and amount willing to pay (AWTP) respectively. Besides, different qualitative methods were employed to have a deeper understanding of the research problems.Findings: WTP was conditioned by providing quality extension services at farm and/or home of the farmers. The study also focused on farmers preferred mode of payment, criteria influencing payment decisions and the type of services for which they are willing to pay. Paid model can contribute to quality extension services, if started with a market oriented commodity based approach accompanied by adequate crop insurance support.Practical implications: The study considered international experiences and national crisis in delivering extension services that provoke actions towards changing the extension policy of Bangladesh. The findings also prompt the factors that influence the paid extension service delivery for the crop farmers of Bangladesh.Originality: Although, many studies have been conducted on privatisation of agricultural extension around the globe, we are not aware of any single study on crop farmers' willingness to pay for the extension services in Bangladesh.