Role of Psychological Attributes of DAESI Dealers in Knowledge and Skill Development

Psychological attributes are the internal human characteristics which reflect a great impact over the trainees of any programmme. These attributes are distinct for each and everyone. National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE) had launched a individual financed One-year Diploma in Agricultural Extension Services for Input Dealers (DAESI) Programme during the year 2003 for the input dealers in order to make input dealer competent enough in terms of knowledge and skill. In Chhattisgarh, under the flagship of Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidhayalaya Raipur, Directorate of Extension Services had initiated a yearly Diploma course which was started in the year 2017-18. This study is focused to access the role of Psychological Attributes of DAESI dealers in knowledge and skill development. a random sample of 100 participants were selected out of 154 participants. The data was collected through a well prepared Questionnaire & need based online data methods and ex-post facto research design was used. The study reveals that majority of respondents were moderately benefited from DAESI programme 2019-20 in terms of increase in knowledge and gain in skills. Correlation and path analysis between various psychological attributes and increase in knowledge & gain in skill reveals that three attributes namely, innovativeness, risk bearing ability and self-confidence is considered the most important and determining attribute for increase in knowledge and skill level of DAESI dealers

Effective Extension Sustainability in the face of COVID-19 Pandemic in Smallholder Agricultural Markets

The effects of COVID-19 have tested and crushed the earlier achievement in sustaining the agricultural and extension delivery system globally. COVID-19 has pressed a reset panel on the extension services more especially among the smallholder farmers who are already underprivileged. Specifically, this review paper aims to analyse studies on the sustainability of agricultural extension delivery systems in face of the COVID-19 crisis. The various theories and factors advanced in discussing sustainable agricultural extension delivery systems, and how they contribute to improved production and productivity to end poverty have been addressed. The COVID-19 mitigation strategies and their effect on agricultural extension sustainability have been laid bare. No single sustainability theory can explain how COVID-19 has disrupted the extension delivery systems. The service providers and farmers have had their effects differently, and all players have followed mitigation to the best of their knowledge. Extension delivery has undergone numerous modifications over the years to better meet the demands of farmers and the changing nature of the markets in which they operate. In order to provide effective service delivery and outcomes to farmers, collective involvement of various stakeholders is necessary since no single player can achieve effective extension sustainability alone due to the diverse nature of the challenges, which are mainly influenced by factors such as geographical location, poverty, and social status among others. Therefore, appropriate approaches should be selected based on the needs of farmers and the market dynamics of a specific economic orientation in a given area. We conclude that effective and sustainable extension delivery systems require many combined theories, support functions, formal and informal rules, and regulations involving all extension-based stakeholders. Keywords: Sustainability, COVID-19, smallholder farmers, agricultural market systems, extension services

EVALUATING USE OF ICTS IN ACCESSING E-EXTENSIONSERVICES AMONG SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Smallholder farmers in Kenya are faced with low agricultural productivity which has been attributed toa number of factors among them being lack of access to agricultural information. This has been further exacerbated by shrinking number of public extension staff and underfunding of the extension system in the country. ICTs can play a crucial role in bridging this gap. This study determined ICTs accessed, and the extent of use of the ICTs to access e-Extension services among smallholder farmers in Nakuru county, Kenya. Data was collected from randomly selected sample of 130 smallholder farmers in a descriptive survey, using structured questionnaires and focus group discussions. Over 70 percent of the respondents had access to mobile phones, radio and TV while only 27.7 percent had access to the internet. The respondents that had access to YouTube, twitter and computers however, were less than 20 percent. The findings of the study revealed that mobile phones, radio and TV were the most accessed and utilized ICT tools in accessing e-Extension services among smallholder farmers.Social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook were on average used by the farmers to access e-Extension services while computers and twitter were the least used.The findings further revealed that e-Extension services that were most sought for by the farmers included production, market, pest and disease information.The major constraints in the use of ICTs tools in accessing e-Extension services were reported to include lack of ICTs such as computers and the internet, lack of awareness of availability of e-Extension services, lack of relevant information and lack of infrastructure such as electricity. The study concludes that accessible ICTs could be used to supplement other extension methods. There is need for improving access to ICTs particularly the internet and computers and creating awareness on use of platforms such as YouTube, Twitter and Farmer Call Centres in accessing agricultultural information among farmers.

Upward and downward accountability in local government: the decentralisation of agricultural extension services in Tanzania

A key assumption behind decentralisation in developing countries is that it enhances the accountability of local government and results in policies that reflect the preferences of the local community. However, previous research shows that local politicians and administrators in many developing countries to a large extent behave as if they were primarily accountable to central government, not local communities. The literature suggests various explanatory factors but does not provide insight into their relative weight and into how different factors interact. This paper combines comparative case-study research with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with local government politicians and officials involved in the delivery of agricultural extension services in Tanzania. It shows that limited administrative and political decentralisation and centralistic human resources management restrict downward accountability to the community. Downward accountability is also constrained by the social rules that local politicians and administrators observe. For downward accountability to materialise, formal systems of public administration need to introduce incentives to that effect.

Analysis on Resource Use Efficiency of Smallholder's Rice Production Farmers in Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria: Probit Model Approach

This study examined the resource-use efficiency of smallholder rice production farmers in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. The problem of resource use among small-scale rice production farmers is preponderance in the country. Hence, the study investigated the drivers of the problem in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to determine the factors influencing the resource-use efficiency of the respondents. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total sample size of one hundred and seventy-five (175) rice farmers in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Seven estimators such as age, household size, farming experience, educational level, extension services, access to credit, and off-farm income in the Probit model were found statistically significant. Results show that the probability of resource use efficiency of inputs used by the farmers increases with age, farm size, household size, educational level, extension services, experiences in farming, access to credits, but decreases where they have off-farm income. Mc Fadden Pseudo-R2 gives 0.6772, and the Probit model explains a significant proportion of the variations in smallholder farmers' resource use. The study concluded that the socio-economic variables in the model play an important role in influencing resource use efficiency. The study recommends that government agencies and donors should provide simplified, accessible and obtainable credits and grants to existing and prospective rice farmers in order to sustain the current giant stride in rice production in the country.

Mobile phone-assisted agricultural extension services: User competency and usage frequency in eastern Ghana

Adoption studies have mainly focused on econometric and quantitative modelling that usually assume smallholder farmers competently adopt agricultural technologies. This study provides novel insights on user competency and frequency of usage of mobile telephony for agricultural extension services among smallholder farmers and agricultural extension agents (AEAs) and key factors that impede the adoption process. The study examined users’ competencies and mobile phone usage frequency for access and delivery of agricultural extension services in Eastern Ghana. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 95 AEAs and 330 smallholder farmers in five districts of the Eastern region of Ghana and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and regression analyses were performed to analyse the data. Results showed substantial differences between AEAs and smallholder farmers’ competency in the use of mobile phones for agricultural extension services. Socio-demographic characteristics of smallholder farmers and AEAs correlated with usage frequency of mobile phones for access to extension services and delivery. Educational level, amount of weekly expenditure of money on mobile phone use, mobile phone network quality, income level, and age of both AEAs and smallholder farmers had positive and significant correlations with frequency of usage of mobile phones. User competency differentially impacts the frequency of mobile phone use in agricultural extension services between AEAs and smallholders. High call tariffs and access to recharge cards are major challenges in using mobile phones for agricultural extension in the study areas. The study shows components of the adoption theory of compatibility, and complexity where an innovation fits within the socio-cultural framework and perceived difficulty of use. Thus, the frequent use of voice calls is indicative of early stages of the diffusion process and may diversify into other applications in the future. Farmer-based organisations should be resourced to support training of farmers to use mobile phones to improve access to agricultural information dissemination. Integrating voice-based agricultural information services (IVRs) into the current SMS-based agricultural extension services in Ghana could potentially boost extension service delivery to smallholder farmers in the Eastern region and across the country. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture may partner with key stakeholders and mobile service providers to offer hands-on capacity building to smallholder farmers and AEAs in video calling/conferencing, multimedia service, and social media to enhance their competencies for improved agricultural extension services.

PERAN PENYULUH BAGI PETERNAK DALAM USAHA PETERNAKAN KERBAU DI KECAMATAN MOA KABUPATEN MALUKU BARAT DAYA

This study aims to examine the role of extension workers for breeders in buffalo farming in Moa District, Southwest Maluku Regency. The method used in this research is survey method, the sample is determined by purposive sampling., The form of qualitative descriptive analysis with the first stage is checking the data, in this activity it is carried out after conducting an interview (filling out a list of questions). Based on the results of the research, the performance of agricultural extension services at the Moa Subdistrict BPP in developing buffalo farming in the research village is running well but not yet optimal. This is because the quantity of extension workers is still small and the quality of the timeliness of extension workers in completing the work is not good because the amount of work to be done is not balanced with the quantity of extension workers. In addition, there is still a lack of infrastructure for extension workers such as the posluhdes (Village Extension Officer).

Participatory Development of Demand-Driven Curriculum for Career-Ready E-Extension Services in Nigeria

This paper described and contextualized participatory development of demand-driven curriculum for career-ready e-extension services in Nigeria as introduced by the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education. The stages of participatory development were participatory need assessment, participatory stakeholders’ workshop and validation among 124 stakeholders selected as key informants in relation to agricultural extension training, delivery, end users and policy makers. The stakeholders were grouped as follows: community leaders and policy makers; extension agencies / organisations / institutions / employers; farmers; input suppliers / marketers / agro-based traders / other value actors; and potential candidate groups. Stakeholder meetings were held separately with different groups three times, and then a combined meeting took place. The aggregated major decisions/consensus were subjected to content analysis using ATLAS.ti. The validation process included reading of each agreed decision to all participants, then participants indicated their agreement or otherwise, which led to either rejection or acceptance of the decision. This paper concludes that participatory curriculum development has enhanced the stakeholders to identify areas of demand-driven training in response to community needs. The stakeholders preferred more online than face-to-face training. The major perceived advantages of e-extension were reduced risk, time and cost effectiveness while infrastructural and human challenges were the perceived challenges that could possibly hinder the smooth running of e extension.

Adoption Drivers of Improved Open-Pollinated (OPVs) Maize Varieties by Smallholder Farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

This study assesses the determinants of adoption drivers of improved open-pollinated (OPVs) maize varieties by smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Cross-sectional data of multi-stage random sampling was used to randomly select 150 smallholder farmers in the province. Data collection was conducted through a well-structured questionnaire administered to 150 smallholder farmers. Descriptive statistics and a logistic regression model were used for the analyses. The inferential results reveal that the majority of farmers in the study area were females (70%) with an average age of 45 years and had six people in the households. Smallholder maize farmers spent an average of 10 years in school. The results show that smallholder maize farmers had a farm size of 3 ha and a household income of R 3565.00, which contributes highly to household and farm operations. Farmers had access to extension services and were members of farm organizations. The results show that hybrid is the most used maize variety rather than OPVs. The main reason, among other things, for the poor use and adoption of OPVs is the lack of knowledge about the seeds. The results drawn from the estimations show that socio-economic and institutional factors influenced the adoption of OPVs by farmers in the study area. Therefore, the study recommends strengthening the existing extension services to highlight the benefits of OPVs through training and farmers’ information days.