Pembelajaran Masa Pandemi pada Anak Masyarakat Petani Pedalaman di Aceh Selatan

This study aims to determine the community's response to the pandemic and learning practices during the pandemic for the children of rural farmers in South Aceh. This study uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive model. Data obtained from observations, interviews, and relevant literature studies, then analyzed the data, researchers will use interactive analysis techniques. The results of this study indicate that 1) The public's perception of risk for a pandemic is low, but the community continues to respond well to this pandemic, namely complying with health protocols by using masks when going out to public places. 2) Learning activities for children from rural farming communities in Kluet Tengah continued as usual. Like other schools that adhere to the education bureaucracy, schools in rural areas also implement health protocols and shorten teaching and learning time in class, even though the community in the school environment considers pandemics to be a natural reality.AbstrakPenelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui respons masyarakat terhadap pandemi dan praktik pembelajaran masa pandemi pada anak petani pedalaman Aceh Selatan. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan model deskriptif. Data diperoleh dari hasil observasi, wawancara, dan studi literatur yang relevan, kemudian dianalisis data, peneliti akan menggunakan teknik analisis interaktif. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa 1) Persepsi risiko masyarakat terhadap pandemi tergolong rendah, namun masyarakat tetap merespons pandemi ini dengan baik yaitu mematuhi protokol kesehatan dengan menggunakan masker ketika keluar menuju ke tempat-tempat umum. 2) Kegiatan pembelajaran anak-anak masyarakat petani pedalaman yang ada di Kluet Tengah berlangsung seperti biasa. Sebagaimana sekolah lainnya yang patuh pada birokrasi pendidikan, maka sekolah di pedalaman juga menerapkan protokol kesehatan dan mempersingkat waktu belajar mengajar di dalam kelas, meskipun masyarakat dilingkungan sekolah tersebut menganggap pandemi sebagai realitas yang biasa.

Impact of Agriculture Radio Program among Rural Farmers: A Case Study of Nuwakot District of Nepal

The study has explored the impact of agriculture radio programs among rural farmers to increase their productivity and quality of life in rural area. It represents the positive effects of radio program on farmers who use to listen agriculture radio program regularly. This qualitative study was carried out by basic observation, focus group discussion, and in-depth interview as data collection tools. The study revealed that agriculture radio program had changed the knowledge, attitudes and practise of the farmers to increase productions. Agriculture radio programs were associated with various factual and fruitful activities, such as planting hybrid rice, off-season vegetables, using modern technique of farming, goat farming, poultry farming etc through agriculture radio programs. Enough resources, technical knowhow and incentives are crucial for the enhancement of the standards of life of farmers as well as their productivity.

Climate Change Impacts And Adaptation Barriers Among Smallholder Cassava Farmer

Climate variability/change has varied impacts on crop yields in many Sub-Saharan African countries. Enhancing the adaptive capacity of rural farmers is a major challenge as climate change becomes threatened to agricultural activities in the region. In this study, the impacts of climate change on cassava crops were examined, and farmers’ perceptions of climate, change and their experienced adaptation methods were assessed. Historical climate data and social datasets were used; the adaptation option and barriers to the use of adaptation methods were obtained through questionnaires, semistructured interviews and focus group discussions. Correlation statistics and multiple regressions were utilized to show the impacts of climate on the yield of cassava. The results showed a high variation in climatic variables together with an obvious anomaly index with severity. Minimum and maximum temperatures correlated strongly and positively with the yield of cassava, with 0.86, 0.82 and 0.87, respectively, which were significant at p>0.05. The results of multiple regression showed that climate parameters accounted for 75% of the changes in yield. The results also showed a very strong relationship between crops and rainfall in the early growing season at the p<0.05 level of significance. The majority of the farmers perceived that lack of capital and financial, physical and human capital accounted for 70% of barriers to the implementation of climate change adaptation methods. The key findings here are that the cropping system has been impacted by climate change and that the adaptive capacity of rural farmers in the study area is generally low. The study concludes that although climate change is obvious, there is generally a need to enhance the adaptation options available to farmers in the region.

Proposal for a Crop Protection Information System for Rural Farmers in Tanzania

Crop protection information, such as how to control emergent and outbreak crop diseases and pests, as well as the latest research, regulations, and quality control measures for pesticides and fertilizers, is important to farmers. Rural smallholder farmers in Tanzania have traditionally relied on government agricultural officers who visit them in their villages to provide this crop protection information. However, these officers are few and cannot reach all the farmers on time. This means that farmers fail to make critical farming decisions on time, which can lead to low crop productivity. In this study, we aim to provide farmers with reliable and instant crop protection information by developing a system based on the Short Message Service (SMS) and the Web. This system automatically replies to farmers’ requests for the latest crop protection information in the Swahili language through SMS on a mobile phone or a Web system. The findings reveal that our proposed system can provide farmers with crop protection information at lower cost (500 times cheaper) than the existing Tigo Kilimo system. Furthermore, our proposed system’s deep learning model is effective in understanding and processing Swahili natural language SMS queries for crop protection information with an accuracy of 96.43%. This crop protection information will help farmers make better critical farming decisions on time and improve crop productivity.

Conceptualizing Humane Buying and Its Role in Reducing Rural Farmers’ Vulnerability in a Post-Pandemic Era

While several studies have examined the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on smallholder rural farmers and possible efforts to scale up their livelihood and food security, the role of consumers&rsquo; buying orientation in addressing farmers&rsquo; vulnerability in the post-pandemic era has not been explored. The paper, therefore, aims to propose and conceptualize humane buying orientation, and further explore its role in attenuating smallholder rural farmers&rsquo; vulnerability in the new normal. The qualitative design approach has been employed in two different studies. Collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 and following the interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings validate humane buying as an altruistic orientation that will contribute to lessening the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers in the post-pandemic era. It also shows that an enlarged-stakeholders&rsquo; (government, international agencies, corporate bodies, institutions, privileged individuals/consumers, religious organizations, etc.) effort that is rooted in morality and empathy, is required to successfully tackle the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. The study is the first to propose, conceptualize and validate humane buying as a post-Covid-19 orientation that is capable of attenuating the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers which has been worsened by the pandemic. The paper contributes to the understanding of emerging strategic actions required for the attainment of the United Nation&rsquo;s sustainable development goals - ending poverty and hunger by 2030, and how consumers can play a key role.

Women’s Tears or Coffee Blight?

The transformations of the coffee sector have posed major challenges to rural farmers who have lost an important source of income. However, the way in which such shocks are experienced by families hinges on the gender relations governing families’ production and sale of coffee. In this article, it is argued that in Meru, Tanzania, which once had a strong coffee economy, the production of coffee depended on the subjugation of women by men. The collapse of coffee has created new opportunities for women. They do not mourn its demise, as one might expect from a merely financial perspective. At the same time, women’s new opportunities for income earning and business are also contested by men. The changes in this part of Tanzania in response to recent transformations can only be understood through the gender dynamics, and the contests, they fuel.

Food Security and Coping Strategies of Rural Household Livelihoods to Climate Change in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Although governments across the globe have pledged resources and efforts to minimise the factors contributing to climate change, it is a concern that climate change continues to exert significant hardship on many rural communities of which South Africa is no exception. The Eastern Cape Province in South Africa is one of the driest provinces with prolonged water scarcity challenges. The purpose of this study is to investigate coping strategies adopted by the rural poor to build resilience against food insecurity. Primary data was collected from a total of 385 respondents in three rural communities using semi-structured questionnaires and interview. The findings suggest that farmers have been proactive in responding to climate change and food security. The study revealed that farmers are engaged in different coping strategies to ensure that there is enough food for the household. Although some of the coping strategies might assist, others would have severe consequences on the health of the population, especially children. Based on the findings, it is recommended that there should be regular engagement by the local municipality, the community and rural farmers on climate change events. The focus should be on the management of drought, heatwaves, flood, and soil erosion. The government within the local municipality should also focus on building a dam for rural farmers. The dam will serve as a reservoir of water for irrigation during drought.