scholarly journals Agricultural Extension Approaches and Climate Change Communication Within the Ndop Rice Sector, North West Region, Cameroon

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-141
Author(s):  
Moye Eric Kongnso ◽  
Nsahlai Loveline Kongla ◽  
Kiming Ignatius Ngala

Climate change communication is a pre-requisite for proper adaptation. This article seeks to examine the agricultural extension approaches used in the Ndop rice sector within the context of climate variability and change. Using a mixed research approach, questionnaires were administered to 216 purposively sampled rice farmers, interviews conducted with 16 extension agents and three focus group discussions were organized. Results revealed that extension workers have been using farm demonstrations, capacity building of farmers through training and participatory approaches. However, these approaches have proven to be limited and inefficient. Challenges in climate change communication are attributed to factors such as; low ratio of extension workers to rice farmers, inadequate communication in the mass media (7.14%), no access to internet (4.17%), low competencies of extension staffs (68.75%) and limited access to weather elements. Given that climate change communication is complex and requires a mastery of the climatic systems, the extension services need to continuously upgrade capacities of their staffs and strengthen the link between research institutions, extension workers and farmers.

Author(s):  
Linda S. Prokopy ◽  
Wendy-Lin Bartels ◽  
Gary Burniske ◽  
Rebecca Power

Agricultural extension has evolved over the last 200 years from a system of top-down dissemination of information from experts to farmers to a more complex system, in which a diversity of knowledge producers and farmers work together to co-produce information. Following a detailed history of the evolution of extension in the United States, this article describes an example from the southeastern United States that illustrates how innovative institutional arrangements enable land-grant universities to actively engage farmers and extension agents as key partners in the knowledge generation process. A second U.S. example shows that private retailers are more influential than extension in influencing large-scale farmers’ farm management decisions in the midwestern United States. However, these private retailers trust extension as a source of climate change information and thus partnerships are important for extension. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have been an important source of extension services for smallholder farmers across the world, and examples from the NGO CARE indicate that a participatory and facilitative approach works well for climate change communication. Collectively, these examples emphasize that the role of agricultural extension in climate change communication is essential in the context of both developed and developing countries and with both smallholder farmers and large-scale farmers. These case studies illustrate the effectiveness of a co-production approach, the importance of partners and donors, and the changing landscape of agricultural extension delivery.


Author(s):  
Edson C. Tandoc ◽  
Nicholas Eng

While initial research on climate change communication focused on traditional media, such as news coverage of climate change and pro-environmental campaigns, scholars are increasingly focusing on the role of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Sina Weibo. Social media platforms provide a space for three important domains of climate change communication: information, discussion, and mobilization. First, social media platforms have been used by scientists, activists, journalists, and ordinary people to share and receive reports about climate change. Policymakers and academics also use social media for climate change research. Second, social media platforms provide users with a space to discuss climate change issues. Scientists and journalists use social media to interact with the public, who also use social media to criticize policies, as well as media coverage. Finally, social media platforms have been used to coordinate rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of climate change–related disasters, as well as to organize movements and campaigns about climate change. However, most research about climate change communication in social media spaces are based on quantitative analysis of tweets from Western countries. While this body of work has been illuminating, our understanding of social media’s increasingly important role in climate change communication will benefit from a more holistic research approach that explores social media use in climate change communication across a variety of platforms, cultures, and media systems.


Author(s):  
Stuart Capstick ◽  
Sarah Hemstock ◽  
Ruci Senikula

Purpose This study aims to investigate the role of the visual arts for communicating climate change in the context of the Pacific islands, through the perspectives of artists and climate change practitioners. Design/methodology/approach As part of an “Eco Arts” project carried out in Fiji, semi-structured research interviews were undertaken with artists and climate change practitioners. Findings Participants’ motivations to produce art reflected their personal concerns about, and experiences of, climate change. There was an intention to use art-based approaches to raise awareness and promote action on climate change. The artwork produced drew on metaphors and storytelling to convey future climate impacts and aspects of climate change relevant to Fijian and Pacific communities. Research limitations/implications The study reports the perspectives of participants and discusses the potential uses of arts communication. Conclusions cannot be drawn from the findings regarding the effectiveness of specific artwork or of arts communication as a general approach. Practical implications The research offers suggestions for the inclusion of creative approaches to climate change communication within education and vocational training. A consideration of the perspectives of artist–practitioners has implications for the design and conduct of climate change communication. Social implications The involvement of artist–practitioners in the communication of climate change offers the potential for novel discussions and interpretations of climate change with individuals and within communities, which complement more formal or scientific communication. Originality/value The present study identifies the motivations and objectives of artist–practitioners involved in climate change communication. The authors highlight the role of personal experience and their use of artistic concepts and creative considerations pertinent to the geography and culture of the Pacific region.


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