WorldWideScience

Sample records for agricultural extension services

  1. Agricultural Extension: Farm Extension Services in Australia, Britain and the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Donald B.

    By analyzing the scope and structure of agricultural extension services in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States, this work attempts to set guidelines for measuring progress and guiding extension efforts. Extension training, agricultural policy, and activities of national, international, state, and provincial bodies are examined. The…

  2. (ICTs) in Nigeria's agricultural extension service

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria's Agricultural Extension Service has had a long and checkered history of ... and Visit (T&V) System, to reach its diverse clients with their various needs. ... stakeholders, costs, and the country's poor ICT infrastructural development.

  3. Effect of Privatisation of Agricultural Extension Services on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of ... services of Fadama III project on farmers' productivity in Oyo state, ... Production of poultry meat (r = 0.389, p<0.05) and eggs ... extension staff in non-extension duties; low private sector participation; weak ... Privatization is to enhance efficiency.

  4. Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Current status of agricultural extension services for market oriented agricultural development in Ethiopia: Results from a household baseline ... Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. ... http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v10i3.1.

  5. Private sector participation in agricultural extension service in nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The issue of who is to undertake and sustain an efficient agricultural extension service delivery between the public and private sectors in sub-saharan Africa has continued to feature prominently among the extension stakeholders and professionals. This has become pertinent, especially in recent times where government's ...

  6. Towards Redesigning the Agricultural extension service in South ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The public extension service in the Eastern Cape Province is in vital need of revitalization if it is to transform the unproductive smallholder-agriculture sector into a more commercially-orientated sector. The research used a Logical Framework Analysis (LFA) enquiry to determine the problems smallholder farmers face as well ...

  7. Gender Differences in Access to Extension Services and Agricultural Productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ragasa, Catherine; Berhane, Guush; Tadesse, Fanaye; Taffesse, Alemayehu Seyoum

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity. Approach: It looks at the case of Ethiopia, where substantial investments in the extension system have been…

  8. Journal of Agricultural Extension

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Scope of journal The Journal of Agricultural Extension" is devoted to the advancement of knowledge of agricultural extension services and practice through the publication of original and empirically based research, ... Vol 22, No 1 (2018) ... Symbol recognition and interpretation of HIV/AIDS pictorial messages among rural ...

  9. How to make agricultural extension demand-driven?: The case of India's agricultural extension policy

    OpenAIRE

    Birner, Regina; Anderson, Jock R.

    2007-01-01

    "Many countries have recognized the need to revive agricultural advisory or extension services (the terms are used interchangeably here) as a means of using agriculture as an engine of pro-poor growth; reaching marginalized, poor, and female farmers; and addressing new challenges, such as environmental degradation and climate change. In spite of ample experience with extension reform worldwide, identifying the reform options most likely to make extension more demand-driven remains a major cha...

  10. Impact of ICT on Agricultural Extension Services Delivery: Evidence from the Catholic Relief Services SMART Skills and Farmbook Project in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tata, Joyous S.; McNamara, Paul E.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The study was carried out to assess the impact of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Skills for Marketing and Rural Transformation (SMART) skills and Farmbook information communication technology (ICT) on agricultural extension service delivery by front-line extension officers in two counties in Kenya. The second objective was to assess…

  11. An analysis of farm services centre (fsc) approach launched for agricultural extension in NWFP, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haq, I.; Ali, T.; Zafar, M.I.

    2009-01-01

    Agricultural extension services have a pivotal role in agricultural and rural development. It is the major source of technology dissemination and helps the farmers to rationalize the use of natural resources for a sustainable agricultural development. Globally, public-private partnership approach in Agricultural Extension is considered more effective, efficient, and responsive to different categories of farmers. In Pakistan, government of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) has initiated a public-private partnership Extension Programme in the province. This is locally called as Farm Services Centre (FSC). This approach has the inbuilt mechanism of inputs delivery, market facilitation, exchange of experiences and diffusion of knowledge and technology. However, the extent to which this public-private partnership is instrumental in achieving aforementioned objectives is yet to be established. The present study was an attempt to analyze this public-private partnership approach by measuring its strengths and weaknesses. For this purpose, out of 24 districts of NWFP, two districts namely Swabi and Lakimarwat were selected randomly. From these two districts, 491 FSC's member farmers were selected as respondents for interview on random basis. The analysis showed that the most prominent strength of FSC was farmers empowerment with mean 4.05 and SD 1.29, while that of Agriculture Extension Department (AED) was effective message delivery. As per respondents, the major weakness of both (FSC and AED) systems was no marketing facility with mean 4.12 and 4.13 and SD 1.22 and 1.01 respectively. It is essential that the government should ensure the mandated activities at FSC forum particularly the facilitation by line agencies and NWFP Agricultural University, Peshawar. It should be a forum of technology dissemination, agricultural surplus produce marketing and cooperative farming. Agricultural Extension Department should provide more facilities to the staff indulged in FSC

  12. Agricultural Extension. A Reference Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maunder, Addison, H.

    The basic philosophy of agricultural extension was established in the more highly developed countries over the past century. Newly formed nations, the rural population of which formerly maintained a subsistence agriculture with limited industry, found it essential to establish a better-balanced economy. This led to a variety of rural services and…

  13. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    National Agricultural Extension Research Liaison Services (NAERGLS), ... agricultural extension, the organization is meant to serve the extension, ... farm families ratio, extension agents (EAs) training, and the likely causes of the problem.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uddin, Ektear MD.; Gao, Qijie; Mamun-Ur-Rashid, MD.

    2016-01-01

    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.…

  15. Current Status of Agricultural Extension Services for Market Oriented ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    info

    has been on food security and natural resource management, agricultural extension packages have ... production advice but also a range of information and knowledge support, such as input supply ..... The World Bank, Food and. Agriculture ...

  16. Information Needs and Source Information of Agricultural Extension Workers in DIY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Retno Wulandari

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available One of the important factors that contribute to agricultural development is information. As such agricultural extension workers that link agricultural agencies to the farmers must have adequate and up-to-date information about agricultural practices before they could inform, educate and train the farmers in method and techniques of farming. This study aims to determine the types of information needed by agricultural extension workers; to determine the sources of information used by the agricultural extension workers; and to determine the comparison between types of information with information sources used by agricultural extension workers. The present study was a descriptive study using a survey design and conducted at Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY Province. The populations of the study consists 181 agricultural extension workers divisible in the district level, namely Sleman, Kulon Progo, Gunung Kidul dan Bantul. Sampling procedure in this study used cluster sampling. The method for gathering data from the respondents is based on a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was to describe the characteristics of the respondents and the dependent variables of the study. As a result, most of agricultural extension workers strongly needed the innovation information in seeking information followed by extension service information and extension role information. The result of information sources used by agricultural extension worker for extension service information, innovation information and extension role information indicates that agricultural extension workers used interpersonal source. Most of them never sought information use Internet, they use radio more frequently than television and video, agricultural extension worker also used mass media as information source.

  17. Knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ict utilization in agricultural extension service delivery in Gazipur district of Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F.A. Prodhan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The primary purpose of the study was to assess the extent of knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ICT utilization and to determine the relationship between the selected characteristics of the respondents and knowledge and perception of extension workers towards ICT utilization in extension service delivery. The study was conducted in Gazipur district and comprised proportionate random sample of 90 extension workers from five upazila of Gazipur district. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect data from the respondents. To measure the knowledge on ICT utilization 35 statements were selected regarding 7 ICT with five possible answer of each tools and a score of one was given to the right answer and zero to the wrong answer alternatively to measure the perception of the respondents rated each of 10 statements ICT utilization in agriculture on a 5-point Likert type scale and the total of these ratings formed perception index. The result of the study showed that out of seven ICT tools the knowledge of extension workers was highest in case of MS Word this was followed by internet/ web service and the lowest knowledge was found in case of Geographical Information System. It is observed that an overwhelming majority (88.9% of agricultural extension workers in the study area had low to medium knowledge towards ICT utilization. Findings reveal that the respondents had top most perception on the ICT utilization in respect of ‘Extension work can be greatly enhanced by ICT’ followed by on ‘The benefits of ICT use outweigh the financial burden involved’. The result also indicated that more than fourth-fifth (84.4% of the respondents had medium to high perception towards ICT utilization. There were significant relationship between service experience and use of the information sources of the respondents with their knowledge towards ICT utilization conversely innovativeness, cosmopoliteness and job satisfaction of the

  18. Evaluation of the agricultural extension programmes of Shell ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development ... Agricultural Extension Services as part of her corporate social responsibilities in Rivers, ... limited by inadequate communication and transport facilities, non-repayment of soft loans ...

  19. Rural Development And Agricultural Extension Administration In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper reviewed the wide range of policies and approaches formulated and implemented to effect agricultural and rural development in Nigeria. The paper reveals that the common feature of all the strategies is the use of institutionalized agricultural extension service, devoted principally to augment smallholder ...

  20. Agricultural extension and mass media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perraton, H

    1983-12-01

    To learn more about the use of the mass media for agricultural extension, the World Bank has considered the efforts of 2 units: INADES-formation in West Africa and the Extension Aids Branch of Malawi. The INADES-formation study focuses on Cameroon but also considers work in Rwanda and the Ivory Coast. Some general conclusions emerge from a comparison of the 2 organizations. Malawi operates an extension service which reaches farmers through extension agents, through farmer training centers, and through mass media. The Extension Aids Branch (EAB) has responsibility for its media work and broadcasts 4 1/2 hours of radio each week. Its 6 regular radio programs include a general program which interviews farmers, a music request program in which the music is interspersed with farming advice, a farming family serial, and a daily broadcast of agricultural news and information. The 17 cinema vans show some agricultural films, made by EAB, some entertainment films, and some government information films from departments other than the ministry of agriculture. EAB also has a well-developed program of research and evaluation of its own work. INADES-formation, the training section of INADES, works towards social and economic development of the population. It teaches peasant farmers and extension agents and does this through running face-to-face seminars, by publishing a magazine, "Agripromo," and through correspondence courses. In 1978-79 INADES-formation enrolled some 4500 farmers and extension agents as students. Both of these organizations work to teach farmers better agriculture techniques, and both were created in response to the fact that agricultural extension agents cannot meet all the farmers in their area. Despite the similarity of objective, there are differences in methods and philosophy. The EAB works in a single country and uses a variety of mass media, with print playing a minor role. INADES-formation is an international and nongovernmental organization and its

  1. Capability of Poultry Farmers Association for Extension Services ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    dr funmi owolade

    information on poultry management techniques and marketing during in-house ... optimum human and material resources for extension services delivery to its .... vii. investigate the constraints to extension services programme in Oyo state. ..... developing countries in Agricultural Extension in Nigeria S.F. Afolayan (ed) Ilorin.

  2. Building the capacity of agricultural extension personnel for effective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper strongly recommends immediate recruitment of new hands as well as full implementation of a well-designed capacity building programme so as to ensure a sustainable extension service delivery system where extension personnel can operate in the expected commercial (agriculture-driven) economy. Keywords: ...

  3. Extension agents\\' marketing related services: The relevance to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study investigated the marketing related services provided to farmers by extension agents in Osun State, Nigeria. Data were collected from the extension agents in the services of Osun State Agricultural Development Projects, which is the government outfit to provide such services to farmers on one hand and their ...

  4. Human factors that derail extension services delivery in developing countries: implications for policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.N. Ajani

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines human factors derailing extension services delivery in developing countries. Poor management of rewards and incentives; quality of work life; poor assessment system; limited quality of human resource; inadequate extension support training materials; inconsistencies of government programmes; inadequate staff training and poor extension programme evaluation were viewed as major constraints. Considering the role of extension to agricultural development, the paper recommends that efforts should be made by the various stakeholders in agricultural extension services to improve the capability of human resources involved in extension services and highlights the need for government agricultural programmes to be consistent to enable the beneficiaries of such programmes derive the benefits that will boost productivity in agriculture.

  5. 1970-1971 Annual Report: Extension Service Program, Silliman University.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maturan, Eulalio G.

    The 1970-1971 annual report of the Extension Service Program of Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines, treats the following projects: Mabinay Agricultural Extension, Mabinay Negrito Action-Research, Reforestation, and Livestock Dispersal. Also discussed are the Rural Publications Center and other extension services--a radio program,…

  6. Gender Sensitivity In Agricultural Extension Services In Imo State ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Gender sensitivity in agricultural practices in general, and extension in particular, suggests that roles should not be ascribed to the females alone, or the males, specifically. In some instances, the males seem to be projected over and above their female counterparts. This is a set back to the progress of agric. practices in the ...

  7. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-07-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  8. Innovation behaviour and the use of research and extension services in small-scale agricultural holdings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramos-Sandoval, R.; García-Álvarez-Coque, J.M.; Mas-Verdú, F.

    2016-01-01

    Farmers’ views on research and extension services (RES) included in the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System are rarely investigated. This study analyses the relationship between key factors of innovation behaviour (market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation attitude) and the use of RES through structural equation modelling, focusing on small-scale agricultural holdings. Market orientation and learning orientation appear to be positively correlated, confirming that synergies between both factors provide a background for innovativeness. Learning orientation and farm-holders’ education level, improve knowledge exchange and make the agriculture innovation process more inclusive. However, farmers’ innovation attitude is not clearly correlated with the use of RES. Motivations about “the will to do innovations” are represented by a construct that does not appear to have a determinant effect as a mediator in farmer’s decisions about using RES.

  9. Failure in Success; An Assessment of Agricultural Extension in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlson, Robert A.

    The United States formalized its cooperative national support program for agricultural extension in 1941. The hope was to increase agricultural production and to help maintain a rural way of life in the United States. The Cooperative Extension Service was unable to strike a balance between these two goals, emphasizing increased production to such…

  10. A review of agricultural extension in Nigeria: the need for an ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Nigerian agricultural extension service, which has its root in, the ... adoption by farms and in 1986 the Training & Visit (T & V) extension system was introduced. ... farmer participation, cost sharing and the strengthening of community based ...

  11. Approaches For Preparing Agricultural Advisory Services Feasibility ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    According to present literature on agricultural extension organizations reforms, moving towards agricultural advisory services have become a paramount choice to perform these changes by policy makers and planners throughout the world especially in developing countries. The main purpose of this study was to propose ...

  12. The Role of Agricultural Consultants in New Zealand in Environmental Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botha, Neels; Coutts, Jeff; Roth, Hein

    2008-01-01

    The aim of this study was to understand the role that agricultural consultants in New Zealand were undertaking in the Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) system--and in particular in relation to environmental extension. New Zealand does not have a public extension service and hence there is a strong reliance on consultants and regional…

  13. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    responsibility over the management of service delivery of government departments including. Department of ... alternative approach that will support knowledge to promote agricultural advisory services. ..... Extension, SA2, The World Bank.

  14. Prospective of the agricultural extension in Colombia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David Hinestrosa, A.

    1998-01-01

    The situation of the agricultural extension is described in next twenty years, together with the regional programs of investigation and technology transfer, based in the rational use of the natural resources, the exploitation of markets, the former evaluation before and the expert systems. It proves the dynamic participation of producing leaders and their operation inside an outline of decentralization, privatization, sustainability, competitiveness, justness and invigoration and rural signification. It is supposed that the extension rural functional, bound to the investigation processes, transfer, development, technological development and markets. Institutionally it is expected that the extension is a service of regional and private character with an opportune and enough assignment of resources for the improvement of the quality of the rural population's life

  15. Perception of Agricultural Extension as a Career among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Department (χ2=15.184), self-esteem of career in course of study (r=0.217) and constraints to agricultural extension (r=-0.174) were significantly related to respondents' perception of agricultural extension as a career. Respondents are knowledgeable that agricultural extension has many career opportunities and someone ...

  16. Commercialization of the British Extension Service: An American View.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harter, Don

    1993-01-01

    Britain's decision to commercialize the Agricultural Development and Advisory Service has implications for extension programs in other countries. If programs now offered were commercialized, extension would no longer be an agency responsive to the public interest as a whole but would be driven by interests of paying clients. (JOW)

  17. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    After independence the government led agricultural extension services slowly started moving away from the Transfer of Technology (ToT) to Training and Visit approach followed by the. Farming System Research and Extension (FSRE) approach. Most of the subsidies that had. 17 PhD Student University of Pretoria, ...

  18. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SH

    1Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Landmark University, Omu –Aran, Kwara. State. 2Department ... production technologies among cassava farmers in Osun State, Nigeria. Multistage ... included fertilizer procurement, agrochemicals, cooperative facilities, social networks, tractor hiring services,.

  19. Cost-Sharing of Agricultural Technology Transfer in Nigeria: Perceptions of Farmers and Extension Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozor, N.; Agwu, A. E.; Chukwuone, N. A.; Madukwe, M. C.; Garforth, C. J.

    2007-01-01

    Cost-sharing, which involves government-farmer partnership in the funding of agricultural extension service, is one of the reforms aimed at achieving sustainable funding for extension systems. This study examined the perceptions of farmers and extension professionals on this reform agenda in Nigeria. The study was carried out in six geopolitical…

  20. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension - Vol 39, No 2 (2011)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Towards Redesigning the Agricultural extension service in South Africa: Views and proposals of smallholder farmers in the Estern Cape · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. JA Van Niekerk, A Stroebel, CJ Van Rooyen, KP Whitfield, FCJ Swanepoel ...

  1. Achieving Impact at Scale through ICT-Enabled Extension Services ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    In Africa, agricultural extension services have the potential to grow markets and enhance ... a program of IDRC undertaken with the financial support of the Government of ... Institution. Farm Radio International/Radios Rurales Internationales.

  2. Territorial perspective of agricultural extension policies in Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Molina Juan Patricio

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a historic perspective of agricultural extension in Colombia and highlights its scope in relationship to regional development. Four periods are identified, which show that policies have evolved towards a territorial and decentralized agricultural extension. However, this trend has not been consolidated in recent years. It is suggested that Colombia should recover an approach of agricultural extension that integrates the productive dimension with a territorial perspective.

  3. Reforming the Public Agricultural Extension System in China ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Reforming the Public Agricultural Extension System in China : Supporting Rural Innovation. The public agricultural extension system has played a critical role in Chinese agricultural development over the past few decades. There is growing evidence that since the mid-1990s the system has failed to provide new and ...

  4. Towards professionalism in agricultural extension: The professional ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Towards professionalism in agricultural extension: The professional registration of Extensionists in South Africa – A dream or a reality? The role of the South African Society of Extensionists in South Africa – A dream or a reality? The role of the South African Society of Agricultural Extension (SASAE)

  5. Comparative review of multifunctionality and ecosystem services in sustainable agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jiao; Tichit, Muriel; Poulot, Monique; Darly, Ségolène; Li, Shuangcheng; Petit, Caroline; Aubry, Christine

    2015-02-01

    Two scientific communities with broad interest in sustainable agriculture independently focus on multifunctional agriculture or ecosystem services. These communities have limited interaction and exchange, and each group faces research challenges according to independently operating paradigms. This paper presents a comparative review of published research in multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services. The motivation for this work is to improve communication, integrate experimental approaches, and propose areas of consensus and dialog for the two communities. This extensive analysis of publication trends, ideologies, and approaches enables formulation of four main conclusions. First, the two communities are closely related through their use of the term "function." However, multifunctional agriculture considers functions as agricultural activity outputs and prefers farm-centred approaches, whereas ecosystem services considers ecosystem functions in the provision of services and prefers service-centred approaches. Second, research approaches to common questions in these two communities share some similarities, and there would be great value in integrating these approaches. Third, the two communities have potential for dialog regarding the bundle of ecosystem services and the spectrum of multifunctional agriculture, or regarding land sharing and land sparing. Fourth, we propose an integrated conceptual framework that distinguishes six groups of ecosystem services and disservices in the agricultural landscape, and combines the concepts of multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services. This integrated framework improves applications of multifunctional agriculture and ecosystem services for operational use. Future research should examine if the framework can be readily adapted for modelling specific problems in agricultural management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Agricultural Extension, Collective Action and Innovation Systems: Lessons on Network Brokering from Peru and Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellin, Jon

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: New approaches to extension service delivery are needed that stimulate increased agricultural production, contribute to collective action and which also foster the emergence of agricultural innovation systems. Research in Peru and Mexico explores some of these new approaches. Design/methodology/approach: In both countries, a qualitative…

  7. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, as well as at several other universities in East Africa. These are basically in-service degree programmes for field extension .... This could be the importance of maize as a staple food and cash crop.

  8. The Use of an e-Learning System for Agricultural Extension: A Case Study of the Rural Development Administration, Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Duk-Byeong; Cho, Yong-Been; Lee, Minsoo

    2007-01-01

    The study explores the e-learning system of the Computer-Based Agricultural Extension Program (CBAES) and examines the differences in user satisfaction and preferences between the two systems for Agricultural Education and Extension at the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in Korea. It also describes the architecture, services, user…

  9. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    8 PhD student, Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700. 9 Associate ... make them more financially sustainable and demand-driven as distinct from supply-driven. Market reforms ... delivery also make the service more demand-driven, improve accountability, and empower.

  10. Small Farmers' Habits of Reading Agricultural Extension Publications: The Case of Moshav Farmers in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blum, Abraham; Azencot, Moshe

    1989-01-01

    Interviews farmers in Moshavim, Israel, to examine the need for efficient written communication channels between agricultural extension services and small farmers. Identifies the main problems as a weak distribution system and the necessity for authors of extension pamphlets and brochures to consider the special needs of small farmers. (KEH)

  11. The Development of a National Agricultural Extension Policy in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, M.; Sarkar, A. A.

    1996-01-01

    The background of agriculture in Bangladesh and the process of developing a national agricultural extension policy focused on sustainable development are described. The policy explicates the meaning of agricultural extension, use of agricultural knowledge and information systems, and 11 core principles. (SK)

  12. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Agricultural extension in Turkey, Communication for extension Development. Introduction. Agricultural extension ... “communication for development” (C4D) strategy for addressing human dimension concerns, such as ... A Pearson. Correlation ...

  13. Role of State Agricultural Universities and Directorates of Extension Education in Agricultural Extension in India

    OpenAIRE

    Singh, K.M.; Meena, M.S.; Swanson, B.E.

    2013-01-01

    In India, the first SAU was established in 1960 at Pantnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The SAUs were given autonomous status and direct funding from the state governments. They were autonomous organizations with state-wide responsibility for agricultural research, education and training or extension education. The establishment of the SAUs, based on a pattern similar to that of the land-grant universities in the United States, was a landmark in reorganizing and strengthening the agricultural educatio...

  14. Extension for Organic Agriculture: A Comparative Study between Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Crete, Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Österle, Nina; Koutsouris, Alex; Livieratos, Yannis; Kabourakis, Emmanuil

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this paper is to compare the extension services offered in the field of organic agriculture (OA) in Baden-Württemberg (BW), Germany and Crete, Greece. Design/methodology approach: 16 in-depth interviews, 10 in BW and 6 in Crete, were carried out with representatives of OA extension providers; interviews were qualitatively…

  15. The Connotation and Extension of Agricultural Water Resources Security

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    LIU Bu-chun; MEI Xu-rong; LI Yu-zhong; YANG You-lu

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study is to define agricultural water resources security and its connotation and extension. The definitions of water security, water resources security, and water environment security were summarized, and their relationship was differentiated and analyzed. Based on these, the elements of the conception of agricultural water resources security were hashed and the conception was defined. Agricultural water resources security is the provision of water resource that ensures protection of agriculture against threat, hazards, destruction, and loss. Moreover, the connotation and extension of agricultural water resources security were ascertained. In detail, the connotation of the definition has natural attributes, socioeconomic attributes, and cultural attributes. The extensions of agricultural water resources security include both broad and narrow ones, as well as, food security, agroenvironmental security, agroeconomic security, rural society security, etc. The definition will serve as the frame of reference for developing the researches, limiting the frame of the theory, and founding a appraising system for agricultural water resources security.

  16. Issues for Agricultural Extension Policy: Structures and Institutional ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examined issues pertaining to structures and institutional arrangement for agricultural extension policy. It highlighted the broad objectives of the new policy thrust in agriculture in Nigeria, and identified sub-policies that were expected to facilitate growth of the agricultural sector of the economy. Agricultural ...

  17. Expanding Agricultural and Rural Extension Roles for Sustainable ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Expanding Agricultural and Rural Extension Roles for Sustainable Extension ... privatization of the public sector of national economies of developing nations has ... include marketing extension, non-farm rural micro enterprise development, ...

  18. Strengthening Agricultural Research Capacity for Viable Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Strengthening Agricultural Research Capacity for Viable Extension Policies in Nigeria: An Exploration of Ricoeur's Hermeneutic Theory for Analysing Extension Research. ... Progressively more, researchers use hermeneutic philosophy to inform the conduct of interpretive research. Analogy between the philosophical ...

  19. Analyzing the Required Professional Qualification for Agricultural Extension Experts in Operational Level in the Mazandaran Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amir Ahmadpour

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Extension experts who play an active role at the operational level are required to have some indispensable competencies to enable them to provide the rural community with some high quality, ­applicable and important educational programs. Accordingly, the study sought to analyze the components of professional qualifications for agricultural extension experts’ operational level. This study is a descriptive and survey research. The statistical population (Agricultural Extension Experts in Operational Levels was comprised of 290 persons. And the proportional stratified sampling using Krejcie-Morgan Table was applied and 165 subjects were selected. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, and its content validity was approved by agricultural extension experts and by using KMO coefficient and Bartlett’s Test giving a reliability of KMO=0.737(. The data analysis results showed that seven extracted factors of (research factors, technical-professional factors, teaching factors, managerial factors, personality factors, communication factors and virtual technology factors explain 63.691% of the total variance of the professional competencies for agriculture extension experts’ operational levels in the province. The  findings indicate that based on scientific methods of research,  assessment of needs, planning and assessment, and in-service training workshops implementation for experts seem to be necessary. Distinctive attention should be practiced by Agriculture Organization to improve agents’ skills in a variety of crops cultivation and in working with software and agricultural applications.

  20. Job satisfaction of extension workers in Edo State Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agricultural extension can be said to be germane for any meaningful development in the agricultural sector. Extension personnel that are saddled with this responsibility need to be satisfied with their job in order to perform their duties effectively. Therefore this study examined the factors affecting job performance and level of ...

  1. Agricultural Education and Extension Services in Subsaharan Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Impressive progress in the science of agriculture and food production has helped significantly in feeding the world's growing population over the past 50 years. Surprisingly, major challenges still remain. Though formal education or schooling and the cognitive skills it helps to develop, contributes to agricultural production ...

  2. Agricultural extension, research, and development for increased ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The challenges of food security and agricultural development in South Africa cannot simply be solved by limiting extension and research development to the public sector. However, if shortcomings arise in the public sector while addressing extension, research and development, the potential involvement of the private sector ...

  3. Thailand's Department of Agricultural Extension and Agrochemical Dependency: Perspectives on Contributing Factors and Mitigation Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelles, Wayne; Visetnoi, Supawan

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This paper discusses theoretical, policy and practical issues concerning the problem of "agrochemical dependency" in Thailand, including roles that public extension services play in advocacy or mitigation of agrochemical use. Methodology/Approach: Our research aimed to better understand department of agricultural extension…

  4. Agricultural Research Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Menu United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Research Research Home National Programs Research Projects Scientific Manuscripts International Programs Scientific Software/Models Databases and Datasets Office of Scientific Quality ...

  5. Utilization pattern of extension tools and methods by Agricultural Extension Agents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Surudhi

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available A study was conducted in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu state to understand the utilization pattern of extension tools and methods by the agricultural extension agents. As ICT revolution is slowly conquering the rural sector, it becomes imperative that the agricultural extension agents transform themselves to the changing times and develop competencies in utilizing these ICTs.  The study explored the usage of various extension tools and methods by the change agents and the constraints faced in utilizing them. The findings revealed that the extension functionaries frequently used the individual contact methods viz., telephone, office calls and farm and home visits in the process of transfer of technology. Least efforts were shown in sending SMS based communication. Meetings were the common and frequently adopted group contact method. Demonstrations, farmer field school, farmer’s interest groups, field trips and farmer training programmes were moderately adopted. Posters, leaflets and pre-season campaigns were the widely adopted mass contact methods. They possess least skill in utilizing farm magazines, presenting television and radio programmes, which are among the most popular and most efficient mass contact methods. The extension functionaries need to be trained adequately on the wider use of electronic communication methods like e mails, and SMS in the local language. Efforts should be taken up to sensitize the importance and train the extension agents in the usage of different group and mass contact methods.

  6. newspapers' agricultural agenda setting and extension agents ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    p2333147

    Keywords: Newspapers', agricultural, extension agents' agenda setting. ABSTRACT ... from the priorities of political or other interest groups to the news priorities of media ... people. The questions that arise are-: what are the sources operating for ... The ADPs presently adopt the training and visit (T & V) system of extension.

  7. What Makes Small-Scale Farmers Participate in Financing Agricultural Research and Extension? Analysis of Three Case Studies from Benin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moumouni, Ismail M.; Vodouhe, Simplice D.; Streiffeler, Friedhelm

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyses the organizational, financial and technological incentives that service organizations used to motivate farmers to finance agricultural research and extension in Benin. Understanding the foundations and implications of these motivation systems is important for improving farmer financial participation in agricultural research and…

  8. Global Approaches to Extension Practice: A Journal of Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Homepage Image ... from all areas of Agricultural Extension: rural sociology, environmental extension, extension communication ... Adoption of improved oil palm processing technology in Umuahia north local government area of Abia ...

  9. Agricultural extension officers' perceptions of integrated pest ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    On the basis of the positive perceptions of the extension officers regarding IPM, the government of Kenya should establish a supportive policy that will enable the extension officers to promote and educate farmers on the various IPM practices. International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 7(2) 2006: 125- ...

  10. Small farmers and agricultural extension : surviving on a small farm in the Netherlands and possibilities for agricultural extension to reach a hard-to-reach category

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Somers, B.M.

    1991-01-01

    This dissertation reports the results of the research project "Employment in Agriculture and Extension". Primary aims of the project were: a) to identify categories of farmers who are homogeneous in their survival strategies and b) to indicate ways agricultural extension could help farmers

  11. The impact of agricultural extension and roads on poverty and consumption growth in fifteen Ethiopian villages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dercon, S.; Gilligan, D.O.; Hoddinott, J.; Woldehanna, T.

    2009-01-01

    This article investigates whether public investments that led to improvements in road quality and increased access to agricultural extension services led to faster consumption growth and lower rates of poverty in rural Ethiopia. Estimating an Instrumental Variables model using Generalized Methods of

  12. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The South African Journal of Agricultural Extensionaims to: * advance and apply the science of extension and of rural development as scientific discipline by stimulating thought, study, research, discussion and the publication and exchange of knowledge both nationally and internationally. * promote the professionalism ...

  13. Journal of Agricultural Extension: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    +91-9436054939 Personal URL: www.saravananraj.net Professional ... Publishing in the Journal f Agricultural Extension, (JAE) involves the author, ... To maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author. ... To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted ... Serious breaches.

  14. Mobile Phone as an extension tool among female agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mobile Phone as an extension tool among female agricultural practitioners in Lagos ... This study assessed the use of mobile telephone for extension among ... information search costs and asymmetries and increasing market efficiencies.

  15. Towards a competency profile for the role of instruction of agricultural extension professionals in Asfahan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Karbasioun, M.

    2007-01-01

    This thesis is aimed at developing a competency profile for instructors in the agricultural extension service in theprovinceofEsfahanin

  16. Perspective of agricultural extension in livestock production in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The extension communication methods used were visits, demonstration, workshop, training and excursion. The benefits of extension services were introduction of livestock species, marketing information, feed and feed ingredient supply, disease and pest control, and liaison services. Constraints to the use of extension ...

  17. extension staffs' perceptions of factors affecting co-ordination

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ian

    organizations involved in delivery of agricultural extension services. To improve service ... extension in Rakai district would improve the performance of the District's agricultural ... their nature (public, private or firm-oriented) and their goals, and.

  18. Characteristics, Views Held of Agricultural Extension Activities, and Communication Behavior of Hsien Extension Supervisors in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Pi-Feng

    Government agencies in Taiwan have carried out agricultural extension programs since 1910, with the assistance of Farmers' Associations. Programs have been expanded since 1953, and now include both general extension (subsidy programs) and educational extension. Comparison of personal characteristics of hsien (county) Farmers' Association…

  19. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Federal College of Education Technical, Bichi, Kano State ... promises the creation of over 3.5 million jobs to young people and women across the country .... adopted to give the youth a chance to air their views, share their experiences on agriculture .... Delta Central Agricultural Zone: Challenges to agricultural extension ...

  20. Research on the development and preliminary application of Beijing agricultural sci-tech service hotline WebApp in agricultural consulting services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Weishui; Luo, Changshou; Zheng, Yaming; Wei, Qingfeng; Cao, Chengzhong

    2017-09-01

    To deal with the “last kilometer” problem during the agricultural science and technology information service, we analyzed the feasibility, necessity and advantages of WebApp applied to agricultural information service and discussed the modes of WebApp used in agricultural information service based on the requirements analysis and the function of WebApp. To overcome the existing App’s defects of difficult installation and weak compatibility between the mobile operating systems, the Beijing Agricultural Sci-tech Service Hotline WebApp was developed based on the HTML and JAVA technology. The WebApp has greater compatibility and simpler operation than the Native App, what’s more, it can be linked to the WeChat public platform making it spread easily and run directly without setup process. The WebApp was used to provide agricultural expert consulting services and agriculture information push, obtained a good preliminary application achievement. Finally, we concluded the creative application of WebApp in agricultural consulting services and prospected the development of WebApp in agricultural information service.

  1. transforming agriculture through contracted extension service

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ACSS

    Agribusiness Project (KAPAP) is implementing an innovative service delivery model, whose approaches include ... in Kenya and in other developing nations with minimal modifications. ... declining human and financial capital, lack of.

  2. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    for farmers to use mobile phone effectively for extension communication, all the constraints ... Globally, traditional agricultural extension systems are in .... procurement and marketing of farm produce information were particularly perceived by.

  3. Enrolling Advisers in Governing Privatised Agricultural Extension in Australia: Challenges and Opportunities for the Research, Development and Extension System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paschen, Jana-Axinja; Reichelt, Nicole; King, Barbara; Ayre, Margaret; Nettle, Ruth

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Current developments in the Australian agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) system exemplify the complex governance challenges arising from the international privatisation of agricultural extension. Presenting early challenges emerging from a multi-stakeholder project aimed at stimulating the role of the private…

  4. CAPACITY BUILDING FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: MODULES FOR AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.O. Ogunbameru

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Basically, climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, generally caused by natural variability and/or human activities. It has great devastating impact, particularly on agriculture and by extrapolation on farmers and the national economy. The frontline agricultural extension workers are expected to be among the principal stakeholders to teach farmers how to cope with climate change. Consequently, there is a need to develop appropriate teaching package for the training of the frontline agricultural extension workers, based on the myriad of adaptation strategies and practices available in the literature. This paper synthesizes the rationale for capacity building in climate change and the adaptation or coping strategies. The modules (train-the-trainer for teaching agricultural extension workers and farmers are documented in the paper.

  5. Effects Of Agricultural Extension On Cassava And Maize Production ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was carried out to assess the effects of agricultural extension on food production in Abak Agricultural zone of Akwa Ibom state. Specifically, the effect was measured using the productivity of small-scale maize and cassava farmers between the years 2004 and 2005. Data for the study were collected from 108 ...

  6. Role of agricultural extension services in generation and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    OLUWOLE

    2013-02-06

    Feb 6, 2013 ... public and private sectors involvement in agricultural biotechnology, involvement of end users. (farmers) to ... technology validation and dissemination in Nigeria. Participatory ... Research has shown that majority of the information that the public ..... links with private companies in the industrialized countries.

  7. Assessment of Farmers (Women)' Access to Agricultural Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Available online at http://www.ajol.info/index.php/njbas/index. Nigerian Journal of ... Key words: Assessment, Farmers, Access, Agricultural Extension, Credit Facility. INTRODUCTION ..... Unpublished Project Proposal, The. Department of Agric ...

  8. Adapting Agriculture Platforms for Nutrition: A Case Study of a Participatory, Video-Based Agricultural Extension Platform in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadiyala, Suneetha; Morgan, Emily H; Cyriac, Shruthi; Margolies, Amy; Roopnaraine, Terry

    2016-01-01

    Successful integration of nutrition interventions into large-scale development programmes from nutrition-relevant sectors, such as agriculture, can address critical underlying determinants of undernutrition and enhance the coverage and effectiveness of on-going nutrition-specific activities. However, evidence on how this can be done is limited. This study examines the feasibility of delivering maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviour change communication through an innovative agricultural extension programme serving nutritionally vulnerable groups in rural India. The existing agriculture programme involves participatory production of low-cost videos promoting best practices and broad dissemination through village-level women's self-help groups. For the nutrition intervention, 10 videos promoting specific maternal, infant, and young child nutrition practices were produced and disseminated in 30 villages. A range of methods was used to collect data, including in-depth interviews with project staff, frontline health workers, and self-help group members and their families; structured observations of mediated video dissemination sessions; nutrition knowledge tests with project staff and self-help group members; and a social network questionnaire to assess diffusion of promoted nutrition messages. We found the nutrition intervention to be well-received by rural communities and viewed as complementary to existing frontline health services. However, compared to agriculture, nutrition content required more time, creativity, and technical support to develop and deliver. Experimentation with promoted nutrition behaviours was high, but sharing of information from the videos with non-viewers was limited. Key lessons learned include the benefits of and need for collaboration with existing health services; continued technical support for implementing partners; engagement with local cultural norms and beliefs; empowerment of women's group members to champion nutrition

  9. On Development of Agricultural Machinery Operating Service in Chongqing

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Chongjing; TAN; Shi; YANG

    2015-01-01

    Development of agricultural machinery operating service in Chongqing takes on rapid increase in number of service organizations,diversified service methods,improvement in service level,and constant service income. However,there are some problems,including unreasonable composition and small scale of service organization,imbalanced development of four service methods,low service level,and low operating income of agricultural machinery households. To accelerate development of agricultural machinery operating service in Chongqing,it is recommended to take following measures: adjusting subsidy for purchase and operation of agricultural machinery; improving fiscal and taxation and financial system; speeding up infrastructure construction,establishing agricultural machinery information network,and improving organizational form and methods of agricultural machinery operating service.

  10. Multipath for Agricultural and Rural Information Services in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Ningning; Zang, Zhiyuan; Gao, Lingwang; Shi, Qiang; Li, Jie; Xing, Chunlin; Shen, Zuorui

    Internet cannot provide perfect information services for farmers in rural regions in China, because farmers in rural regions can hardly access the internet by now. But the wide coverage of mobile signal, telephone line, and television network, etc. gave us a chance to solve the problem. The integrated pest management platform of Northern fruit trees were developed based on the integrated technology, which can integrate the internet, mobile and fixed-line telephone network, and television network, to provide integrated pest management(IPM) information services for farmers in rural regions in E-mail, telephone-voice, short message, voice mail, videoconference or other format, to users' telephone, cell phone, personal computer, personal digital assistant(PDA), television, etc. alternatively. The architecture and the functions of the system were introduced in the paper. The system can manage the field monitoring data of agricultural pests, deal with enquiries to provide the necessary information to farmers accessing the interactive voice response(IVR) in the system with the experts on-line or off-line, and issue the early warnings about the fruit tree pests when it is necessary according to analysis on the monitoring data about the pests of fruit trees in variety of ways including SMS, fax, voice and intersystem e-mail.The system provides a platform and a new pattern for agricultural technology extension with a high coverage rate of agricultural technology in rural regions, and it can solve the problem of agriculture information service 'last kilometer' in China. The effectiveness of the system was certified.

  11. Social Factors That Influence Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension in Southern Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joyous S. Tata

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Farmbook is a novel information communication technology (ICT tool for agricultural extension that is currently being field tested by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS in Southern and East Africa. Farmbook enables extension agents to assess productivity and profitability of farming enterprises in a faster and more reliable manner, so as to increase farmer incomes and achieve food security. This study looked at the relationship between challenges faced by extension agents testing the Farmbook application and select socio-economic indicators influencing their work. Specific objectives were to identify and categorize the challenges facing extension agents in the field as they used Farmbook, assess gender differences in the use of Farmbook by extension agents, understand the relationship between socio-economic status of extension agents and the challenges faced in using Farmbook. Data were collected through document reviews, administration of a structured questionnaire and focus group meetings with field agents. Descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques were used to analyze data. The results show that personal and wider socio-economic conditions do have an impact on the proficiency of extension agents using Farmbook. The study goes on to recommend measures to improve the training and ICT proficiency of extension agents adopting Farmbook.

  12. Agricultural knowledge and information system on tea farming in Vietnam : implications for strengthening the extension service

    OpenAIRE

    Kieu Thi Thu, Huong

    2014-01-01

    Tea plays an important role in improving income and generating employment in the northern uplands of Vietnam. However, the tea sector is reportedly performing below its potential: low yields and productivity, and low product quality. Among the major problems affecting tea production is the limited access of tea producers to information both in production and marketing; low level of connections between actors in agricultural extension, researchers and the farmers themselves. This research t...

  13. Performance of farmers-led extension system in agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mo

    initiate their training needs and the district technical staff train the Extension Link Farmers who in turn transfer the acquired ... whom at least two were women, were randomly selected ... It was noted that farmers did not only receive agricultural.

  14. Towards professionalism in agricultural extension: The professional ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Towards professionalism in agricultural extension: The professional registration of Extensionists in South Africa – A dream or a reality? The role of the ... The PDF file you selected should load here if your Web browser has a PDF reader plug-in installed (for example, a recent version of Adobe Acrobat Reader). If you would ...

  15. Towards designing a new agricultural extension service for the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Financial support; · Institutional support (technical and skills); · Communication; and · Staffing. This paper is aimed at discussing the identified factors, related to organizational and human capital development, that are essential for effective extension and will propose the basis and design framework of an extension model ...

  16. 78 FR 52496 - Meeting Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-23

    ..., Education, and Economics Advisory Board AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, Office of the Secretary... Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. DATES: The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and [[Page 52497

  17. Information Technologies as a Tool for Agricultural Extension and Farmer-to-Farmer Exchange: Mobile-Phone Video Use in Mali and Burkina Faso

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Fernando; Nicolay, Gian; Home, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Mobile phones are widespread in the rural areas of Mali and Burkina Faso, but their potential as a tool for knowledge transfer by extension services in the region remains largely unexplored. The aim of this contribution is to evaluate the potential of video on mobile phones as a tool for farmer-to-farmer exchange and agricultural extension in…

  18. Adapting Agriculture Platforms for Nutrition: A Case Study of a Participatory, Video-Based Agricultural Extension Platform in India.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suneetha Kadiyala

    Full Text Available Successful integration of nutrition interventions into large-scale development programmes from nutrition-relevant sectors, such as agriculture, can address critical underlying determinants of undernutrition and enhance the coverage and effectiveness of on-going nutrition-specific activities. However, evidence on how this can be done is limited. This study examines the feasibility of delivering maternal, infant, and young child nutrition behaviour change communication through an innovative agricultural extension programme serving nutritionally vulnerable groups in rural India. The existing agriculture programme involves participatory production of low-cost videos promoting best practices and broad dissemination through village-level women's self-help groups. For the nutrition intervention, 10 videos promoting specific maternal, infant, and young child nutrition practices were produced and disseminated in 30 villages. A range of methods was used to collect data, including in-depth interviews with project staff, frontline health workers, and self-help group members and their families; structured observations of mediated video dissemination sessions; nutrition knowledge tests with project staff and self-help group members; and a social network questionnaire to assess diffusion of promoted nutrition messages. We found the nutrition intervention to be well-received by rural communities and viewed as complementary to existing frontline health services. However, compared to agriculture, nutrition content required more time, creativity, and technical support to develop and deliver. Experimentation with promoted nutrition behaviours was high, but sharing of information from the videos with non-viewers was limited. Key lessons learned include the benefits of and need for collaboration with existing health services; continued technical support for implementing partners; engagement with local cultural norms and beliefs; empowerment of women's group members

  19. 78 FR 79660 - Enhancing Agricultural Coexistence; Extension of Comment Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-31

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0047... foster communication and collaboration among those involved in diverse agricultural production systems in... comment on how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) can best foster communication and collaboration...

  20. Agricultural Extension in Africa. A World Bank Symposium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Nigel, Ed.

    The contributors to this document compare the main approaches to agricultural extension in sub-Saharan Africa; the cost-effectiveness in view of precarious national budgets; the weaknesses of the system for generating technology; the difficulties in forging productive partnerships between researchers, extensionists and farmers; the ineffective…

  1. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension - Vol 35 (2006)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Job satisfaction amongst agricultural extension personnel in Kurdistan Province of Iran · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. A Rezvanfar, H Vaisy, 176-187 ...

  2. 77 FR 64794 - Cancellation of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-23

    ... Cancellation of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA. ACTION: Notice of intent to cancel meeting. SUMMARY: The meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board...

  3. 78 FR 25691 - Meeting Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-02

    ... Meeting Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with...) announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory...

  4. Stress coping strategies among agricultural extension agents in Oyo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Stress coping strategies among agricultural extension agents in Oyo State, Nigeria. ... Journal Home > Vol 20, No 1 (2016) >. Log in or ... Employees should have control over work flow to reduce work stress and increase work efficiency.

  5. Reforms in Rural Development and their Influence on Agricultural Extension of Uzbekistan: Experience and Challenges in Water Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pulatov Alim

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays science applies agricultural innovations in a wide range all over the world; however, number of water users in innovations is in smaller amounts. This might happen to a number of factors, for example lack of adequate knowledge exchange system, nominal extension services at places, lack of well-defined policies, barriers in ‘human’ minds change’, barriers at policy level. As for Uzbekistan, it could be said that practice of extension of innovations application and its diffusion in agricultural irrigation sector in Uzbekistan does not have much experience, however, before 1991 Uzbekistan was one of the Soviet Unions’ republics and as it is known, the Soviet Union had high practice in innovations in different sectors, as well as in agriculture. Although, since independence, Uzbekistan has continued to experience innovations in agricultural sector independently, their diffusion is at a challenging shape. This article captures the policy issue, how Uzbekistan started to develop water management issues in its economic reforms, it describes a case research on application of innovative technique on a farm level and accordingly, it tries to propose the aspects that need to be involved in future reforms to make the current situation be better managed.

  6. Transforming the Roles of a Public Extension Agency to Strengthen Innovation: Lessons from the National Agricultural Extension Project in Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chowdhury, Ataharul Huq; Odame, Helen Hambly; Leeuwis, Cees

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The rapidly evolving nature of agricultural innovation processes in low-income countries requires agricultural extension agencies to transform the classical roles that previously supported linear information dissemination and adoption of innovation. In Bangladesh, strengthening agricultural innovation calls for facilitation of interactive…

  7. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jae.v18i2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. MADUKWE

    Dept. of Agricultural Economics and Extension Technology,. Federal ..... demonstration will go along well to equip farmers with production and management skills. 3. ... Elements of Agricultural Extension Administration: Bounty. Press Ltd.

  8. Evaluating the impact of agricultural extension programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hailemichael Taye

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA, impact evaluation has been used to assess whether agricultural extension interventions have brought the intended result or to establish causal linkages between interventions and outcomes. However, there is some scepticism about the validity and reliability of the results of the impact evaluation reports due to some contradictory and exaggerated results. Objectives: This article analyses some impact evaluation studies conducted in SSA as to why contradictions and exaggerations are manifested in some reports and what would be the future prospects of impact evaluation of agricultural extension programmes in the region. Methods: Impact evaluation reports and results of agricultural extension programmes from 10 SSA countries were reviewed and analysed based on impact evaluation principles and theories. Results: The results show that most of the evaluations reported positive impacts. There are also conflicting reports on extension performance. The fact that the overwhelming majority of impact evaluation reports claim positive extension impacts is not in line with the reports on agricultural productivity growth in the region. There are various reasons for over estimated impacts and contradictory results, which include use of poor impact evaluation methodologies, lack of reliable data and insufficient capacity to conduct rigorous impact evaluations. Conclusion: Due to these challenges and the shift in agricultural research and extension approaches, it is recommended that rather than investing effort in trying to prove impact, greater attention should be given to improving impact as well as using other innovative monitoring and evaluation (M&E and learning tools that consider the dynamic nature of agricultural development.

  9. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension - Vol 36 (2007)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The experience of Small Farmer Group (SFG) organisations in promoting agricultural extension in Tanzania · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. RM Wambura, DF Rutatora, R Øygard, M Shetto, O Ishumi, 39-52 ...

  10. Suggesting a new paradigm for agricultural extension policy: the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In terms of approaches and functions, the study found that public sector extension in West Africa is undergoing transformation including decentralization and outsourcing extension services in the context of adopting a pluralistic system of extension delivery. While up to six models of extension are a commonly applied in the ...

  11. EXTENSION EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM: reinventing extension as a resource--what does the future hold?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirando, M A; Bewley, J M; Blue, J; Amaral-Phillips, D M; Corriher, V A; Whittet, K M; Arthur, N; Patterson, D J

    2012-10-01

    The mission of the Cooperative Extension Service, as a component of the land-grant university system, is to disseminate new knowledge and to foster its application and use. Opportunities and challenges facing animal agriculture in the United States have changed dramatically over the past few decades and require the use of new approaches and emerging technologies that are available to extension professionals. Increased federal competitive grant funding for extension, the creation of eXtension, the development of smartphone and related electronic technologies, and the rapidly increasing popularity of social media created new opportunities for extension educators to disseminate knowledge to a variety of audiences and engage these audiences in electronic discussions. Competitive grant funding opportunities for extension efforts to advance animal agriculture became available from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and have increased dramatically in recent years. The majority of NIFA funding opportunities require extension efforts to be integrated with research, and NIFA encourages the use of eXtension and other cutting-edge approaches to extend research to traditional clientele and nontraditional audiences. A case study is presented to illustrate how research and extension were integrated to improve the adoption of AI by beef producers. Those in agriculture are increasingly resorting to the use of social media venues such as Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter to access information required to support their enterprises. Use of these various approaches by extension educators requires appreciation of the technology and an understanding of how the target audiences access information available on social media. Technology to deliver information is changing rapidly, and Cooperative Extension Service professionals will need to continuously evaluate digital technology and social media tools to appropriately integrate them into learning and

  12. 76 FR 62755 - National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting Notice

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-11

    ... structure of the Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics... the full Advisory Board will convene at 8 a.m. with introductory remarks by the Chair of the Advisory... also include a discussion on the impact of National Agricultural Statistic Service reports on grain...

  13. 76 FR 13124 - Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-10

    ... Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with...) announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory...

  14. 75 FR 12171 - Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-15

    ... Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with... announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory...

  15. 75 FR 61692 - Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-06

    ... Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA. ACTION: Notice of meeting. SUMMARY: In accordance with...) announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory...

  16. Gender equality in rural development and agricultural extension in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... (implementation, access to and control of resources) of women in maleheaded households, female-headed households and male-headed households in rural development and agricultural extension was the focus of this study. The district was purposively selected based on crop and livestock farming systems of the zone.

  17. Service network analysis for agricultural mental health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuller Jeffrey D

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Farmers represent a subgroup of rural and remote communities at higher risk of suicide attributed to insecure economic futures, self-reliant cultures and poor access to health services. Early intervention models are required that tap into existing farming networks. This study describes service networks in rural shires that relate to the mental health needs of farming families. This serves as a baseline to inform service network improvements. Methods A network survey of mental health related links between agricultural support, health and other human services in four drought declared shires in comparable districts in rural New South Wales, Australia. Mental health links covered information exchange, referral recommendations and program development. Results 87 agencies from 111 (78% completed a survey. 79% indicated that two thirds of their clients needed assistance for mental health related problems. The highest mean number of interagency links concerned information exchange and the frequency of these links between sectors was monthly to three monthly. The effectiveness of agricultural support and health sector links were rated as less effective by the agricultural support sector than by the health sector (p Conclusion Aligning with agricultural agencies is important to build effective mental health service pathways to address the needs of farming populations. Work is required to ensure that these agricultural support agencies have operational and effective links to primary mental health care services. Network analysis provides a baseline to inform this work. With interventions such as local mental health training and joint service planning to promote network development we would expect to see over time an increase in the mean number of links, the frequency in which these links are used and the rated effectiveness of these links.

  18. Agricultural extension needs of farmers in Telfairia production and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assessed agricultural extension needs of farmers in Telfairia production and marketing in Enugu State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 160 Telfairia farmers for the study. Structured interview schedule was used to collect data. Data was analysed by use of descriptive statistics and factor ...

  19. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Place of the Freedom of Information Act in Promoting Agricultural. Extension under the .... information-sharing and joint decision-making. The terms ..... public opinion, to hold leaders to account and to feed into decision-making processes. This,.

  20. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori . The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels ( p service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  1. Extension and Higher Education Service-Learning: Toward a Community Development Service-Learning Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoecker, Randy

    2014-01-01

    This article explores how on-the-ground Extension educators interface with higher education service-learning. Most service-learning in Extension has focused on precollege youth and 4-H. When we look at higher education service-learning and Extension in Wisconsin, we see that there is not as much connection as might be expected. County-based…

  2. Documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Documenting and disseminating agricultural indigenous knowledge for sustainable food security in Uganda. ... University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal ... Moreover, small-scale farmers should be involved in agricultural extension services ...

  3. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taeyang Yang

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG. A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1 followed by extended service name (S2 were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05. The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods.

  4. Characteristics of Human Brain Activity during the Evaluation of Service-to-Service Brand Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Taeyang; Lee, Seungji; Seomoon, Eunbi; Kim, Sung-Phil

    2018-01-01

    Brand extension is a marketing strategy to apply the previously established brand name into new goods or service. A number of studies have reported the characteristics of human event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to the evaluation of goods-to-goods brand extension. In contrast, human brain responses to the evaluation of service extension are relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was investigating cognitive processes underlying the evaluation of service-to-service brand extension with electroencephalography (EEG). A total of 56 text stimuli composed of service brand name (S1) followed by extended service name (S2) were presented to participants. The EEG of participants was recorded while participants were asked to evaluate whether a given brand extension was acceptable or not. The behavioral results revealed that participants could evaluate brand extension though they had little knowledge about the extended services, indicating the role of brand in the evaluation of the services. Additionally, we developed a method of grouping brand extension stimuli according to the fit levels obtained from behavioral responses, instead of grouping of stimuli a priori. The ERP analysis identified three components during the evaluation of brand extension: N2, P300, and N400. No difference in the N2 amplitude was found among the different levels of a fit between S1 and S2. The P300 amplitude for the low level of fit was greater than those for higher levels (p < 0.05). The N400 amplitude was more negative for the mid- and high-level fits than the low level. The ERP results of P300 and N400 indicate that the early stage of brain extension evaluation might first detect low-fit brand extension as an improbable target followed by the late stage of the integration of S2 into S1. Along with previous findings, our results demonstrate different cognitive evaluation of service-to-service brand extension from goods-to-goods. PMID:29479313

  5. Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by Agricultural Science and Extension Teachers in Abuja, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alabi, Olugbenga Omotayo

    2016-01-01

    This study examined adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) by agricultural science and extension teachers in Abuja, Nigeria. Specifically, the objectives are to: identify the background and demographic characteristics of agricultural science and extension teachers in the study area; examine the factors influencing adoption…

  6. Comparative Performance Evaluation of the Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) ... Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike Umuahia. Abia State. Nigeria ... part of Nigeria, with specific interest in extension services delivery within the period 2006-2008. Purpose of the ...

  7. Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charlotte L. R. Payne

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems.

  8. Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Charlotte L. R.; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

    2017-01-01

    Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems. PMID:28218635

  9. Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Charlotte L R; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

    2017-02-17

    Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring future food security. This review considers the multiple ecosystem services provided by edible insects in existing agricultural systems worldwide. Directly and indirectly, edible insects contribute to all four categories of ecosystem services as outlined by the Millennium Ecosystem Services definition: provisioning, regulating, maintaining, and cultural services. They are also responsible for ecosystem disservices, most notably significant crop damage. We argue that it is crucial for decision-makers to evaluate the costs and benefits of the presence of food insects in agricultural systems. We recommend that a key priority for further research is the quantification of the economic and environmental contribution of services and disservices from edible insects in agricultural systems.

  10. 75 FR 29306 - Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-25

    ... Market News Branch, Livestock and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-10-0035] Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing...

  11. Communication for Strengthening Agricultural Extension and Rural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    chrischisoni

    economy to harness the potential provided by the tourism, mining and service sectors. ... smallholder farmers experience low yields, which would almost double “if technical ..... training, but hardly any training in the social sciences, especially, in development and ... Table 3: Factors Motivating Extension Workers in Malawi ...

  12. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 17 (1) June, 2013 ISSN 1119 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Onyii Ogbonna

    Journal of Agricultural Extension. Vol. ... Nigeria one of the largest importers of fish in the developing world, importing ... stratum formed the third stage. ..... Quarterly. 28 (3 & 4): 8-13. Binyotubo, T.E (2011). A guide to fishing gear technology.

  13. 77 FR 58978 - Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-25

    ..., Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA... Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. DATES: The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board will meet October 23-25, 2012. The public may file...

  14. Competence Challenges of Demand-Led Agricultural Research and Extension in Uganda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kibwika, P.; Wals, A.E.J.; Nassuna-Musoke, M.G.

    2009-01-01

    Governments and development agencies in Sub-Saharan Africa are experimenting alternative approaches within the innovation systems paradigm to enhance relevance of agricultural research and extension to the poverty eradication agenda. Uganda, for example, has recently shifted from the supply driven

  15. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extension service delivery is too often merely seen as a vehicle for spreading scientific and technical progress and technology transfer. In the real sense, however, dissemination of knowledge is not a one way affair from scientists to producers. The study was conducted to assess extension service delivery on improved ...

  16. Research-extension-farmer linkages

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    agricultural research and extension services, Government in 1990 set up a number of ... charged with the role of articulating the most appropriate research and ... production of 1800 copies of NARO bulletin, 1000 copies of Uganda Journal of ...

  17. Policy Issues in Meeting Rice Farmers Agricultural Information ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Madukwe

    National Agricultural Extension & Research Liaison Services ... (LGA) in Zone 1 of Niger State Agricultural development Programme ... needs of Farmers, especially in an information dependent sector like ... agricultural information needs and the constraints faced in sourcing for ... farmers are centered around production.

  18. Experimental assessment of ecosystem services in agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sandhu, Harpinder; Porter, John Roy; Wratten, Steve

    2013-01-01

    Ecosystem services are the resources and processes supplied by natural ecosystems which benefit humankind (for example, pollination of crops by insects, or water filtration by wetlands). They underpin life on earth, provide major inputs to many economic sectors and support our lifestyles. Agricul......Ecosystem services are the resources and processes supplied by natural ecosystems which benefit humankind (for example, pollination of crops by insects, or water filtration by wetlands). They underpin life on earth, provide major inputs to many economic sectors and support our lifestyles....... Agricultural and urban areas are by far the largest users of ecosystems and their services and (for the first time) this book explores the role that ecosystem services play in these managed environments. The book also explores methods of evaluating ecosystem services, and discusses how these services can...... be maintained and enhanced in our farmlands and cities. This book will be useful to students and researchers from a variety of fields, including applied ecology, environmental economics, agriculture and forestry, and also to local and regional planners and policy makers....

  19. Status of Job Motivation and Job Performance of Field Level Extension Agents in Ogun State: Implications for Agricultural Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabusoro, E.; Awotunde, J. A.; Sodiya, C. I.; Alarima, C. I.

    2008-01-01

    The field level extension agents (FLEAs) are the lifeline of the agricultural extension system in Nigeria. Their motivation and job performance are therefore important to achieving faster agricultural development in Nigeria. The study identified the factors motivating the FLEAs working with Ogun State Agricultural development programme (OGADEP)…

  20. Public extension agents' need for new competencies: evidence from ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Small yield differences between Extension service-recipients and non-recipients indicate that Extension support has minimal effect on farmers' production. Agents need new competencies regarding correct application conservation agriculture. The study recommends the involvement of extension agents, scientists and ...

  1. Agriculture Extension Service Delivery in a Semi-Arid Rural Area in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 13, No 4 (2013) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  2. Journal of Agricultural Extension submitted to Agricultural Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. MADUKWE

    ... typically confront narrower range of labour markets than men, and lower wage ... capabilities of women and by extension the household, female household ..... gap in accessibility to productive resources between male and female heads of.

  3. Solid Propulsion Systems, Subsystems, and Components Service Life Extension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hundley, Nedra H.; Jones, Connor

    2011-01-01

    The service life extension of solid propulsion systems, subsystems, and components will be discussed based on the service life extension of the Space Transportation System Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) and Booster Separation Motors (BSM). The RSRM is certified for an age life of five years. In the aftermath of the Columbia accident there were a number of motors that were approaching the end of their five year service life certification. The RSRM Project initiated an assessment to determine if the service life of these motors could be extended. With the advent of the Constellation Program, a flight test was proposed that would utilize one of the RSRMs which had been returned from the launch site due to the expiration of its five year service life certification and twelve surplus Chemical Systems Division BSMs which had exceeded their eight year service life. The RSRM age life tracking philosophy which establishes when the clock starts for age life tracking will be described. The role of the following activities in service life extension will be discussed: subscale testing, accelerated aging, dissecting full scale aged hardware, static testing full scale aged motors, data mining industry data, and using the fleet leader approach. The service life certification and extension of the BSMs will also be presented.

  4. The role of corporate image and extension similarity in service brand extensions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruyter, de J.C.; Wetzels, M.G.M.

    2000-01-01

    In this article we examine the role of corporate image in extending service brands to new and traditional markets in the telecommunications sector. With regards to corporate image, service brand extensions are primarily associated with innovation-related attributes, such as order of entry (i.e.,

  5. WILLINGNESS TO TAKE AGRICULTURAL INSURANCE BY COCOA FARMERS IN NIGERIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abraham Falola

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This study examines willingness to take agricultural insurance by cocoa farmers in Nigeria. A three-stage sampling procedure was used to select 120 cocoa farm households and structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. The data were analysed with descriptive statistics and probit regression model. Results showed that 77.5% of the farmers were aware of Agricultural Insurance but only 50% were willing to take it. The average willingness-to-pay (WTP for Agricultural Insurance by the respondents was N11,087.5/ha ($69.85/ha. The significant variables influencing willingness to take agricultural insurance by the farmers were age of household head, educational level, access to extension service and farm income. The study therefore recommends encouraging young well educated people to engage in cocoa farming, overhauling agricultural extension services as well as provision of insurance services to farmers at affordable rate.

  6. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    some 25% of all mammals, 12% of birds, and 20-30% of reptiles and ... 14 Supervisor, Senior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource ... The nation's biodiversity richness, ... disappearance of endangered plants and animals.

  7. Evaluating impacts of gender integration on agriculture and food ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Evaluating impacts of gender integration on agriculture and food security outcomes ... to and control over land, agricultural technologies, extension services, markets, ... IDRC “unpacks women's empowerment” at McGill University Conference.

  8. 77 FR 55451 - Notice of Intent To Request an Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-10

    ..., marketing, technical, and financial resources to carry out the submitted plan. Estimate of Burden: Public... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Research Service Notice of Intent To Request an Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Research Service, USDA. [[Page...

  9. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    There is no one set of challenges that justify privatization of extension and advisory services both in developed and developing areas. It is argued that factors that can influence privatization include; limited budget provisions and ineffectiveness of extension and advisory services. Literature is full of lessons on the failure and ...

  10. A Quantitative Assessment of an Outsourced Agricultural Extension Service in the Umzimkhulu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyne, Michael C.; Jonas, Nomonde; Ortmann, Gerald F.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of an outsourced extension service delivered by Lima Rural Development Foundation (Lima) in the Umzimkhulu district of South Africa. The evaluation is conducted at both the household and program levels. Design/methodology/approach: Household impacts were estimated using two-stage regression with…

  11. Economic Impact of e-Velanmai Model of Extension Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duraisamy Prabha

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available A study was carried out to assess the impact of e-Velanmai project, which is an ICT (Information and Communication Technology enabled extension service implemented by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, in three districts viz., Coimbatore, Tirupur and Villupuram of Tamil Nadu state, with 180 farmer respondents (90 e-Velanmai beneficiaries and 90 non-beneficiaries. Partial budgeting analysis revealed that the beneficiary respondentswith respect to yield, it is noticed that the yield value of beneficiaries was higher than that of the non-beneficiaries. As a result the net-gain for the beneficiaries was Rs. 28,481 per acre. With respect to the constraints faced by beneficiaries, an overwhelming percentage (94.40 % of the beneficiary respondents had expressed that they faced no constraints, while a small percentage (5.50 % indicated that there is no direct contact with TNAU Scientists’, and no follow-up visit by Field Coordinators after giving advice (1.10 %.

  12. 77 FR 11064 - National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-24

    ..., Education, and Economics Advisory Board Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA... Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. DATES: The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board will meet March 28-29, 2012. The public may file written...

  13. Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Stephen A; Karp, Daniel S; DeClerck, Fabrice; Kremen, Claire; Naeem, Shahid; Palm, Cheryl A

    2015-09-01

    Functional trait research has led to greater understanding of the impacts of biodiversity in ecosystems. Yet, functional trait approaches have not been widely applied to agroecosystems and understanding of the importance of agrobiodiversity remains limited to a few ecosystem processes and services. To improve this understanding, we argue here for a functional trait approach to agroecology that adopts recent advances in trait research for multitrophic and spatially heterogeneous ecosystems. We suggest that trait values should be measured across environmental conditions and agricultural management regimes to predict how ecosystem services vary with farm practices and environment. This knowledge should be used to develop management strategies that can be easily implemented by farmers to manage agriculture to provide multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. AGRICULTURAL DYNAMICS IN PAKISTAN: CURRENT ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fawad Zafar Ahmad Khan

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture is heavily contributing towards the economy of Pakistan. Water deficiency and drought conditions, long duration load shedding issue, poor extension services, absence of land reforms, absence of distribution of certified varieties, high price of fertilizers, deliberate use of adulterated, non-recommended and expired insecticides, non utilization of cultivable waste land, conventional farming practices, indirect access of farmer to main market, absence of ecological based cropping pattern, smuggling of agricultural inputs and outputs, lack of cooperation between agricultural research, education & extension services, absence of crop insurance, depletion of forests, lack of modern post-harvest technologies and disease outbreaks of poultry birds are some of the key issues that are playing a negative role in demotion of agricultural sector in Pakistan. The review article will briefly discuss above mentioned issues and some of the possible remedies under the environment of Pakistanand their adoption to improve the agricultural productivity in the country.

  15. Farming for Ecosystem Services: An Ecological Approach to Production Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip Robertson, G; Gross, Katherine L; Hamilton, Stephen K; Landis, Douglas A; Schmidt, Thomas M; Snapp, Sieglinde S; Swinton, Scott M

    2014-05-01

    A balanced assessment of ecosystem services provided by agriculture requires a systems-level socioecological understanding of related management practices at local to landscape scales. The results from 25 years of observation and experimentation at the Kellogg Biological Station long-term ecological research site reveal services that could be provided by intensive row-crop ecosystems. In addition to high yields, farms could be readily managed to contribute clean water, biocontrol and other biodiversity benefits, climate stabilization, and long-term soil fertility, thereby helping meet society's need for agriculture that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Midwest farmers-especially those with large farms-appear willing to adopt practices that deliver these services in exchange for payments scaled to management complexity and farmstead benefit. Surveyed citizens appear willing to pay farmers for the delivery of specific services, such as cleaner lakes. A new farming for services paradigm in US agriculture seems feasible and could be environmentally significant.

  16. Farming for Ecosystem Services: An Ecological Approach to Production Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip Robertson, G.; Gross, Katherine L.; Hamilton, Stephen K.; Landis, Douglas A.; Schmidt, Thomas M.; Snapp, Sieglinde S.; Swinton, Scott M.

    2014-01-01

    A balanced assessment of ecosystem services provided by agriculture requires a systems-level socioecological understanding of related management practices at local to landscape scales. The results from 25 years of observation and experimentation at the Kellogg Biological Station long-term ecological research site reveal services that could be provided by intensive row-crop ecosystems. In addition to high yields, farms could be readily managed to contribute clean water, biocontrol and other biodiversity benefits, climate stabilization, and long-term soil fertility, thereby helping meet society's need for agriculture that is economically and environmentally sustainable. Midwest farmers—especially those with large farms—appear willing to adopt practices that deliver these services in exchange for payments scaled to management complexity and farmstead benefit. Surveyed citizens appear willing to pay farmers for the delivery of specific services, such as cleaner lakes. A new farming for services paradigm in US agriculture seems feasible and could be environmentally significant. PMID:26955069

  17. Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate Online Course: An Effective Tool for Creating Extension Competency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitefield, Elizabeth; Schmidt, David; Witt-Swanson, Lindsay; Smith, David; Pronto, Jennifer; Knox, Pam; Powers, Crystal

    2016-01-01

    There is a need to create competency among Extension professionals on the topic of climate change adaptation and mitigation in animal agriculture. The Animal Agriculture in a Changing Climate online course provides an easily accessible, user-friendly, free, and interactive experience for learning science-based information on a national and…

  18. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 17 (1) June, 2013 ISSN 1119 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Onyii Ogbonna

    and application of scientific agricultural information for purposeful development of the system (Adebayo ... Internet or mobile phones -- is increasingly bringing market information, financial services, and ..... An M.Sc. Dissertation submitted to the ...

  19. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Key words: Participation, participants, perception, agricultural projects, Extension Officers. 1. INTRODUCTION ... participation of farmers or project participants and other role players is critical to the success and sustainability of ..... respondent categories indicated a financial reason for participating. A project needs to be a.

  20. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    agriculture in South Africa and to make it more attractive and a profitable venture. ... Successful entrepreneurship requires a strong enabling environment of ... business. Many small-scale farmers and extension organisations understand ... entrepreneurs are not the same and there are obviously major differences between.

  1. Training and in-service training of home economics extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Home economics is traditionally a femaledominated profession. Home economists employed in the KwaZulu-Natal agricultural and rural development extension delivery system are mainly responsible for serving a predominantly female clientele, namely rural women. These home economists focus on women's domestic ...

  2. Philosophy of adult education and the implication for agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Philosophy of adult education and the implication for agricultural extension service. ... The paper highlights the relationhip between adult education and extension using the philosophy as a fulcrum between both. The paper further reiterated ...

  3. An ontology-based collaborative service framework for agricultural information

    Science.gov (United States)

    In recent years, China has developed modern agriculture energetically. An effective information framework is an important way to provide farms with agricultural information services and improve farmer's production technology and their income. The mountain areas in central China are dominated by agri...

  4. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1.1. The Dynamics of Linkages and Innovativeness in Publicly and Privately Driven. Agricultural Value Chains. Seth Awuku Manteaw1 , J.N.Anaglo2 , S D Boateng2. 1 Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Ghana. 2Department of Agricultural Extension. University of Ghana. Abstract.

  5. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    challenges facing the agricultural sector in SSA, jointly leading to low ... technology; and incompatibility of current education, training, and extension structures with ... and subsidized credit through government lending institutions is no longer available. Private .... There is so much knowledge and information that we generate.

  6. Familiarization and Application of ICTs in Agricultural Advisory ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide agricultural advisory services. For the .... their own agricultural offices with extension process owners and Subject Mater Specialists (SMSs), and three .... information in any format (i.e., voice, data, text and image), computers, the Internet, CD-. ROMs, email ...

  7. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Taylor, 2000). Establishing the urgent need for intervention, Hilton-Taylor indicates that some 25% of all mammals, 12% of birds, and 20-30% of reptiles and amphibians are at the moment endangered. ... 14 Supervisor, Senior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management, University of. KwaZulu-Natal.

  8. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    author has adopted a desktop study in which literature was reviewed and synthesized ... discusses the meanings of agricultural extension and rural development. ... United States of America (USA) is one of the best known examples of a .... Extensionists usually persuade farmers to adopt new practices mainly because they.

  9. Standardization of doctoral study in agricultural and extension education: is the field of study mature enough for achievement of the optimum degree of order?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briers, G E; Lindner, J R; Shinn, G C; Wingenbach, G W; Baker, M T

    2010-01-01

    Agricultural and extension education--or some derivative name--is a field of study leading to the doctoral degree in universities around the world. Is there are body of knowledge or a taxonomy of the knowledge--e.g., a knowledge domain--that one should possess with a doctorate in agricultural and extension education? The purpose of this paper was to synthesize the work of researchers who attempted to define the field of study, with a taxonomy comprising the knowledge domains (standards) and knowledge objects--structured interrelated sets of data, knowledge, and wisdom--of the field of study. Doctoral study in agricultural and extension education needs a document that provides for rules and guidelines--rules and guidelines that in turn provide for common and repeated use--all leading to achievement of an optimum degree of order in the context of academic, scholarly, and professional practice in agricultural and extension education. Thus, one would know in broad categories the knowledge, skills, and abilities possessed by one who holds a doctoral degree in agricultural and extension education. That is, there would exist a standard for doctoral degrees in agricultural and extension education. A content analysis of three previous attempts to categorize knowledge in agricultural and extension education served as the primary technique to create a new taxonomy--or to confirm an existing taxonomy--for doctoral study in agricultural and extension education. The following coalesced as nine essential knowledge domains for a doctorate in agricultural and extension education: (1) history, philosophy, ethics, and policy; (2) agricultural/rural development; (3) organizational development and change management; (4) planning, needs assessment, and evaluation; (5) learning theory; (6) curriculum development and instructional design; (7) teaching methods and delivery strategies; (8) research methods and tools; and, (9) scholarship and communications.

  10. Determinants of E-learning Acceptance among Agricultural Extension Agents in Malaysia: A Conceptual Framework

    OpenAIRE

    Mangir, Safaie; Othman, Zakirah; Udin, Zulkifli Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this paper is to develop a framework on e-learning acceptance among agricultural extension agents in Malaysian agricultural sector. E-learning is viewed as a solution in response to the increasing need for learning and training. This paper will review past literatures for the relevant factors that influence behavioral intention for e-learning acceptance as well as the relevant behavioral theories that provide the foundation for developing research framework to illustrate the ...

  11. Journal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR) VOL. 10, No. 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    oma

    guiding extension service delivery have focused primarily on the rural sector since ... agricultural and rural development policies in developing nations like Nigeria. ... affirming that agricultural linkages to the non-farm economy generate ...

  12. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    production practices and economic viability in order to align extension and farmer ... 1 FSD, Extension and Advisory Services, Central Karoo, Western Cape ..... making, banks, accountants and fellow farmers are playing an important role as.

  13. 78 FR 52127 - Tobacco Inspection and Grading Services: Notice of Request for an Extension of a Currently...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-13-0046] Tobacco Inspection and...: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with the... 16, 2013. Rex A. Barnes, Associate Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service. [FR Doc. 2013-20439...

  14. 75 FR 61694 - Notice of Request for Extension of the Organic Assessment Exemption

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-06

    ... marketing research, including paid advertising, to promote various commodities, which is paid for by... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-FV-10-0069; FV10-900-1NC] Notice of Request for Extension of the Organic Assessment Exemption AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing...

  15. Willingness to Pay for Rural Telephone Services: Implications for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Global Approaches to Extension Practice: A Journal of Agricultural Extension ... This study assessed Willingness to Pay (WTP) for rural telephone services and the implications for agricultural technology transfer in Southeast Nigeria. ... The sample was made up of 240 agro-based entrepreneurs and 60 extension staff.

  16. Extension Resources for International Trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seal, Susan D.

    2016-01-01

    With the opening of additional trade partnerships, the reduction of global transportation and communication costs, and the increase in demand for U.S. agricultural products and services, international trade is an area of great importance to more and more Extension clients and stakeholders. This article provides information about the primary…

  17. An enquiry into the prospects of mobile telephone for agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    KEYWORDS: Mobile phones, agricultural information, global system for mobile ... rural services (i.e. agricultural extension) more efficient and cost-effective. 2. ... adoption of mobile telephones, evaluation research has however .... Distribution of respondents by religion. Religion. Frequencies Percentages. Christian. Islam.

  18. 77 FR 65169 - Extension of Certain Timber Sale Contracts; Finding of Substantial Overriding Public Interest

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-25

    ... that are in breach, or (6) contracts when the purchaser's processing facility has not operated during... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Extension of Certain Timber Sale Contracts; Finding of Substantial Overriding Public Interest AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of contract extensions...

  19. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    environment. “Sustainability is to leave future generations as many, if not more, opportunities. 7 PhD student, Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development and Extension, University of the Free ..... (University of the Free State). THI, N. 2008. Migration of youth to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. PhD Thesis submitted to.

  20. 47 CFR 22.912 - Service area boundary extensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... cellular market or in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Zone (GMCZ), to allow one or more SAB extensions into the... of the cellular market boundary, but within the service area as calculated using the methods of § 22... section, SABs may be extended into adjacent cellular markets if such extensions are de minimis, are...

  1. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Department of Agricultural Extension & Economics,. National ... This study assessed the level of adoption of recommended agrochemical practices .... Secondary sources such as annual reports of ADPs, published materials like textbooks,.

  2. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    The inefficiency of extension service in passing information to farmers is extremely difficult due to the ... It is hoped that information and communication technologies (ICTs) will provide both “new and unique ..... Revolution?”InfoDev Working ...

  3. SHIFTING POLITICAL POWER IN THE UNITED STATES, IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE. PAPER PRESENTED TO THE FEDERAL EXTENSION SERVICE ANNUAL STAFF CONFERENCE, JANUARY 10, 1967.

    Science.gov (United States)

    HATHAWAY, DALE E.

    THE RISE OF THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM IN THE SOUTH, REAPPORTIONMENT, AND POPULATION SHIFTS HAVE REMOVED THE SOUTH'S DOMINANCE IN AGRICULTURAL AFFAIRS AND INCREASED THE POWER OF THE LARGER COMMERCIALIZED FARMS OF THE WEST. EXTENSION PROGRAMS FOR THE RURAL POOR, WHO ARE LARGELY IN THE SOUTH, WILL FIND LITTLE SUPPORT FROM THE TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL…

  4. A comparative study of the training of agricultural advisory personnel in the Netherlands and India

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sharma, S.K.

    1960-01-01

    Various aspects, in particular the training of extension workers, were compared of the agricultural advisory services in the Netherlands and India. In 1870 some agricultural agents were appointed in the Netherlands. In India it was not until 1928 that the importance of extension workers was

  5. the economic benefits of extension services on livestock production ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    MRS FOLA AJAYI

    2007-06-08

    Jun 8, 2007 ... This study examined the impact of extension services on livestock output in six communities in .... Divorced. 3. 2.5. Widowed. 2. 1.7. Total. 120. 100. Educational ... status may be constraints on positive impact of extension on.

  6. Changing Roles of a University Cooperative Extension Service in Response to Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Thelma C.

    2013-01-01

    Researchers have acknowledged that cooperative extension organizations should rethink dominant agricultural foci and be more inclusive of nontraditional audiences. An extension organization in the southeastern United States has experienced declining workshop participation, requests for technical assistance, and local office visits. These declines…

  7. Does extensive agriculture influence the concentration of trace elements in the aquatic plant Veronica anagallis-aquatica?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kroflič, Ana; Germ, Mateja; Golob, Aleksandra; Stibilj, Vekoslava

    2018-04-15

    The present study describes the influence of extensive agriculture on the concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Cd, Se, Pb and Zn in sediments and in the aquatic plant Veronica anagallis-aquatica. The investigation, spanning 4 years, was conducted on three watercourses in Slovenia (Pšata, Lipsenjščica and Žerovniščica) flowing through agricultural areas. The different sampling sites were chosen on the basis of the presence of different activities in these regions: dairy farming, stock raising and extensive agriculture. The concentrations of the selected elements in sediments and V. anagallis-aquatica were below the literature background values. The distribution of the selected elements among different plant parts (roots, stems and leaves) were also investigated. The majority of the studied elements, with the exception of Zn and Cu, were accumulated mainly in root tissues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Financial Services and the Deployment of Agricultural Innovations in ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    As partners of farmers' associations and small agri-businesses, financial cooperatives can play an important role in the adoption of agricultural innovations by providing relevant financial services. This project will test the ability of financial services to support the deployment and large-scale adoption of innovations ...

  9. 78 FR 52129 - Cotton Classification and Market News Service: Notice of Request for an Extension and Revision of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-13-0045] Cotton Classification... Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice and request for comments... announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of...

  10. Farmers and Extension Personnel View of Constraints to Effective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    E M IGBOKWE

    effectiveness of agricultural extension services in Oyo State, Nigeria. ... of farmers but include assisting farmer to form groups, dealing with marketing issues, ... traditional methods of farming system and animal husbandry practice, hence.

  11. Improving Customer Service at the Agricultural Development Banks ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Improving Customer Service at the Agricultural Development Banks in Ghana: An Application of the Queuing Theory. ... African Journal of Management Research. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue ...

  12. Assessment of veterinary extension services to livestock farmers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined operational modes of providing veterinary extension services to livestock farmers in Egba-Division, Ogun-State Nigeria. Information was obtained from 120 livestock farmers and 8 extension agents selected through multi-stage random sampling technique with the use of both structured questionnaire ...

  13. Promotion of Agricultural Innovation Systems Approach: Policy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Policy Implications for Maize Extension and Advisory Services in Tanzania .... GDP, provides 85% of exports, and employs about 80% of the ... for agricultural development (URT, 2012). The study .... in Tanzania.A Dissertation for Award of.

  14. An integrated approach to monitoring ecosystem services and agriculture: implications for sustainable agricultural intensification in Rwanda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosa, Melissa F; Bonham, Curan A; Dempewolf, Jan; Arakwiye, Bernadette

    2017-01-01

    Maintaining the long-term sustainability of human and natural systems across agricultural landscapes requires an integrated, systematic monitoring system that can track crop productivity and the impacts of agricultural intensification on natural resources. This study presents the design and practical implementation of a monitoring framework that combines satellite observations with ground-based biophysical measurements and household surveys to provide metrics on ecosystem services and agricultural production at multiple spatial scales, reaching from individual households and plots owned by smallholder farmers to 100-km 2 landscapes. We developed a set of protocols for monitoring and analyzing ecological and agricultural household parameters within two 10 × 10-km landscapes in Rwanda, including soil fertility, crop yield, water availability, and fuelwood sustainability. Initial results suggest providing households that rely on rainfall for crop irrigation with timely climate information and improved technical inputs pre-harvest could help increase crop productivity in the short term. The value of the monitoring system is discussed as an effective tool for establishing a baseline of ecosystem services and agriculture before further change in land use and climate, identifying limitations in crop production and soil fertility, and evaluating food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability goals set forth by the Rwandan government.

  15. December, 2013 ISSN 1119-944X 149 Perception of Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Postgraduate Students of Agriculture in Selected Universities in. South-West ... The study investigated perception of agricultural extension as a career among ... Human being must earn a living in order to meet the basic needs for foods, shelter ... comprehensive programme of services deliberately put in place for expanding,.

  16. Extension's Online Presence: Are Land-Grant Universities Promoting the Tripartite Mission?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Shannon; Hill, Alexandra; Bailey, Nikki; Meyers, Courtney

    2012-01-01

    Land-grant universities were established with a tripartite mission: education, research, and outreach through the Cooperative Extension Service. The purpose of the study reported here was to evaluate the online presence and technological adoptions of Extension on land-grant university, college of agriculture, and state Extension websites. Almost…

  17. Quantifying Trade-Offs Among Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity, and Agricultural Returns in an Agriculturally Dominated Landscape Under Future Land‑Management Scenarios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emma C. Underwood

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available https://doi.org/10.15447/sfews.2017v15iss2art4Change in land use in agriculturally dominated areas is often assumed to provide positive benefits for land-owners and financial agricultural returns at the expense of biodiversity and other ecosystem services. For an agriculturally dominated area in the Central Valley of California we quantify the trade-offs among ecosystem services, biodiversity, and the financial returns from agricultural lands. We do this by evaluating three different landscape management scenarios projected to 2050 compared to the current baseline: habitat restoration, urbanization, and enhanced agriculture. The restoration scenario benefited carbon storage services and increased landscape suitability for birds, and also decreased ecosystem disservices (nitrous oxide emissions, nitrogen leaching, although there was a trade-off in slightly lower financial agricultural returns. Under the urbanization scenario, carbon storage, suitability for birds, and agricultural returns were negatively affected. A scenario which enhanced agriculture, tailored to the needs of a key species of conservation concern (Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo swainsoni, presented the most potential for trade-offs. This scenario benefitted carbon storage and increased landscape suitability for the Swainson's Hawk as well as 15 other focal bird species. However, this scenario increased ecosystem disservices. These spatially explicit results, generated at a scale relevant to land management decision-makers in the Central Valley, provide valuable insight into managing for multiple benefits in the landscape and an approach for assessing future land-management decisions.

  18. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    hinged on extension services by helping farmers to identify, analyze and link with research on their production problems. They also create awareness on opportunities for improvement of farm yields leading to increased income and better standard of living (Van den ban and. Hawkins, 1998; Balantyne and Bokre, 2003).

  19. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Standard Forms FSIS United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service About FSIS District Offices Careers Contact Us Ask ... Reports Fact Sheets Food Defense and Emergency Response Food Safety Education FSIS ... Assistance Contact Centers Cooperative Agreements Email Subscription ...

  20. 75 FR 31746 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Mangoes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ... Request: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0052... Philippines AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  1. 7 CFR 3402.4 - Food and agricultural sciences areas targeted for National Needs Graduate and Postdoctoral...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Food and agricultural sciences areas targeted for..., AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES NATIONAL NEEDS... sciences areas targeted for National Needs Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants Program support...

  2. MBI FRAMEWORK EXTENSION TOWARDS CLOUD SERVICE IMPROVEMENT FROM CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soňa Karkošková

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Cloud computing is changing the way that organizations utilize IT resources with a corresponding impact on the role of IT management. To help organizations with managing their business informatics, Management of Business Informatics (MBI framework has been developed. The problem was that this framework did not explicitly reflect managing cloud services from cloud service consumer perspective and specifically did not address managing of cloud service improvement from consumer perspective. Therefore, analysis of MBI framework was performed from cloud service consumer viewpoint to design extension of MBI framework towards cloud service improvement management. Proposal of MBI framework extension in an output of research process according to Design Science Research Methodology and its evaluation approach is based on methodology for the design and implementation of case studies for scientific purposes and on descriptive evaluation method using scenario.

  3. Agricultural policies exacerbate honeybee pollination service supply-demand mismatches across Europe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Breeze, T.; Vaissiere, B.E.; Bommarco, R.; Petanidou, T.; Seraphides, N.; Kozak, L.; Scheper, J.A.; Biesmeijer, J.C.; Kleijn, D.; Gyldenkaerne, S.

    2014-01-01

    Declines in insect pollinators across Europe have raised concerns about the supply of pollination services to agriculture. Simultaneously, EU agricultural and biofuel policies have encouraged substantial growth in the cultivated area of insect pollinated crops across the continent. Using data from

  4. 76 FR 78229 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Hass...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    ... Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to restrict... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0106... From Peru AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  5. Mapping environmental land use conflict potentials and ecosystem services in agricultural watersheds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ilkwon; Arnhold, Sebastian

    2018-07-15

    In mountainous watersheds, agricultural land use cause changes in ecosystem services, with trade-offs between crop production and erosion regulation. Management of these watersheds can generate environmental land use conflicts among regional stakeholders with different interests. Although several researches have made a start in mapping land use conflicts between human activities and conservation, spatial assessment of land use conflicts on environmental issues and ecosystem service trade-offs within agricultural areas has not been fully considered. In this study, we went further to map land use conflicts between agricultural preferences for crop production and environmental emphasis on erosion regulation. We applied an agricultural land suitability index, based on multi-criteria analysis, to estimate the spatial preference of agricultural activities, while applying the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) to reflect the environmental importance of soil erosion. Then, we classified the agricultural catchment into four levels of land use conflicts (lowest, low, high and highest) according to preference and importance of farmland areas, and we compared the classes by crop type. Soil loss in agricultural areas was estimated as 45.1thayr, and agricultural suitability as 0.873; this indicated that land use conflicts in the catchment could arise between severe soil erosion (environmental importance) and agricultural suitability (land preferences). Dry-field farms are mainly located in areas of low land use conflict level, where land preference outweighs environmental importance. When we applied farmland management scenarios with consideration of services, conversion to highest-conflict areas (Scenario 1) as 7.5% of the total area could reduce soil loss by 24.6%, while fallow land management (Scenario 2) could decrease soil loss 19.4% more than the current scenario (Business as usual). The result could maximize land management plans by extracting issues of spatial

  6. Cellphones are improving agriculture in Kenya | IDRC - International ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-10-27

    Oct 27, 2010 ... DrumNet offers an essential tool to farmers — information. ... Using GSM-enabled (Global System for Mobile Communications) cellphone ... set of services also include credit linked to agricultural extension and marketing.

  7. Climate Change Mitigation: The Role of Agriculture | Obiora ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Climate Change Mitigation: The Role of Agriculture. ... rises which affect both crop and animal production, rising sea levels which causes farm land ... be encouraged (iii) extension services should promote awareness-raising about sustainable ...

  8. The XML approach to implementing space link extension service management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, W.; Welz, G. A.; Theis, G.; Yamada, T.

    2001-01-01

    A feasibility study has been conducted at JPL, ESOC, and ISAS to assess the possible applications of the eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) capabilities to the implementation of the CCSDS Space Link Extension (SLE) Service Management function.

  9. 78 FR 23884 - Seed Testing Service Program; Request for an Extension of and Revision to a Currently Approved...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-13-0007] Seed Testing... AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with... Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for...

  10. Chinese rural development and agricultural technology extension in Hunan province : analysis based on value chain and farmer participation perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jiang, Bin; Herman, Joost; Zhao, Yongjun

    2017-01-01

    As the Chinese rural development has made remarkable achievements in the past forty years, which is shown in agricultural productivity increase and poverty reduction, the administrative agricultural technology extension system is an important factor for those outcomes. However, in recent years, the

  11. Three-Dimensional Extension of a Digital Library Service System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Long

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The paper aims to provide an overall methodology and case study for the innovation and extension of a digital library, especially the service system. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the three-dimensional structure theory of the information service industry, this paper combines a comprehensive analysis with the practical experiences…

  12. Impact of Service Extension and Services Interaction on B2b Sales: A Temporal Investigation Into Fuels’ Category

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Inacio Severo de Almeida

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The scope of services marketing has a theoretical and empirical gap that refers to the impact of the provision of services on sales. This research opportunity is routinely highlighted in theoretical proposals such as the Augmented Service Offering (ASO, Innovation in Services (IS and Service Dominant Logic (SDL, which require alternative measures of combinations of product and service and the possible effects that these arrangements may cause. This article aims to investigate the impact of the extension and the interaction of services on Business to Business (B2B sales. Three hypotheses were tested with data from the fuel sector. Research was operationalized based on secondary data, ceded by an energy company, which comprise sales of regular and premium gasoline of this company to 19 gas stations along 27 months, totaling 513 observations. The study involved the construction of a generalized linear model with balanced, long and random effects panel structure. The three hypotheses were supported, identifying how the extensive principle of service contributes to the increased performance and conclude the existence of a direct, linear and positive impact of extension and interaction of services on B2B sales.

  13. DIESEL ENGINE SYSTEMS. AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY--SERVICE OCCUPATIONS, MODULE NUMBER 15.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohio State Univ., Columbus. Center for Vocational and Technical Education.

    ONE OF A SERIES DESIGNED TO HELP TEACHERS PREPARE POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS FOR AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY SERVICE OCCUPATIONS AS PARTS MEN, MECHANICS, MECHANIC'S HELPERS, AND SERVICE SUPERVISORS, THIS GUIDE AIMS TO DEVELOP STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF DIESEL ENGINES. IT WAS DEVELOPED BY A NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON…

  14. CHANGES IN THE LEVEL AND STRUCTURE OF UTILISATION OF SERVICES IN POLISH AND GERMAN AGRICULTURE IN 1998-2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Małgorzata Kołodziejczak

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper was to present the differences in the level and structure of utilisation of services in Polish and German agriculture. An attempt to define the factors influencing these values was also done. The research covered the share of agricultural services, veterinary expenses and financial intermediation services in intermediate consumption, the value of the studied services per 1 hectare of agricultural land, 1 AWU or 1 DJP, as well as services absorptivity of agricultural production. It was proved that although a significant difference between the role of these services in Poland and Germany still exists, in many cases in 2012 it was not so considerable as in 1998. It can be also assumed that further absorption of funds from the European Union will stimulate investment processes in Polish agriculture, and progressive improvement in utilisation of services by Polish agriculture.

  15. Perspectives of Extension Agents and Farmers toward Multifunctional Agriculture in the United States Corn Belt

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doudna, John W.; O'Neal, Matthew E.; Tyndall, John C.; Helmers, Matthew J.

    2015-01-01

    We surveyed the perspectives of farmers, crop professionals, and Extension agents and found that they have positive perspectives concerning multifunctional agriculture, including a positive effect of a nearby prairie to cropland productivity. The survey was conducted in central Iowa and included individuals predominantly from Iowa involved in…

  16. Regional estimates of ecological services derived from U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faulkner, Stephen P.; Baldwin, Michael J.; Barrow, Wylie C.; Waddle, Hardin; Keeland, Bobby D.; Walls, Susan C.; James, Dale; Moorman, Tom

    2010-01-01

    The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is the Nation?s largest floodplain and this once predominantly forested ecosystem provided significant habitat for a diverse flora and fauna, sequestered carbon in trees and soil, and stored floodwater, sediments, and nutrients within the floodplain. This landscape has been substantially altered by the conversion of nearly 75% of the riparian forests, predominantly to agricultural cropland, with significant loss and degradation of important ecosystem services. Large-scale efforts have been employed to restore the forest and wetland resources and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) represent some of the most extensive restoration programs in the MAV. The objective of the WRP is to restore and protect the functions and values of wetlands in agricultural landscapes with an emphasis on habitat for migratory birds and wetland-dependent wildlife, protection and improvement of water quality, flood attenuation, ground water recharge, protection of native flora and fauna, and educational and scientific scholarship.

  17. Ecosystem Services Provided by Agricultural Land as Modeled by Broad Scale Geospatial Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokkinidis, Ioannis

    Agricultural ecosystems provide multiple services including food and fiber provision, nutrient cycling, soil retention and water regulation. Objectives of the study were to identify and quantify a selection of ecosystem services provided by agricultural land, using existing geospatial tools and preferably free and open source data, such as the Virginia Land Use Evaluation System (VALUES), the North Carolina Realistic Yield Expectations (RYE) database, and the land cover datasets NLCD and CDL. Furthermore I sought to model tradeoffs between provisioning and other services. First I assessed the accuracy of agricultural land in NLCD and CDL over a four county area in eastern Virginia using cadastral parcels. I uncovered issues concerning the definition of agricultural land. The area and location of agriculture saw little change in the 19 years studied. Furthermore all datasets have significant errors of omission (11.3 to 95.1%) and commission (0 to 71.3%). Location of agriculture was used with spatial crop yield databases I created and combined with models I adapted to calculate baseline values for plant biomass, nutrient composition and requirements, land suitability for and potential production of biofuels and the economic impact of agriculture for the four counties. The study area was then broadened to cover 97 counties in eastern Virginia and North Carolina, investigating the potential for increased regional grain production through intensification and extensification of agriculture. Predicted yield from geospatial crop models was compared with produced yield from the NASS Survey of Agriculture. Area of most crops in CDL was similar to that in the Survey of Agriculture, but a yield gap is present for most years, partially due to weather, thus indicating potential for yield increase through intensification. Using simple criteria I quantified the potential to extend agriculture in high yield land in other uses and modeled the changes in erosion and runoff should

  18. Enhancing Training of Staff of the Agricultural Development

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PROF. MADUKWE

    Effective Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria. Wahab, A. A. 1 ... from Annual Performance Survey (APS) report of NAERLS and NPAFS between ... strengthen the staff's skills, increase productivity and achieve higher organizational .... Production & processing. 2 .... technology and sourcing .... industry used for.

  19. Information transfer in the agricultural sector in Spain

    OpenAIRE

    Munoz-Canavate, Antonio; Hipola, Pedro

    2010-01-01

    This paper examines the structures of information transfer to the agricultural (production) and agro-alimentary (transformation and commercialization of the products) sector within Spain. A historical perspective is provided to better illustrate the reality and complexity of Spain with regard to the systems of agrarian extension, agricultural research, resources provided by Spain’s central administration, and the use of information by related enterprises. The Service of Agrarian Extens...

  20. Critical Challenges of Pre and Post Service Extension Education ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Critical Challenges of Pre and Post Service Extension Education and ... poor policy decision and implementation, rapid development in science and ... problems associated with information/communication echnologies access and utilization.

  1. Promoting Smallholder Adoption of Conservation Agriculture through Mechanization Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian Sims

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The importance of conservation agriculture (CA is discussed in the context of producing food for a growing population while, at the same time, conserving and improving the natural resource base: sustainable crop production intensification. CA requires mechanization, and the necessary equipment may be beyond the reach of the majority of smallholder farmers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. A logical solution to this situation is to provide CA mechanization services from private sector entrepreneurs. These will be well-equipped with appropriate CA equipment and will usually benefit from specific training on the technical aspects of CA machinery operation and on the business skills needed to run a profitable venture. The technical skills to be reinforced include: equipment selection, calibration of planters, seeders and sprayers, field operation, maintenance and repair. Business skills needed include: market research and feasibility studies, business planning, calculation of operational costs, partial budgets, break-even points and cash flows. The case is made for local manufacture to reduce the costs of machinery acquisition and to encourage local adaptation. Start-up costs are discussed together with the options of obtaining finance. Guidelines for marketing and managing the mechanization service provision business are developed. These include the importance of contracts, work planning, regular maintenance schedules and record keeping. Finally the most appropriate vehicle for delivering the training and sustaining support is considered. Formal training courses are a good starting point, but can be expensive to organize and execute. Individual counselling from extension sources is a viable option when the quality of the service is high enough. Study groups of involved entrepreneurs should be encouraged and supported to overcome the problems that will inevitably arise in new business ventures.

  2. Development and Preliminary Application of Multi-channel Agricultural Science and Technology Consulting Service U Disk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, W. S.; Luo, C. S.; Wei, Q. F.; Zheng, Y. M.; Cao, C. Z.

    2017-12-01

    To deal with the “last kilometer” problem during the agricultural science and technology information service, the USB flash disk “Zixuntong”, which integrated five major consulting channels, i.e., telephone consultation, mutual video, message consultation, online customer service and QQ group was developed on the bases of capital experts and date resources. Since the products have the computer and telephone USB interface and are combined with localized information resources, users can obtain useful information on any terminal without the restriction of network. Meanwhile, the cartoon appearance make it friendly and attractive to people. The USB flash disk was used to provide agricultural expert consulting services and obtained a good preliminary application achievement. Finally, we concluded the creative application of USB flash disk in agricultural consulting services and prospected the future development direction of agricultural mobile consultation.

  3. Control of Vertebrate Pests of Agricultural Crops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wingard, Robert G.; Studholme, Clinton R.

    This agriculture extension service publication of Pennsylvania State University discusses the damage from and control of vertebrate pests. Specific discussions describe the habits, habitat, and various control measures for blackbirds and crows, deer, meadow and pine mice, European starlings, and woodchucks. Where confusion with non-harmful species…

  4. Ecosystem Services from Edible Insects in Agricultural Systems: A Review

    OpenAIRE

    Payne, Charlotte L. R.; Van Itterbeeck, Joost

    2017-01-01

    Many of the most nutritionally and economically important edible insects are those that are harvested from existing agricultural systems. Current strategies of agricultural intensification focus predominantly on increasing crop yields, with no or little consideration of the repercussions this may have for the additional harvest and ecology of accompanying food insects. Yet such insects provide many valuable ecosystem services, and their sustainable management could be crucial to ensuring futu...

  5. Applying parcel-specific land-use data to map conflicts and convergences between agriculture and biodiversity in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Levin, Gregor

    2010-01-01

    Provision of semi-natural habitats is an important service of agricultural ecosystems. Quality and extent of semi-natural habitats is closely linked with intensity of agricultural management. Grass-dominated habitat types often depend on extensive management in terms of grazing or mowing. Lack...... compositions of semi-natural habitats disappear. For Denmark, we apply parcel-specific data on agricultural land use to map convergences and conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity. We group land-uses into intensive and extensive and overlay these with a map of grass-dominated semi-natural habitats. 61...... % of habitats overlap with extensively managed land, indicating convergence between agriculture and biodiversity. In contrast, 13 % of habitats overlap with intensively managed land, pointing at severe conflicts between agriculture and biodiversity. 27 % of habitats are located outside any agricultural land...

  6. Policy issues for improving monitoring and evaluation of agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akinnagbe O. Matthew

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring and evaluation are important, yet, frequently neglected functions in most organisations. In Nigeria, many programmes have been established over the years but only little monitoring and evaluation have been carried out because of many implementation problems and lack of realistic and/or stable policy framework. This paper was designed to X-ray policy issues for improving monitoring and evaluation of agricultural programmes in Nigeria. Inductive and deductive reasoning through a review of relevant literature was used in this philosophical paper. To improve the performance of agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria, the following policy issues must be addressed: The questions of what should be monitored or evaluated, when should monitoring and/or evaluation be carried out and who should monitor and/or evaluate; and the methodology to be adopted in any project should be included in any agricultural programmes and/or policies. Manpower and financial resources, effective communication and the issue of accountability must be properly considered. The tools for monitoring and evaluation are also very crucial. The paper concluded that planning a good agricultural programme is not a problem in Nigeria but poor implementation is, as a result of poor monitoring and evaluation. Therefore, attention should be on when, how and who should be involved in monitoring and evaluation.

  7. Valuing tradeoffs between agricultural production and ecosystem services in the Heihe River Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Z.; Deng, X.; Wu, F.

    2017-12-01

    Ecosystem services are faced with multiple stress from complex driving factors, such as climate change and human interventions. The Heihe River Basin (HRB), as the second largest inland river basin in China, is a typical semi-arid and arid region with fragile and sensitive ecological environment. For the past decades, agricultural production activities in the basin has affected ecosystem services in different degrees, leading to complex relations among "water-land-climate-ecology-human", in which hydrological process and water resource management is the key. In this context, managing trade-offs among water uses in the river basin to sustain multiple ecosystem services is crucial for healthy ecosystem and sustainable socioeconomic development. In this study, we analyze the trade-offs between different water uses in agricultural production and key ecosystem services in the HRB by applying production frontier analysis, with the aim to explore the potential for managing them. This method traces out joint production frontiers showing the combinations of ecosystem services and agricultural production that can be generated in a given area, and it deals with the economic problem of the allocation of scarce water resources under presumed objective, which aims to highlight synergies and reduce trade-offs between alternative water uses. Thus, management schemes that targets to both sustain agricultural production and increase the provision of key ecosystem services have to consider not only the technological or biological nature of interrelationships, but also the economic interdependencies among them.

  8. Factors Influencing Perceptions of Service Quality in Cooperative Extension Workers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anaza, Nwamaka A.; Rutherford, Brian N.; Widdows, Richard

    2012-01-01

    The authors examined the direct and indirect impact of empowerment on service quality as perceived by Extension staff. Using a sample 283 respondents, the results revealed that along with empowerment, constructs such as job satisfaction and organizational identification positively affected service quality. Undoubtedly, each of these variables…

  9. The effectiveness of agrobusiness technical training and education model for the field agricultural extension officers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristiyo Sumarwono

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The study was to: (1 find the most effective agrobusiness technical training and education model for the Field Agricultural Extension Officers to be implemented; and (2 to identify the knowledge level, the highest agrobusiness skills and the strongest self-confidence that might be achieved by the participants through the implemented training and education patterns. The study was conducted by means of experiment method with the regular pattern of training and education program as the control and the mentoring pattern of training and education program as the treatment. The three patterns of training and education programs served as the independent variables while the knowledge, the skills and the self-confidence served as the dependent variables. The study was conducted in three locations namely: the Institution of Agricultural Human Resources Development in the Province of Yogyakarta Special Region (Balai Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia Pertanian Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta – BPSMP DIY; the Institution of Agricultural Human Resources Empowerment (Balai Pemberdayaan Sumber Daya Manusia Pertanian – BPSDMTAN Soropadan Temanggung Provinsi Jawa Tengah in Soropadan, Temanggung, the Province of Central Java; and the Institution of Training and Education in Semarang, the Province of Central Java (Badan Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Semarang Provinsi Jawa Tengah. The study was conducted to all of the participants who attended the agrobusiness technical training and education program and, therefore, all of the participants became the subjects of the study. The study was conducted from October 2013 until March 2014. The results of the study showed that: (1 there had not been any significant difference on the knowledge and the skills of the participants who attended the regular pattern in training and education programs and those who attended the mentoring pattern in training and education programs; (2 the regular pattern in training and education programs

  10. 76 FR 30091 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Accreditation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-24

    ... 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2011-12751... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0026... Facilities AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  11. 78 FR 58993 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Phytophthora Ramorum...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-25

    ..., this 19th day of September 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0068...; Quarantine and Regulations AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of...

  12. 76 FR 33192 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Phytosanitary Export...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-08

    ... 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2011-14175... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0025... Certification AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  13. Recommendations arising from an analysis of changes to the Australian agricultural research, development and extension system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunt, Warren; Birch, Colin; Vanclay, Frank; Coutts, Jeff

    The business of agricultural research, development and extension (RD&E) has undergone considerable change in Australia since the late 1980s, moving from a domain largely dominated by government departments to a situation of multiple actors, and where rural industries now directly contribute funds

  14. The importance of opinion leaders in agricultural production among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The importance of opinion leaders in agricultural production among male and ... farmers do not have adequate access to extension services due to, amongst others, the ... In view of these problems, the role of opinion leaders is important and ...

  15. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ben Stevens

    The paper is based on a case study research process carried out at New ... farmers, such as tractor services, advice, extension and marketing support. .... relationships between concepts, constructs or variables. ..... Strategy for 2010 to 2014.

  16. 75 FR 48303 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-10

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services; Customer... extension of approval of an information collection to evaluate service delivery by Veterinary Services to... INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Veterinary Services customer service survey, contact Ms. Pam Hart...

  17. Supporting Agricultural Ecosystem Services through the Integration of Perennial Polycultures into Crop Rotations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Weißhuhn

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This review analyzes the potential role and long-term effects of field perennial polycultures (mixtures in agricultural systems, with the aim of reducing the trade-offs between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. First, crop rotations are identified as a suitable tool for the assessment of the long-term effects of perennial polycultures on ecosystem services, which are not visible at the single-crop level. Second, the ability of perennial polycultures to support ecosystem services when used in crop rotations is quantified through eight agricultural ecosystem services. Legume–grass mixtures and wildflower mixtures are used as examples of perennial polycultures, and compared with silage maize as a typical crop for biomass production. Perennial polycultures enhance soil fertility, soil protection, climate regulation, pollination, pest and weed control, and landscape aesthetics compared with maize. They also score lower for biomass production compared with maize, which confirms the trade-off between provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. However, the additional positive factors provided by perennial polycultures, such as reduced costs for mineral fertilizer, pesticides, and soil tillage, and a significant preceding crop effect that increases the yields of subsequent crops, should be taken into account. However, a full assessment of agricultural ecosystem services requires a more holistic analysis that is beyond the capabilities of current frameworks.

  18. Localizing drought monitoring products to support agricultural climate service advisories in South Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qamer, F. M.; Matin, M. A.; Yadav, N. K.; Bajracharya, B.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Ellenburg, W. L.; Krupnik, T. J.; Hussain, G.

    2017-12-01

    The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change identifies drought as one of the major climate risks in South Asia. During past two decades, a large amount of climate data have been made available by the scientific community, but the deployment of climate information for local level and agricultural decision making remains less than optimal. The provisioning of locally calibrated, easily accessible, decision-relevant and user-oriented information, in the form of drought advisory service could help to prepare communities to reduce climate vulnerability and increase resilience. A collaborative effort is now underway to strengthen existing and/or establish new drought monitoring and early warning systems in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan by incorporating standard ground-based observations, earth observation datasets, and numerical forecast models. ICT-based agriculture drought monitoring platforms, hosted at national agricultural and meteorological institutions, are being developed and coupled with communications and information deployment strategies to enable the rapid and efficient deployment of information that farmers can understand, interpret, and act on to adapt to anticipated droughts. Particular emphasis is being placed on the calibration and validation of data products through retrospective analysis of time series data, in addition to the installation of automatic weather station networks. In order to contextualize monitoring products to that they may be relevant for farmers' primary cropping systems, district level farming practices calendars are being compiled and validated through focus groups and surveys to identify the most important times and situations during which farmers can adapt to drought. High-resolution satellite crop distribution maps are under development and validation to add value to these efforts. This programme also aims to enhance capacity of agricultural extension staff to better understand

  19. 78 FR 44521 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-24

    ...] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Veterinary Services Customer... an extension of approval of an information collection to evaluate service delivery by Veterinary... coming. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Veterinary Services customer service...

  20. Evaluating the impact of agricultural extension programmes in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and prospects

    OpenAIRE

    Hailemichael Taye

    2013-01-01

    Background: In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), impact evaluation has been used to assess whether agricultural extension interventions have brought the intended result or to establish causal linkages between interventions and outcomes. However, there is some scepticism about the validity and reliability of the results of the impact evaluation reports due to some contradictory and exaggerated results. Objectives: This article analyses some impact evaluation studies conducted in SSA as to why cont...

  1. Challenges of Decentralized, Farmer-Led and Fee-For-Service ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Agricultural extension services are crucial for the rapid spread of research results to farmers and for transmitting information about farmers' needs, circumstances, and problems to researchers. In developing countries, public extension organizations are dominant. These public extension systems are often inadequately ...

  2. 78 FR 34636 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Mangoes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-10

    ... 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2013-13686... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0022... Philippines AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  3. 77 FR 50982 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Foreign Quarantine Notices

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-23

    ... August 2012. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2012... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0062... AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an information...

  4. Improving Agricultural Productivity in Tonga through Ensuring Data Availability and Enhancing Agro-meteorological Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, K. H.

    2015-12-01

    The project was first conceived in the Global Framework for Climate Services Regional Consultation in the Cook Islands in March 2014. In this meeting, key officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Forests, and Fisheries and the Tonga Meteorological Services had a meeting with the APEC Climate Center scientists with the idea to collaborate on a joint project. The project evolved to include the following components: assessment of users' needs and capacities, development of an agricultural database, research on the core relationships between agriculture and climate through modeling and field trials, and the development and delivery of agro-meteorological services. Envisioned outputs include a 2-7 day warning for pests and diseases, a suite of tools supporting decisions on planting dates and crop varieties, and other advisory services derived from seasonal climate forecasts. As one of the climate adaptation projects under its Pacific Island portfolio, the project will deliver urgent information services for Tongan agricultural growers and exporters. The project comes into greater importance and urgency, as the 2014 drought event resulted in the destruction of 80% of squash in Tonga, a main export crop from which the country derives foreign exchange earnings. Since 2014, some of the project achievements include the first agro-met data collection in Tonga, the development of an agricultural DB management system that houses archived agriculture data, and key meetings with stakeholders to ensure alignment of the project objectives and design with the interests of the Tongan government and other stakeholders. In addition, rigorous scientific research through modeling and field trials has been conducted to address the twin goals of supporting Tonga's economy as well as food security. Based on the findings from the research, tools will be developed to translate the science into knowledge that supports decisions on the farm scale.

  5. Extension through Partnerships: Research and Education Center Teams with County Extension to Deliver Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullahey, J. Jeffrey

    2011-01-01

    Budget reductions have severely affected resources available to deliver agriculture and natural resource Extension programs in Florida. University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences delivers Extension programming through a unique partnership between research and education centers and county Extension. Science-based information…

  6. Information and Communication Technologies as Agricultural Extension Tools: A Survey among Farmers in West Macedonia, Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anastasios, Michailidis; Koutsouris, Alex; Konstadinos, Mattas

    2010-01-01

    This article critically assesses the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) as agricultural extension tools. Specifically, the purpose of the current piece of work is to identify the extent of the use of ICTs on farms, look into farmers' characteristics as related to ICTs' adoption and explore farmers' preferred extension…

  7. 77 FR 65854 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Irradiation...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-31

    ...: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: Under the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701....008 hours per response. Respondents: Foreign plant protection services, irradiation facility personnel... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0070...

  8. 78 FR 23883 - Marketing Orders for Fruit Crops; Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service... submitted through the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: Marketing... Request: Extension and Revision of a currently approved information collection. Abstract: Marketing orders...

  9. USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES IN SELECTED SPECIAL LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION CENTERS IN THE UNITED STATES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    NONINI, CERISE

    A SURVEY BY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS MADE OF THE PROBLEM OF USER SERVICES AND EXTENSION SERVICES USED IN THE DISSEMINATION OF MATERIALS AND INFORMATION TO A SELECTED NUMBER OF INDUSTRIAL LIBRARIES. THE SURVEY RESULTED IN DATA CONCERNING STAFF SIZE, PROFESSIONAL-TO-CLERICAL RATIO, SIZE OF BOOK, DOCUMENT, PERIODICAL AND MICROFORM COLLECTIONS, LIBRARY…

  10. 78 FR 37777 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Cooperative...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-24

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of June 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0041... Survey AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  11. How agricultural multiple ecosystem services respond to socioeconomic factors in Mengyin County, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yajuan; Yu, Zhenrong; Li, Xuedong; Li, Pengyao

    2018-07-15

    Provisioning services have always been the main focus of agriculture, and which have led to a decline in biodiversity and have damaged a number of other services. Agriculture should contribute to current and future food security while producing multiple ecosystem services (ES). Restoration outcomes of multiple ES were affected by different socioeconomic drivers, thus a better understanding of how multiple ES respond to socioeconomic drivers can help to restore multiple ES. This paper used rural people's perceptions of ES to quantify and map ecosystem service obtainment and demand in the Mengyin County, China. An integrative index of multiple ecosystem services (IMES) was used to effectively aggregate the values of multiple ES. The threat categorization framework is designed to communicate the degree to which the adequate and sustainable provision of multiple ES is threatened, in order to prioritize conservation actions. The results revealed that 6 townships in the Mengyin County exhibited an excessive obtainment situation (demand is less than obtainment) of multiple ES; an insufficient obtainment situation (demand is greater than obtainment) of multiple ES was mainly situated in the northern part of Mengyin County. Overall, the current state of multiple ES across Mengyin County is classified as "Endangered" classification according to application of threat categorization framework. It is necessary to restructure and manage socioeconomic factors for multiple ES. At national level, the macro decision-making (controlling population density) and the mechanisms (attracting high-quality human resources into the rural) will play an important role in promoting multiple ES management, and it is necessary to provide 3 or more years of tailored educational resources for rural residents to advance multiple ES in agricultural landscape. Development of agricultural PES programs in China that enable farmers to profit from production ES is a sustainable strategy for increasing

  12. Farmer Support and Extension to Land Reform Farms in the Central ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In addition, farm management knowledge, skills and experience are at low levels. Baseline evidence suggests that agricultural extension services and institutions involved in land reform policies need to upscale on farm economics and viability assessments of farm operations. Management information systems need to be ...

  13. Adoption of Agricultural Conservation Practices in the Ignacio Agramonte Cooperative of Credits and Services (CCS, Nuevitas, Camaguey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arelys Valido Tomé

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The adoption of sustainable technologies, like Agriculture Conservation Practices in drought-stricken suburban areas is a must for land sustainable management. In order to contribute with the inclusion of this technology at the Ignacio Agramonte CCS, in El Carmen, municipality of Nuevitas, Camaguey, Agricultural Extension tools were used, like systemic diagnostic and participatory orientation. The SWOT matrix was created after three workshops, where agricultural conservation practices were identified for adoption, based on actual conditions at the CCS. As a result, five key problems were identified: lack of water for irrigation, saline waters, saline soils, use of inappropriate management technologies, deforestation and poor training in agriculture. The most critical impact found in the matrix was in Weaknesses - Threats (81.3%. Furthermore, local farmers, inhabitants and public officials agreed on the use of agricultural extension tools to provide positive elements and an effective way to help increase motivation and knowledge about agricultural conservation technology, as an alternative to mitigate the degradation state of lands at the CCS.

  14. Agricultural resources and development priorities of the municipality of Stara Pazova

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihailović Branko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the agricultural potentials of Stara Pazova, and consequently defines development priorities in this area. The aim at the research is to assess the real possibilities for improvement on agriculture Municipality. The analysis is focused on: knowledge transfer and innovation, agriculture technical equipment, warehouse and finishing capacities in agriculture, processing of agricultural products and the vision and development priorities over agriculture Municipality. The research results show that the improvement to the competitiveness of the agricultural sector of Stara Pazova requires the implementation of adequate policy measures and projects related to the improvement to human resources, higher level of processing of agricultural and food products, as well as better agricultural technical equipment agricultural producers. Activities in this area include primarily higher correlation science and practice across the reorganized agricultural station, extension services, home service , agricultural cooperatives and other associations of farmers; development and implementation of new knowledge and skills of farmers through advice, training, seminars, courses; support young farmers in the modernization of farms. All projects in this field must be based on adequate state support and coordinated efforts of the public and private sectors.

  15. The Learning Facilitation Role of Agricultural Extension Workers in the Adoption of Integrated Pest Management by Tropical Fruit Growers in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elsey, Barry; Sirichoti, Kittipong

    2002-01-01

    A sample of 120 Thai fruit growers reported that agricultural extension workers were influential in their adoption of integrated pest management, which balances cultural tradition and progressive practice. Extension workers used discussion and reflection on practical experience, a participatory and collaborative approach to the adoption of…

  16. 75 FR 31748 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-04

    ..., this 28\\th\\ day of May 2010. Kevin Shea Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0053... Dwarfed Plants AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  17. Arthropod genomics research in the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service: Applications of RNA interference and CRISPR gene editing technologies in pest control

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the intramural research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which addresses basic scientific questions and develops applied solutions to a range of agricultural problems, and in doing so protects national food security and supports ...

  18. SAFAX - An Extensible Authorization Service for Cloud Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samuel Paul Kaluvuri

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Cloud storage services have become increasingly popular in recent years. Users are often registered to multiple cloud storage services that suit different needs. However, the ad-hoc manner in which data sharing between users is implemented leads to issues for these users. For instance, users are required to define different access control policies for each cloud service they use and are responsible for synchronizing their policies across different cloud providers. Users do not have access to a uniform and expressive method to deal with authorization. Current authorization solutions cannot be applied as-is, since they cannot cope with challenges specific to cloud environments. In this paper, we analyze the challenges of data sharing in multi-cloud environments and propose SAFAX, an XACML based authorization service designed to address these challenges. SAFAX's architecture allows users to deploy their access control policies in a standard format, in a single location, and augment policy evaluation with information from user selectable external trust services. We describe the architecture of SAFAX, a prototype implementation based on this architecture, illustrate the extensibility through external trust services and discuss the benefits of using SAFAX from both the user's and cloud provider's perspectives.

  19. The Knowledge Base as an Extension of Distance Learning Reference Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Anne Marie

    2012-01-01

    This study explores knowledge bases as extension of reference services for distance learners. Through a survey and follow-up interviews with distance learning librarians, this paper discusses their interest in creating and maintaining a knowledge base as a resource for reference services to distance learners. It also investigates their perceptions…

  20. Dairy and functional foods research in the Agricultural Research Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit is the only group in the Agricultural Research Service that is dedicated to solving critical problems in milk utilization and fruit and vegetable byproducts from specialty crops. The many areas of investigation include development of specialty cheese, c...

  1. 78 FR 7738 - Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-04

    ... hour per response. Respondents: Growers, importers, and foreign national plant protection organizations... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0102... Brown Rot AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Revision to and extension of...

  2. Evaluating effectiveness and constraints of private sector agricultural extension services of the Green River Project in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onyinyechi I. Ogbonna

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Oil exploration operations decreased the cultivable lands of rural people in the study area, leading to the establishment of the Green River Project (GRP. This study assessed the effectiveness and constraints of private sector extension services of GRP in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria. Objectives: To analyse the roles and effectiveness of, as well as constraints to, the GRP in the area. Method: A multistage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, chi square and t-test were used to analyse the data. Results: Roles of GRP in farming technologies dissemination included training of farmers on fish pond construction technique and maintenance of good pH levels. There was significant improvement in standard of living (X2 = 15.7; p ≤ 0.05 and size of production (t = 6.398; p ≤ 0.05 of the respondents after participation. In terms of the effectiveness of private sector deliveries on public policies, the programme had effect on beneficiaries’ access to credit, education of wards and poverty reduction. But it is worthy to note that the observed changes may not have been solely caused by the GRP, given that there could be many other factors affecting fish farming, either positively or negatively. Serious implementation constraints to effective performance of GRP included organisational, input and sustainability constraints. Conclusion: It was recommended that there should be timely provision of sufficient inputs to farmers and measures to improve organisation of private sector extension services in the area in order to enhance development.

  3. 75 FR 28231 - Cotton Classing, Testing and Standards: Notice of Request for an Extension and Revision to a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-10-0038, CN-10-002] Cotton... comments should reference the docket number and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. All... Standards. OMB Number: 0581-0008. Expiration Date of Approval: December 30, 2010. Type of Request: Extension...

  4. A Global Geospatial Ecosystem Services Estimate of Urban Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clinton, Nicholas; Stuhlmacher, Michelle; Miles, Albie; Uludere Aragon, Nazli; Wagner, Melissa; Georgescu, Matei; Herwig, Chris; Gong, Peng

    2018-01-01

    Though urban agriculture (UA), defined here as growing of crops in cities, is increasing in popularity and importance globally, little is known about the aggregate benefits of such natural capital in built-up areas. Here, we introduce a quantitative framework to assess global aggregate ecosystem services from existing vegetation in cities and an intensive UA adoption scenario based on data-driven estimates of urban morphology and vacant land. We analyzed global population, urban, meteorological, terrain, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) datasets in Google Earth Engine to derive global scale estimates, aggregated by country, of services provided by UA. We estimate the value of four ecosystem services provided by existing vegetation in urban areas to be on the order of 33 billion annually. We project potential annual food production of 100-180 million tonnes, energy savings ranging from 14 to 15 billion kilowatt hours, nitrogen sequestration between 100,000 and 170,000 tonnes, and avoided storm water runoff between 45 and 57 billion cubic meters annually. In addition, we estimate that food production, nitrogen fixation, energy savings, pollination, climate regulation, soil formation and biological control of pests could be worth as much as 80-160 billion annually in a scenario of intense UA implementation. Our results demonstrate significant country-to-country variability in UA-derived ecosystem services and reduction of food insecurity. These estimates represent the first effort to consistently quantify these incentives globally, and highlight the relative spatial importance of built environments to act as change agents that alleviate mounting concerns associated with global environmental change and unsustainable development.

  5. Determinants Of Rural Agricultural Financing By The United Bank ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study examined the determinants of rural agricultural financing by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the need for extension services in Imo State, Nigeria. Eighty (80) rural farmer loan beneficiaries from the UBA were sampled and administered with structured questionnaire. Results showed that the major significant ...

  6. 78 FR 32233 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-29

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of May 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0036... Dwarfed Plants AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  7. Urban and agricultural soils: conflicts and trade-offs in the optimization of ecosystem services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Setälä, H.; Bardgett, R.D.; Birkhofer, K.; Brady, M.; Byrne, L.; de Ruiter, P.C.; de Vries, F.T.; Gardi, C.; Hedlund, K.; Hemerik, L.; Hotes, S.; Liiri, M.; Mortimer, S.R.; Pavao-Zuckerman, M.; Pouyat, R.; Tsiafouli, M.; Van der Putten, W.H.

    2014-01-01

    [KEYWORDS: Agriculture Ecosystem services Land use Management optimization Soil Urban Trade-off] On-going human population growth and changing patterns of resource consumption are increasing global demand for ecosystem services, many of which are provided by soils. Some of these ecosystem services

  8. 7 CFR 2.66 - Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... extension program through grants to regional rural development centers and competitive grants to land-grant... Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982 for USDA (15 U.S.C. 638(e)-(k)). (51) Administer a..., and Extension Service. (1) Administer research and technology development grants related to the...

  9. The Role of Agricultural Education and Extension in Influencing Best Practice for Managing Mastitis in Dairy Cattle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dillon, E. J.; Hennessy, T.; Cullinan, J.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To examine the role of agricultural education and extension in influencing the adoption of best practice with regard to herd-level mastitis management. Design/Methodology/Approach: Somatic cell count (SCC) is an indicator of herd health with regard to mastitis and is negatively related to productivity and profitability. Panel data…

  10. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    generation of knowledge and information to provide back- up service to Extensionists which in turn should help their clients (Arnon, 1989; Bunting, 1986; Van den Ban & Hawkins,. 1990: 293). Furthermore Extensionists are expected to account for their performance in order to justify the investment of public funds in extension ...

  11. 78 FR 36506 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Plants...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-18

    ... 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. [FR Doc. 2013-14466... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0035] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Plants for...

  12. 76 FR 81466 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Small...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-28

    ..., this 19th day of December 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0118... Seed AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an...

  13. 78 FR 48644 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Plum Pox Compensation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-09

    ... Washington, DC, this 5th day of August, 2013. Kevin Shea, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0066...: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an information...

  14. 76 FR 37054 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Longan...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-24

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0053... Taiwan AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of an... approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of longan from Taiwan...

  15. Examination of core competencies of agricultural development professionals in Cambodia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suvedi, Murari; Ghimire, Ramjee; Channa, Ty

    2018-04-01

    This cross-sectional study examined perceived level of importance, perceived level of competency in extension core competencies, and whether and how perceptions of competency vary by respondents' demographics; ascertained gaps in competency, if any; and identified ways for agricultural development professionals in Cambodia to acquire core competencies. Data were collected using a group-administered survey among 39 agricultural development professionals participating in a national workshop in December 2015. The survey consisted of 48 competencies representing eight core competencies, and each competency had level of importance and level of competency parts. The findings show that extension workers in Cambodia deemed all competencies highly or very highly important to their extension work; however, their perceived level of competency in those competencies appeared not to meet the expectations. The level of competency in all but communication skills and diversity significantly differed by gender but not by age and experience. Respondents indicated all four methods-preservice, in-service, basic induction training, and participation in seminars, workshops, and webinars-equally appropriate to acquire core competencies. The findings imply that the agricultural development authority in Cambodia should review, update, or design extension education curricula incorporating the competencies highlighted in this study and train its extension cadres on those competencies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Implications of agricultural land use change to ecosystem services in the Ganges delta.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, G M Tarekul; Islam, A K M Saiful; Shopan, Ahsan Azhar; Rahman, Md Munsur; Lázár, Attila N; Mukhopadhyay, Anirban

    2015-09-15

    Ecosystems provide the basis for human civilization and natural capital for green economy and sustainable development. Ecosystem services may range from crops, fish, freshwater to those that are harder to see such as erosion regulation, carbon sequestration, and pest control. Land use changes have been identified as the main sources of coastal and marine pollution in Bangladesh. This paper explores the temporal variation of agricultural land use change and its implications with ecosystem services in the Ganges delta. With time agricultural lands have been decreased and wetlands have been increased at a very high rate mainly due to the growing popularity of saltwater shrimp farming. In a span of 28 years, the agricultural lands have been reduced by approximately 50%, while the wetlands have been increased by over 500%. A large portion (nearly 40%) of the study area is covered by the Sundarbans which remained almost constant which can be attributed to the strict regulatory intervention to preserve the Sundarbans. The settlement & others land use type has also been increased to nearly 5%. There is a gradual uptrend of shrimp and fish production in the study area. The findings suggest that there are significant linkages between agricultural land use change and ecosystem services in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh. The continuous decline of agricultural land (due to salinization) and an increase of wetland have been attributed to the conversion of agricultural land into shrimp farming in the study area. Such land use change requires significant capital, therefore, only investors and wealthier land owners can get the higher profit from the land conversion while the poor people is left with the environmental consequences that affect their long-term lives and livelihood. An environmental management plan is proposed for sustainable land use in the Ganges delta in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Scenarios reveal pathways to sustain future ecosystem services in an agricultural landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Jiangxiao; Carpenter, Stephen R; Booth, Eric G; Motew, Melissa; Zipper, Samuel C; Kucharik, Christopher J; Chen, Xi; Loheide, Steven P; Seifert, Jenny; Turner, Monica G

    2018-01-01

    Sustaining food production, water quality, soil retention, flood, and climate regulation in agricultural landscapes is a pressing global challenge given accelerating environmental changes. Scenarios are stories about plausible futures, and scenarios can be integrated with biophysical simulation models to explore quantitatively how the future might unfold. However, few studies have incorporated a wide range of drivers (e.g., climate, land-use, management, population, human diet) in spatially explicit, process-based models to investigate spatial-temporal dynamics and relationships of a portfolio of ecosystem services. Here, we simulated nine ecosystem services (three provisioning and six regulating services) at 220 × 220 m from 2010 to 2070 under four contrasting scenarios in the 1,345-km 2 Yahara Watershed (Wisconsin, USA) using Agro-IBIS, a dynamic model of terrestrial ecosystem processes, biogeochemistry, water, and energy balance. We asked (1) How does ecosystem service supply vary among alternative future scenarios? (2) Where on the landscape is the provision of ecosystem services most susceptible to future social-ecological changes? (3) Among alternative future scenarios, are relationships (i.e., trade-offs, synergies) among food production, water, and biogeochemical services consistent over time? Our results showed that food production varied substantially with future land-use choices and management, and its trade-offs with water quality and soil retention persisted under most scenarios. However, pathways to mitigate or even reverse such trade-offs through technological advances and sustainable agricultural practices were apparent. Consistent relationships among regulating services were identified across scenarios (e.g., trade-offs of freshwater supply vs. flood and climate regulation, and synergies among water quality, soil retention, and climate regulation), suggesting opportunities and challenges to sustaining these services. In particular, proactive

  18. 75 FR 28231 - Cotton Classification and Market News Service: Notice of Request for an Extension and Revision of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-20

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-10-0037; CN-10-003] Cotton....regulations.gov. All comments should reference the docket number and page number of this issue of the Federal... and Market News Service. OMB Number: 0581-0009. Expiration Date of Approval: December 30, 2010. Type...

  19. An Empirical Research on the Evaluation Index Regarding the Service Quality of Agricultural Information Websites in China

    OpenAIRE

    Liu , Liyong; Yuan , Xiaoqing; Li , Daoliang

    2010-01-01

    International audience; Agricultural information website, which takes the mission of providing valid information for the expansive agricultural information demanders, is an important carrier for the state to enact its strategy of agriculture informatization. This paper establishes a set of evaluation measures regarding the service quality of agricultural information websites by setting up the index system of agricultural information websites, evaluates comprehensively agricultural information...

  20. 78 FR 34636 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Unshu...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-10

    ... Washington, DC, this 5th day of June 2013. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0027... From Japan AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of approval of...

  1. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    Emerging Role of Information Communication Technologies in Extension Service Delivery in Nigeria: A Review .... technology and Telecommunication/computer technology. Broadcast .... integrated cassava project. Its information is based on ...

  2. Agricultural extension, technology adoption and household food security

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Santos Rocha, Jozimo

    2017-01-01

    In this thesis, I use experimental and quasi-experimental data from 25 villages and a total of 1,105 farmers from eastern DRC to investigate the relationship among agricultural training, the adoption of agricultural technologies, crop productivity, and household food insecurity and dietary

  3. 75 FR 36058 - Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-24

    ... Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice and...: Extension and revision of a currently approved information collection. Abstract: Marketing order programs... / Thursday, June 24, 2010 / Notices#0;#0; [[Page 36058

  4. A Global-Scale Estimate of Ecosystem Services from Urban Agriculture: Understanding Incentives for Natural Capital in Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clinton, N.; Stuhlmacher, M.; Miles, A.; Uludere, N.; Wagner, M.; Georgescu, M.; Herwig, C.; Gong, P.

    2017-12-01

    Despite substantial interest in urban agriculture, little is known about the aggregate benefits conferred by natural capital for growing food in cities. Here we perform a scenario-based analysis to quantify ecosystem services from adoption of urban agriculture at varying intensity. To drive the scenarios, we created global-scale estimates of vacant land, rooftop and building surface area, at one kilometer resolution, from remotely sensed and modeled geospatial data. We used national scale agricultural reports, climate and other geospatial data at global scale to estimate agricultural production and economic returns, storm-water avoidance, energy savings from avoided heating and cooling costs, and ecosystem services provided by nitrogen sequestration, pollination and biocontrol of pests. The results indicate that vacant lands, followed by rooftops, represent the largest opportunities for natural capital put to agricultural use in urban areas. Ecosystem services from putting such spaces to productive use are dominated by agricultural returns, but energy savings conferred by insulative characteristics of growth substrate also provide economic incentives. Storm water avoidance was estimated to be substantial, but no economic value was estimated. Relatively low economic returns were estimated from the other ecosystem services examined. In aggregate, approximately $10-100 billion in economic incentives, before costs, were estimated. The results showed that relatively developed, high-income countries stand the most to gain from urban agricultural adoption due to the unique combination of climate, crop mixture and crop prices. While the results indicate that urban agriculture is not a panacea for urban food security issues, there is potential to simultaneously ameliorate multiple issues around food, energy and water in urbanized areas.

  5. 77 FR 9960 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-21

    ... Environmental Impact Statement for Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA... Environmental Impact Statement for the Extension of F-Line Streetcar Service to Fort Mason Center, San Francisco... the extension of the historic streetcar F-line from Fisherman's Wharf to the Fort Mason Center, in San...

  6. 75 FR 45601 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Emerald Ash Borer; Host...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-03

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 28\\th\\ day of July 2010. Kevin Shea Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2010-0064... Material from Canada AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA. ACTION: Extension of...

  7. An Exploratory Analysis of Student-Community Interactions in Urban Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Julie; Sherard, Maximilian; Prohn, Seb M.; Bradley, Lucy; Goodell, L. Suzanne; Andrew, Katherine

    2012-01-01

    Urban agriculture initiatives are on the rise, providing healthy food while teaching a land ethic to youth. In parallel, increasing numbers of university graduates are obtaining Extension work requiring the effective communication of science in a diverse, urban, low-income setting. This study evaluates a pilot service-learning program, the…

  8. Journal of Agricultural Extension http://dx.doi.org/10.4314.jae.v19i1 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    only be achieved through effective extension effort and services and fisher ... means of fish production, processing, storage and marketing was introduced ..... Indigenous Knowledge; paper presented at the UNCTAD Conference on Traditional.

  9. Public-Private Policy Change and Its Influence on the Linkage of Agricultural Research, Extension and Farmers in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karamidehkordi, Esmail

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: This article aims to show the linkage of Iranian agricultural research centres with extension and farmers, using three case studies in 1999, 2005 and 2010. Design/methodology/approach: The data were collected through document analyses, structured and semi-structured interviews and observations. Findings: The 1999 and 2005 cases were…

  10. Increasing corn for biofuel production reduces biocontrol services in agricultural landscapes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Landis, D.A.; Gardiner, M.M.; Werf, van der W.; Swinton, S.M.

    2008-01-01

    Increased demand for corn grain as an ethanol feedstock is altering U. S. agricultural landscapes and the ecosystem services they provide. From 2006 to 2007, corn acreage increased 19% nationally, resulting in reduced crop diversity in many areas. Biological control of insects is an ecosystem

  11. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service overview for operational monitoring of current crop conditions and production forecasts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crutchfield, J.

    2016-12-01

    The presentation will discuss the current status of the International Production Assessment Division of the USDA ForeignAgricultural Service for operational monitoring and forecasting of current crop conditions, and anticipated productionchanges to produce monthly, multi-source consensus reports on global crop conditions including the use of Earthobservations (EO) from satellite and in situ sources.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) International Production AssessmentDivision (IPAD) deals exclusively with global crop production forecasting and agricultural analysis in support of the USDAWorld Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) lockup process and contributions to the World Agricultural Supply DemandEstimates (WASE) report. Analysts are responsible for discrete regions or countries and conduct in-depth long-termresearch into national agricultural statistics, farming systems, climatic, environmental, and economic factors affectingcrop production. IPAD analysts become highly valued cross-commodity specialists over time, and are routinely soughtout for specialized analyses to support governmental studies. IPAD is responsible for grain, oilseed, and cotton analysison a global basis. IPAD is unique in the tools it uses to analyze crop conditions around the world, including customweather analysis software and databases, satellite imagery and value-added image interpretation products. It alsoincorporates all traditional agricultural intelligence resources into its forecasting program, to make the fullest use ofavailable information in its operational commodity forecasts and analysis. International travel and training play animportant role in learning about foreign agricultural production systems and in developing analyst knowledge andcapabilities.

  12. Barriers to Uptake of Conservation Agriculture in southern Africa: Multi-level Analyses from Malawi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dougill, Andrew; Stringer, Lindsay; Whitfield, Stephen; Wood, Ben; Chinseu, Edna

    2015-04-01

    Conservation agriculture is a key set of actions within the growing body of climate-smart agriculture activities being advocated and rolled out across much of the developing world. Conservation agriculture has purported benefits for environmental quality, food security and the sustained delivery of ecosystem services. In this paper, new multi-level analyses are presented, assessing the current barriers to adoption of conservation agriculture practices in Malawi. Despite significant donor initiatives that have targeted conservation agriculture projects, uptake rates remain low. This paper synthesises studies from across 3 levels in Malawi: i.) national level- drawing on policy analysis, interviews and a multi-stakeholder workshop; ii.) district level - via assessments of development plans and District Office and extension service support, and; iii) local level - through data gained during community / household level studies in Dedza District that have gained significant donor support for conservation agriculture as a component of climate smart agriculture initiatives. The national level multi-stakeholder Conservation Agriculture workshop identified three areas requiring collaborative research and outlined routes for the empowerment of the National Conservation Agriculture Task Force to advance uptake of conservation agriculture and deliver associated benefits in terms of agricultural development, climate adaptation and mitigation. District level analyses highlight that whilst District Development Plans are now checked against climate change adaptation and mitigation criteria, capacity and knowledge limitations exist at the District level, preventing project interventions from being successfully up-scaled. Community level assessments highlight the need for increased community participation at the project-design phase and identify a pressing requirement for conservation agriculture planning processes (in particular those driven by investments in climate

  13. The role of extension in building capacity and resilience in Australian rural industries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunt, Warren

    2014-01-01

    This thesis investigates the evolution of Australian agricultural extension services since the 19th Century and how it has transitioned over time. It defines the concepts of capacity and resilience building in an Australian rural context, and provides two case studies that explain how capacity and

  14. 7 CFR 1945.18 - United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Agriculture Council (FAC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 13 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Agriculture Council (FAC). 1945.18 Section 1945.18 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE...

  15. METHODS AND RESEARCH CONCERNING SERVICE LIFE EXTENSION OF SUPORTING STRUCTURES OF TRACTION ROLLING STOCK FOR INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. M. Bondarev

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The purpose of work is scientifically grounded introduction of the acquired techniques into works for service life extension of the traction and motor rolling stock for industrial transport. Methodology. To achieve the purpose it was analyzed the acquired techniques for service life extension of the traction and motor rolling stock for mainline transport. The acquired techniques during solution of problems concerning the service life extension of rolling stock units were adapted to the locomotives TGM6A and traction aggregates OPE1. Findings. On the basis of experimental and theoretical complex of studies some results were obtained. They gave the ground to determine the possibility of acquired techniques use when solving the problems on service life extension of rolling stock units concerning locomotives TGM6A and traction aggregates OPE1. Originality. On the basis of conducted experimental and theoretical studies scientific maintenance of the works providing extension of service life of traction and motor units of industrial rolling stock was executed. Practical value. Technical solutions and measures, which have to be carried out during operation within the prolonged appointed service life of traction and motor units of industrial rolling stock enterprises using locomotives and traction aggregates to provide the basic technological cycles were developed.

  16. A Survey on Quality of Service Monitoring and Analysis of Network of Agricultural Science and Technology Resources

    OpenAIRE

    Jian , Ma

    2014-01-01

    International audience; First, current situation on Network of agricultural science and technology resources is described. Then we pay much attention to the quality of service monitoring and analysis system of network resources. And finally, we come to the conclusion that the construction of Quality of service monitoring, analysis of network of agricultural science and technology resources is in great need.

  17. Implications of Work Values to Job Satisfaction in the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milliken, W. James; Whaples, Gene C.

    A study was done to determine if work values of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service faculty were related to Herzberg's job satisfaction elements. The design was ex post facto, exploratory field research. Subjects included 273 extension faculty members. A mail questionnaire composed of Hughes and Flowers'"Values for Working" and an…

  18. Initial community perspectives on the Health Service Extension Programme in Welkait, Ethiopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McAuliffe Eilish

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Health Service Extension Programme (HSEP is an innovative approach to addressing the shortfall in health human resources in Ethiopia. It has developed a new cadre of Health Extension Workers (HEWs, who are charged with providing the health and hygiene promotion and some treatment services, which together constitute the bedrock of Ethiopia's community health system. Methods This study seeks to explore the experience of the HSEP from the perspective of the community who received the service. A random sample of 60 female heads-of-household in a remote area of Tigray participated in a structured interview survey. Results Although Health Extension Workers (HEWs had visited them less frequently than planned, participants generally found the programme to be helpful. Despite this, their basic health knowledge was still quite poor regarding the major communicable diseases and their vectors. Participants felt the new HESP represented an improvement on previous health provision. HEWs were preferred over Traditional Birth Attendants for assistance with labour Conclusion While the introduction of HEWs has been a positive experience for women living at the study site, the frequency of visits, extent of effectively imparted health knowledge and affects of HEWs on other health providers needs to be further explored.

  19. Namibia specific climate smart agricultural land use practices: Challenges and opportunities for enhancing ecosystem services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuhn, Nikolaus J.; Talamondjila Naanda, Martha; Bloemertz, Lena

    2015-04-01

    Agriculture is a backbone for many African economies, with an estimated 70% of Africans active in agricultural production. The sector often does not only directly contribute to, but sustains food security and poverty reduction efforts. Sustaining this productivity poses many challenges, particularly to small scale subsistence farmers (SSF) in dry land areas and semi-arid countries like Namibia. SSF in northern central Namibia mix crop and livestock production on degraded semi-arid lands and nutrient-poor sandy soils. They are fully dependent on agricultural production with limited alternative sources of income. Mostly, their agricultural harvests and outputs are low, not meeting their livelihood needs. At the same time, the land use is often not sustainable, leading to degradation. The Namibia case reveals that addressing underlying economic, social and environmental challenges requires a combination of farm level-soil management practices with a shift towards integrated landscape management. This forms the basis for SSF to adopt sustainable land management practices while building institutional foundations, like establishing SSF cooperatives. One way in which this has been tested is through the concept of incentive-based motivation, i.e. payment for ecosystem services (PES), in which some of the beneficiaries pay, for instance for farmers or land users, who provide the services. The farmers provide these services by substituting their unsustainable land and soil management and adopting new (climate smart agricultural) land use practices. Climate Smart Agricultural land use practices (CSA-LUP) are one way of providing ecosystem services, which could be fundamental to long-term sustainable soil and land management solutions in Africa. There are few PES cases which have been systematically studied from an institutional development structure perspective. This study presents lessons evolving from the notion that direct participation and involvement of local people

  20. Thwarting plague and pestilence in the Australian sugar industry : Crop protection capacity and resilience built by agricultural extension

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hunt, Warren; Birch, Colin; Vanclay, Frank

    This paper investigates how Australian sugar industry extension services over the last decade have overcome historical pest management challenges in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.). The industry has done this by building increased capacity amongst its extension agents and farmers. This paper considers

  1. Policies for reduced deforestation and their impact on agricultural production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angelsen, Arild

    2010-11-16

    Policies to effectively reduce deforestation are discussed within a land rent (von Thünen) framework. The first set of policies attempts to reduce the rent of extensive agriculture, either by neglecting extension, marketing, and infrastructure, generating alternative income opportunities, stimulating intensive agricultural production or by reforming land tenure. The second set aims to increase either extractive or protective forest rent and--more importantly--create institutions (community forest management) or markets (payment for environmental services) that enable land users to capture a larger share of the protective forest rent. The third set aims to limit forest conversion directly by establishing protected areas. Many of these policy options present local win-lose scenarios between forest conservation and agricultural production. Local yield increases tend to stimulate agricultural encroachment, contrary to the logic of the global food equation that suggests yield increases take pressure off forests. At national and global scales, however, policy makers are presented with a more pleasant scenario. Agricultural production in developing countries has increased by 3.3-3.4% annually over the last 2 decades, whereas gross deforestation has increased agricultural area by only 0.3%, suggesting a minor role of forest conversion in overall agricultural production. A spatial delinking of remaining forests and intensive production areas should also help reconcile conservation and production goals in the future.

  2. New Research in Organic Agriculture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    1996-01-01

    The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agricultu......, - environmental impact and nature, - potentials of organic farming, - community, consumer and market, and - policy and financial strategies.......The book is the proceedings from the bi-annual international scientific conference on organic agriculture. The chapters are: - plant and soil interactions, - animal production systems, - traditional knowledge in sustainable agriculture, - research, education and extension in sustainable agriculture...

  3. Send for the Cavalry: Political Incentives in the Provision of Agricultural Advisory Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjær, Anne Mette; Joughin, James

    2017-01-01

    This article examines how political incentives shape the implementation of agricultural advisory service reforms. Using the Uganda experience as a typical case we find that elections incentivised the government to add a subsidised input component to the existing service. Growing pressures from...... local politicians, the Ministry of Agriculture, and, increasingly, disgruntled army factions then constituted a strong, interlocking set of further incentives to revert to a recentralised, top-down model dominated by the new, subsidised input, component. Our findings point to how well designed...... implementation processes can be disrupted by the changing incentive structure, an insight which calls for more patient and much more pragmatic approaches to adopting ‘trial and error’ models rather than more ambitious but perhaps unrealistic ones....

  4. Spatial interactions among ecosystem services in an urbanizing agricultural watershed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Jiangxiao; Turner, Monica G

    2013-07-16

    Understanding spatial distributions, synergies, and tradeoffs of multiple ecosystem services (benefits people derive from ecosystems) remains challenging. We analyzed the supply of 10 ecosystem services for 2006 across a large urbanizing agricultural watershed in the Upper Midwest of the United States, and asked the following: (i) Where are areas of high and low supply of individual ecosystem services, and are these areas spatially concordant across services? (ii) Where on the landscape are the strongest tradeoffs and synergies among ecosystem services located? (iii) For ecosystem service pairs that experience tradeoffs, what distinguishes locations that are "win-win" exceptions from other locations? Spatial patterns of high supply for multiple ecosystem services often were not coincident; locations where six or more services were produced at high levels (upper 20th percentile) occupied only 3.3% of the landscape. Most relationships among ecosystem services were synergies, but tradeoffs occurred between crop production and water quality. Ecosystem services related to water quality and quantity separated into three different groups, indicating that management to sustain freshwater services along with other ecosystem services will not be simple. Despite overall tradeoffs between crop production and water quality, some locations were positive for both, suggesting that tradeoffs are not inevitable everywhere and might be ameliorated in some locations. Overall, we found that different areas of the landscape supplied different suites of ecosystem services, and their lack of spatial concordance suggests the importance of managing over large areas to sustain multiple ecosystem services.

  5. Ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: a spatially explicit approach to support sustainable soil management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forouzangohar, Mohsen; Crossman, Neville D; MacEwan, Richard J; Wallace, D Dugal; Bennett, Lauren T

    2014-01-01

    Soil degradation has been associated with a lack of adequate consideration of soil ecosystem services. We demonstrate a broadly applicable method for mapping changes in the supply of two priority soil ecosystem services to support decisions about sustainable land-use configurations. We used a landscape-scale study area of 302 km(2) in northern Victoria, south-eastern Australia, which has been cleared for intensive agriculture. Indicators representing priority soil services (soil carbon sequestration and soil water storage) were quantified and mapped under both a current and a future 25-year land-use scenario (the latter including a greater diversity of land uses and increased perennial crops and irrigation). We combined diverse methods, including soil analysis using mid-infrared spectroscopy, soil biophysical modelling, and geostatistical interpolation. Our analysis suggests that the future land-use scenario would increase the landscape-level supply of both services over 25 years. Soil organic carbon content and water storage to 30 cm depth were predicted to increase by about 11% and 22%, respectively. Our service maps revealed the locations of hotspots, as well as potential trade-offs in service supply under new land-use configurations. The study highlights the need to consider diverse land uses in sustainable management of soil services in changing agricultural landscapes.

  6. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    management staff (head of department agriculture) and five (5) field staff from other cadres were ..... Inadequate budget allocation to agricultural departments. 3.47*. 0.724 ... Lack of quick or immediate cash return from most agricultural projects.

  7. 7 CFR 15b.27 - Extension education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Extension education. 15b.27 Section 15b.27 Agriculture... Education § 15b.27 Extension education. (a) General. A recipient to which this subpart applies that provides extension education may not, on the basis of handicap, exclude qualified handicapped persons. A recipient...

  8. 76 FR 30090 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-24

    .... Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of May 2011. Kevin Shea, Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0033] Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health...

  9. Assessing the Impact of a Semester-Long Course in Agricultural Mechanics on Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers' Importance, Confidence, and Knowledge of Welding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiby, Brian L.; Robinson, J. Shane; Key, James P.

    2013-01-01

    This study sought to assess the perceptions of Oklahoma pre-service agricultural education teachers regarding the importance of identified welding skills standards and their confidence to teach them, based on a semester-long course on metals and welding. This study also sought to determine pre-service teachers' knowledge of welding prior to and at…

  10. In Hot Water. A study on sociotechnical intervention models and practices of water use in smallholder agriculture, Nyanyadzi catchment, Zimbabwe

    OpenAIRE

    Bolding, J.A.

    2004-01-01

    This study focuses on intervention processes in smallholder agriculture in the Nyanyadzi river catchment, located in Chimanimani district, Manicaland Province Zimbabwe. In particular it concerns itself with sociotechnical interventions that were implemented by Agritex, the local extension and irrigation service, in the mid-1990s. Despite a flurry of interventions and agrarian policies directed at the intensification of agricultural production and promotion of commercial agriculture in communa...

  11. 76 FR 78225 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Citrus...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    .... Type of Request: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act... activities, including inspections by national plant protection organization officials from Peru, grower... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0110...

  12. 76 FR 78230 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Requirements for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-16

    ...: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701... plant protection organizations, and producers. Estimated annual number of respondents: 37. Estimated... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2011-0112...

  13. Reducing barriers associated with delivering health care services to migratory agricultural workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmalzried, Hans D; Fallon, L Fleming

    2012-01-01

    Between one and two million migratory agricultural workers (MAWs), primarily from Mexico and Central America, leave their homes each year to plant, cultivate, harvest and pack fruits, vegetables, and nuts in the USA. While in the USA, most lack health insurance, a permanent residence, and a regular healthcare provider. Publications over the past two decades in the USA have reported that a majority of MAWs encounter barriers to receiving medical services. Migratory agricultural workers experience high rates of occupational illness and injury. Poor access to medical care continues to exacerbate health problems among members of this population related to their working environments. In most studies concerning healthcare access issues for this population, researchers collected their information from healthcare service providers; rarely have they included input from migratory agricultural workers. This study was different in that opinions about healthcare access issues were collected directly from MAWs. The primary purpose of this study was to describe issues related to barriers associated with the delivery of healthcare services to migratory agricultural workers. A secondary purpose was to suggest strategies for reducing these barriers. In this study, data from focus group sessions were used to develop a survey questionnaire. Four certified bilingual interpreters were trained to administer the questionnaire. A total of 157 usable questionnaires were returned from MAWs living in employer-provided camps in Northwest Ohio. The statistical analyses were primarily descriptive. The most significant barriers hampering access to medical services among the 157 respondents were cost (n=113; 72.0%), crop demands (n=102; 65.0%), the lack of an interpreter (n=98; 62.4%), travel distance (n=88; 56.1%) and transportation (n=82; 52.2%). Approximately half (n=82; 52.2%) said that they had access to transportation for traveling to a medical clinic. As a group, respondents were willing to

  14. Creating an enabling environment for investment in climate services: The case of Uruguay’s National Agricultural Information System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catherine Vaughan

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Increasingly challenged by climate variability and change, many of the world’s governments have turned to climate services as a means to improve decision making and mitigate climate-related risk. While there have been some efforts to evaluate the economic impact of climate services, little is known about the contexts in which investments in climate services have taken place. An understanding of the factors that enable climate service investment is important for the development of climate services at local, national and international levels. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the context in which Uruguay’s Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries invested in and developed its National System of Agriculture Information (SNIA, a national-level climate service for the agriculture sector. Using qualitative research methods, the paper uses key documents and 43 interviews to identify six factors that have shaped the decision to invest in the SNIA: (1 Uruguay’s focus on sustainable agricultural intensification; (2 previous work on climate change adaptation; (3 the modernization of the meteorological service; (4 the country’s open data policy; (5 the government’s decision to focus the SNIA on near-term (e.g., seasonal rather than long-term climate risk; and (6 the participation of key individuals. While the context in which these enablers emerged is unique to Uruguay, it is likely that some factors are generalizable to other countries. Social science research needed to confirm the wider applicability of innovation systems, groundwork, data access and champion is discussed.

  15. Agricultural In-Service Needs of Introductory Level Career and Technical Education Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Jolene; Warnick, Brian K.; Spielmaker, Debra; Tarpley, Rudy S.; Straquadine, Gary S.

    2009-01-01

    This study identified and prioritized the agricultural in-service needs of introductory level career and technical education teachers in Utah. The Utah State Board of Education requires that all seventh grade students complete an introductory career and technical education course as their first formal career exploration experience. One component…

  16. Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    2017-03-20

    Mar 20, 2017 ... Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies & Management 10(2): 262 – 275, 2017. ISSN:1998-0507 ... providing farmers with appropriate innovations on environmental management and protection. ..... Fish wealth solution. African Journal of. Environmental. Science and ... Agricultural Development Project.

  17. Priorities for Extension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward, J. A.

    Agricultural extension is one component in an array including research, training, education, marketing, international trade, etc. which develop together to bring about growth, and sustained growth determines the priorities for extension. These priorities depend inevitably on the stage of development of a country or region, and on the current…

  18. Environmental services generated by organic agriculture: A view from the air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigeriego, Elena; Cabezas, José; Labrador, Juana; María Moreno, Marta

    2017-04-01

    This work aims to develop an alternative methodology that enables monitoring the environmental differential that agroecological management involves in order to consolidate feasible payments for environmental services generated by organic agriculture. For this purpose, LANDSAT images have been used, and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of organic fruit farms, all of them with the same species and the similar edaphic and climatic characteristics, has been compared with the NDVI obtained at other nearby fruit farms under conventional management, all of them in Extremadura (Spain). As a result, we obtained a series of statistical data that allows us to clearly differentiate between these two types of management. Among these data, remarkable differences have been detected regarding the minimum values of NDVI in the non-productive periods of the fruit, which is higher in the organic farms due to the permanent vegetation soil cover, with the subsequent effects on soil protection and carbon sequestration. The conclusions of the paper show that it is possible to distinguish different models of crop management by using satellite images obtained in a quick and inexpensive way. Keywords: LANDSAT images; NDVI; environmental services; agroecology; organic agriculture.

  19. Agricultural experts’ attitude towards precision agriculture: Evidence from Guilan Agricultural Organization, Northern Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Identifying factors that influence the attitudes of agricultural experts regarding precision agriculture plays an important role in developing, promoting and establishing precision agriculture. The aim of this study was to identify factors affecting the attitudes of agricultural experts regarding the implementation of precision agriculture. A descriptive research design was employed as the research method. A research-made questionnaire was used to examine the agricultural experts’ attitude toward precision agriculture. Internal consistency was demonstrated with a coefficient alpha of 0.87, and the content and face validity of the instrument was confirmed by a panel of experts. The results show that technical, economic and accessibility factors accounted for 55% of the changes in attitudes towards precision agriculture. The findings revealed that there were no significant differences between participants in terms of gender, field of study, extension education, age, experience, organizational position and attitudes, while education levels had a significant effect on the respondent’s attitudes.

  20. 78 FR 78342 - Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project for TRICARE Beneficiaries Under the Extended...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project... (the Department) Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration Project (Autism Demonstration) under the Extended Care Health Option (ECHO) for beneficiaries diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder...

  1. Communication Outreach Strategies Utilized By Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study focused on communication outreach strategies utilized by agricultural extension agents in the Imo State Agriculural Development Programme, Nigeria. Data was obtained form 60 randomly selected agricultural extension agents from the study area. Data were analysed using frequency, percentage and mean ...

  2. 75 FR 34418 - Tobacco Inspection and Grading Services: Notice of Request for an Extension and Revision of a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [AMS-CN-10-0042; CN-10-004] Tobacco... number and page number of this issue of the Federal Register. All comments received will be made... INFORMATION: Title: Reporting and Recording Requirements for 7 CFR part 29. OMB Number: 0581-0056. Expiration...

  3. University Land-Grant Extension and Resistance to Inclusive Epistemologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Christopher S.; Mueller, M. Kalehua

    2016-01-01

    Public land-grant universities have historically engaged with the public through knowledge extension in the agricultural sciences, which later grew into other forms of outreach. Given the important mission of land-grant institutions to positively impact agricultural sciences, this inquiry focuses on the role of agricultural extension and the…

  4. 76 FR 80903 - Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project for TRICARE Beneficiaries Under the Extended...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-27

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Office of the Secretary Extension of Autism Services Demonstration Project... Enhanced Access to Autism Services Demonstration Project under the Extended Care Health Option for beneficiaries diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Under the demonstration, the Department...

  5. 76 FR 28726 - Grain Market News Reports; Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-18

    ... Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-11-0035] Grain Market News Reports; Request for Extension of a Currently Approved... grain market news reports. DATES: Comments must be received by July 18, 2011. ADDRESSES: Comments should... Lynch, Chief, Livestock and Grain Market News Branch, Livestock and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing...

  6. 78 FR 4121 - Notice of Request for Revision to and Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Cut...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-18

    ... and extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S... flowers, nurseries, registered production sites, and the national plant protection organizations of... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2012-0111...

  7. 76 FR 43718 - Notice of Inventory Completion: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Gila National...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-21

    ... Reservation, New Mexico (hereinafter referred to as ``The Tribes''). History and Description of the Remains... History, Chicago, IL AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Gila National Forest and the Field Museum of Natural History have...

  8. An Analysis of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's Role in Bridging the Digital Divide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alston, Antoine J.; Hilton, Lashawn; English, Chastity Warren; Elbert, Chanda; Wakefield, Dexter

    2011-01-01

    The study reported here sought to determine the perception of North Carolina County Cooperative Extension directors in regard to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service's role in bridging the digital divide. It was perceived by respondents that variables such as income, education, gender, disability status, race/ethnicity, age, and…

  9. 78 FR 61323 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Tomatoes...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-03

    ...: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: Under the Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C..., and exporters of tomatoes with stems from the Republic of Korea; the national plant protection... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0084...

  10. 78 FR 58991 - Notice of Request for Extension of Approval of an Information Collection; Importation of Fresh...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-25

    ...: Extension of approval of an information collection. Abstract: The Plant Protection Act (PPA, 7 U.S.C. 7701... fresh pomegranates from Chile, and the national plant protection organization of Chile. Estimated annual... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2013-0082...

  11. Coupled urbanization and agricultural ecosystem services in Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Z X; Li, J; Zhang, W

    2016-08-01

    Ecosystems offer material and environmental support for human habitation and development in those areas of the earth where people choose to live. However, urbanization is an inexorable trend of human social development and threatens the health of those ecosystems inhabited by humans. This study calculates the values of NPP (net primary productivity), carbon sequestration, water interception, soil conservation, and agricultural production in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone. At the same time, we combined DMSP/OLS (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line Scanner) night lights remote sensing data and statistical data to analyze the level of urbanization. Quantitative analysis was performed on the interactions between the ecosystem service functions and urbanization based on the calculations of their coupled coordination degrees. The results were the following: (1) The values of NPP, carbon sequestration, and agricultural production showed a trend of increase. However, water interception decreased before increasing, while soil conservation showed the reverse trend; (2) Urbanization levels in the Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone for the last 10 years have proceeded at a fast pace with comprehensive promotion; and (3) Coupled and coupled coordination degrees between urbanization and ecosystem services show increasing trends. This research can provide a theoretical basis for the region's rapid economic development in the balance.

  12. Pre-Service Teachers' Goals and Future-Time Extension, Concerns, and Well-Being

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagger, Hazel; Malmberg, Lars-Erik

    2011-01-01

    Human goal-processes are conceptualised in an action-theoretic model of motivation, in line with discourse on self-directed teachers. Eighty-eight pre-service teachers reported ideographic professionally-related goals "and" concerns, future-time extension of the goals, and well-being (self-esteem and depression). Thirteen goal and fifteen concern…

  13. A comparison of project participants and extension officers ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined the perception of project participants and extension officers regarding marketing of agricultural produce in agricultural projects in the North West Province. The objective of the study was primarily to compare the perceptions of project participants and extension officers. When establishing a project, ...

  14. Sustainable agricultural water management across climates

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeVincentis, A.

    2016-12-01

    Fresh water scarcity is a global problem with local solutions. Agriculture is one of many human systems threatened by water deficits, and faces unique supply, demand, quality, and management challenges as the global climate changes and population grows. Sustainable agricultural water management is paramount to protecting global economies and ecosystems, but requires different approaches based on environmental conditions, social structures, and resource availability. This research compares water used by conservation agriculture in temperate and tropical agroecosystems through data collected from operations growing strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, and pistachios in California and corn and soybeans in Colombia. The highly manipulated hydrologic regime in California has depleted water resources and incited various adaptive management strategies, varying based on crop type and location throughout the state. Operations have to use less water more efficiently, and sometimes that means fallowing land in select groundwater basins. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the largely untouched landscape in the eastern plains of Colombia are rapidly being converted into commercial agricultural operations, with a unique opportunity to manage and plan for agricultural development with sustainability in mind. Although influenced by entirely different climates and economies, there are some similarities in agricultural water management strategies that could be applicable worldwide. Cover crops are a successful management strategy for both agricultural regimes, and moving forward it appears that farmers who work in coordination with their neighbors to plan for optimal production will be most successful in both locations. This research points to the required coordination of agricultural extension services as a critical component to sustainable water use, successful economies, and protected environments.

  15. A new service proposition as a brand extension for P. H. U. Color company

    OpenAIRE

    Weglarz, Jagoda

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this thesis was to study the advertising psychology and the brand image subjects and to apply them in order to provide the brand image enhancement and brand extension combined with the proposition of a new service for Color, company. Moreover, according to the result of marketing research, examining the possible success of the new service and indicate the leading persuasive advertising tools in the market. The outcomes may help Color to verify if the new service can be applied ...

  16. Knowledge Gaps and Rural Development in Tajikistan: Agricultural Advisory Services as a Panacea?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shtaltovna, Anastasiya

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse knowledge systems and channels of innovation diffusion in Tajikistan. In particular, I look at the formation of agricultural advisory services (AASs) and how these provide a vital source of knowledge and innovation for farmers during the transition process. Methodology: Empirically, this paper draws…

  17. Factors affecting job satisfaction of front-line extension workers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study examined the factors affecting job satisfaction of field extension workers in Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme. Forty-two extension staff randomly selected across the three agricultural zones were used for the study. The field extension workers indicated low level of satisfaction with their job content, ...

  18. Agricultural Mechanics Laboratory Management Professional Development Needs of Wyoming Secondary Agriculture Teachers

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKim, Billy R.; Saucier, P. Ryan

    2011-01-01

    Accidents happen; however, the likelihood of accidents occurring in the agricultural mechanics laboratory is greatly reduced when agricultural mechanics laboratory facilities are managed by secondary agriculture teachers who are competent and knowledgeable. This study investigated the agricultural mechanics laboratory management in-service needs…

  19. Journal of Agricultural Research and Development

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Journal of Agricultural Research and Development aims at publishing research reports, short communications, Critical Reviews in Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, Agronomy, Forestry, Animal Science, Food Technology, Soil Science, Home Economics, Agricultural Extension, Rural development, ...

  20. Structural condition assessment of in-service wood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert J. Ross; Brian K. Brashaw; Xiping Wang

    2006-01-01

    Wood is used extensively for both interior and exterior applications in the construction of a variety of structures (residential, agricultural, commercial, government, religious). The deterioration of an in-service wood member may result from a variety of causes during the life of a structure. It is important, therefore, to periodically assess the condition of wood...

  1. Integrated services to support detection, prevention and planning of the agricultural-forest-rural land against fires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scipioni, A.; Tagliaferri, F.

    2009-04-01

    Objective of the document is to define lines of development and distribution of the services to support detection, prevention and planning of the agricultural-forest-rural land against fire. The services will be a valid support on hand of the Regional and National Administrations involved in the agricultural-forest-rural activities (Ministry of Agricultural and Forestry Policies, National Forest Police, ecc..), through the employment of the SIAN "National Agricultural Informative System", that is the integrated national information system for the entire agriculture, forestry and fisheries Administration. The services proposals would be distributed through the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) of the SIAN: the GIS database is a single nation-wide digital graphic database consisting of: - Ortophotos: Aerial images of approz. 45 km2 each with ground resolution of 50 cm; - Cadastral maps: Land maps; - Thematic layers: Land use and crops identification The GIS services can take full advantage of the benefits of SIAN architectural model designed for best integration and interoperability with other Central and Local P.A. bodies whose main items are: - Integration of information from different sources; - Maintainance of the internal coeherence of any integrated information; - Flexibility with respect to technical or organizational changes The "innovative "services described below could be useful to support the development of institutional tasks of public Agencies and Administrations (es. Regions or Civil Protection agencies) according to than previewed from the D.Lgs. 173/98. Services of support to the management of the phenomenon of wildland fires The activities outlined in below figure, don't have a linear and defined temporal sequence, but a dynamic and time integration. It guarantees not only the integrated use of the various information, but also the value of every product, for level of accuracy, coherence and timeliness of the information. Description of four main

  2. Ecosystem services provided by agricultural terraces in semi-arid climates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero-Díaz, Asunción; Díaz-Pereira, Elvira; Boix-Fayos, Carolina; de Vente, Joris

    2016-04-01

    Since ancient times, agricultural terraces are common features throughout the world, especially on steep slope gradients. Nowadays many terraces have been abandoned or removed and few new terraces are build due to increased mechanisation and intensification of agriculture. However, terraces are amongst the most effective soil conservation practices, reducing the slope gradient and slope length, as well as runoff rate and soil erosion, and without terraces, it would be impossible to cultivate on many hillslopes. Moreover, their scenic interest is undeniable, as in some cases, terraced slopes have even become part of UNESCO World Heritage. In order to highlight the potential benefits, requirements and limitations of terraces, we reviewed different types of sustainable land management practices related to terraces and characterised their implications for provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services. We centred our review on terraces in semi-arid environments worldwide, as were documented in the WOCAT (World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies) database. Our results show that the most important ecosystem services provided by terraces relate to regulation of the on-site and off-site effects of runoff and erosion, and maintenance of soil fertility and vegetation cover. The presence of terraces also favours the provision of food, fiber, and clean water. In short, our results stress the crucial environmental, geomorphological and hydrological functions of terraces that directly relate to improving the quality of life of the people that use them. These results highlight the need for renewed recognition of the value of terraces for society, their preservation and maintenance.

  3. Agricultural land abandonment in Mediterranean environment provides ecosystem services via soil carbon sequestration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novara, Agata; Gristina, Luciano; Sala, Giovanna; Galati, Antonino; Crescimanno, Maria; Cerdà, Artemi; Badalamenti, Emilio; La Mantia, Tommaso

    2017-01-15

    Abandonment of agricultural land leads to several consequences for ecosystem functions. Agricultural abandonment may be a significant and low cost strategy for carbon sequestration and mitigation of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions due to the vegetation recovery and increase in soil organic matter. The aim of this study was to: (i) estimate the influence of different Soil Regions (areas characterized by a typical climate and parent material association) and Bioclimates (zones with homogeneous climatic regions and thermotype indices) on soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics after agricultural land abandonment; and (ii) to analyse the efficiency of the agri-environment policy (agri-environment measures) suggested by the European Commission in relation to potential SOC stock ability in the Sicilian Region (Italy). In order to quantify the effects of agricultural abandonment on SOC, a dataset with original data that was sampled in Sicily and existing data from the literature were analysed according to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) methodology. Results showed that abandonment of cropland soils increased SOC stock by 9.03MgCha -1 on average, ranging from 5.4MgCha -1 to 26.7MgCha -1 in relation to the Soil Region and Bioclimate. The estimation of SOC change after agricultural use permitted calculation of the payments for ecosystem service (PES) of C sequestration after agricultural land abandonment in relation to environmental benefits, increasing in this way the efficiency of PES. Considering the 14,337ha of abandoned lands in Sicily, the CO 2 emission as a whole was reduced by 887,745Mg CO 2 . Therefore, it could be concluded that abandoned agricultural fields represents a valid opportunity to mitigate agriculture sector emissions in Sicily. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovacs, Kent; West, Grant

    2016-01-01

    An irrigated agricultural landscape experiencing groundwater overdraft generates economic returns and a suite of ecosystem services (in particular, groundwater supply, greenhouse gases reduction, and surface water quality). Alternative land cover choices indicate tradeoffs among the value of ecosystem services created and the economic returns. These tradeoffs are explored using efficiency frontiers that determine the least value in ecosystem services that must be given up to generate additional economic returns. Agricultural producers may switch to irrigation with surface water using on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery systems in response to groundwater overdraft, and this has consequences for the bundle of ecosystem service values and economic returns achievable from the landscape. Planning that accounts for both ecosystem service value and economic returns can achieve more value for society, as does the adoption of reservoirs though lowering the costs of irrigation, increasing groundwater levels, and reducing fuel combustion and associated GHG emissions from groundwater pumping. Sensitivity analyses of per unit value of ecosystem services, crop prices, and the groundwater and water purification model parameters indicate tradeoff among ecosystems service values, such as the use of a high-end social cost of carbon ultimately lowers groundwater supply and water purification value by more than 15%.

  5. The Influence of Groundwater Depletion from Irrigated Agriculture on the Tradeoffs between Ecosystem Services and Economic Returns.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kent Kovacs

    Full Text Available An irrigated agricultural landscape experiencing groundwater overdraft generates economic returns and a suite of ecosystem services (in particular, groundwater supply, greenhouse gases reduction, and surface water quality. Alternative land cover choices indicate tradeoffs among the value of ecosystem services created and the economic returns. These tradeoffs are explored using efficiency frontiers that determine the least value in ecosystem services that must be given up to generate additional economic returns. Agricultural producers may switch to irrigation with surface water using on-farm reservoirs and tail water recovery systems in response to groundwater overdraft, and this has consequences for the bundle of ecosystem service values and economic returns achievable from the landscape. Planning that accounts for both ecosystem service value and economic returns can achieve more value for society, as does the adoption of reservoirs though lowering the costs of irrigation, increasing groundwater levels, and reducing fuel combustion and associated GHG emissions from groundwater pumping. Sensitivity analyses of per unit value of ecosystem services, crop prices, and the groundwater and water purification model parameters indicate tradeoff among ecosystems service values, such as the use of a high-end social cost of carbon ultimately lowers groundwater supply and water purification value by more than 15%.

  6. A service life extension (SLEP) approach to operating aging aircraft beyond their original design lives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pentz, Alan Carter

    With today's uncertain funding climate (including sequestration and continuing budget resolutions), decision makers face severe budgetary challenges to maintain dominance through all aspects of the Department of Defense (DoD). To meet war-fighting capabilities, the DoD continues to extend aircraft programs beyond their design service lives by up to ten years, and occasionally much more. The budget requires a new approach to traditional extension strategies (i.e., reuse, reset, and reclamation) for structural hardware. While extending service life without careful controls can present a safety concern, future operations planning does not consider how much risk is present when operating within sound structural principles. Traditional structural hardware extension methods drive increased costs. Decision makers often overlook the inherent damage tolerance and fatigue capability of structural components and rely on simple time- and flight-based cycle accumulation when determining aircraft retirement lives. This study demonstrates that decision makers should consider risk in addition to the current extension strategies. Through an evaluation of eight military aircraft programs and the application and simulation of F-18 turbine engine usage data, this dissertation shows that insight into actual aircraft mission data, consideration of fatigue capability, and service extension length are key factors to consider. Aircraft structural components, as well as many critical safety components and system designs, have a predefined level of conservatism and inherent damage tolerance. The methods applied in this study would apply to extensions of other critical structures such as bridges. Understanding how much damage tolerance is built into the design compared to the original design usage requirements presents the opportunity to manage systems based on risk. The study presents the sensitivity of these factors and recommends avenues for further research.

  7. Influence of Voluntary Coffee Certifications on Cooperatives' Advisory Services and Agricultural Practices of Smallholder Farmers in Costa Rica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snider, Anna; Kraus, Eva; Sibelet, Nicole; Bosselmann, Aske Skovmand; Faure, Guy

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This article explores how voluntary certifications influence the way cooperatives provide advisory services to their members and the influence of these services on agricultural practices. Design/Methodology/Approach: Case studies were conducted in four representative Costa Rican cooperatives interviewing twenty interviewed cooperative…

  8. Digging Deeper: A Case Study of Farmer Conceptualization of Ecosystem Services in the American South.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinn, Courtney E; Quinn, John E; Halfacre, Angela C

    2015-10-01

    The interest in improved environmental sustainability of agriculture via biodiversity provides an opportunity for placed-based research on the conceptualization and articulation of ecosystem services. Yet, few studies have explored how farmers conceptualize the relationship between their farm and nature and by extension ecosystem services. Examining how farmers in the Southern Piedmont of South Carolina discuss and explain the role of nature on their farm, we create a detail-rich picture of how they perceive ecosystem services and their contributions to the agroeconomy. Using 34 semi-structured interviews, we developed a detail-rich qualitative portrait of these farmers' conceptualizations of ecosystem services. Farmers' conceptualization of four ecosystem services: provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural are discussed, as well as articulation of disservices. Results of interviews show that most interviewees expressed a basic understanding of the relationship between nature and agriculture and many articulated benefits provided by nature to their farm. Farmers referred indirectly to most services, though they did not attribute services to biodiversity or ecological function. While farmers have a general understanding and appreciation of nature, they lack knowledge on specific ways biodiversity benefits their farm. This lack of knowledge may ultimately limit farmer decision-making and land management to utilize ecosystem services for environmental and economic benefits. These results suggest that additional communication with farmers about ecosystem services is needed as our understanding of these benefits increases. This change may require collaboration between conservation biology professionals and extension and agriculture professionals to extended successful biomass provisioning services to other ecosystem services.

  9. 77 FR 31302 - Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Agricultural Statistics Service Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice of Renewal of the Charter for the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of...

  10. National Agricultural Library | United States Department of Agriculture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag Terms of Service Frequently Asked Questions Policies and Documentation Ag Data Commons Monthly Metrics News Contact Us Search  Log inRegister Home Home About Policies and Documentation Ag Data Commons

  11. Technology News; Distance Education Project: Extending Extension Programming via Telecommunications Technology; [and] Fax for Library Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Larry; Spitzer, Kathleen L.

    1992-01-01

    Three articles discuss (1) the numbers of microcomputers installed in elementary and secondary schools; (2) a distance education project in the Minnesota Extension Service that used a satellite delivery system and integrated it with a computer information network; and (3) the use of facsimile machines for library services. (LRW)

  12. The Role of Agricultural Technology in Food and Nutritional Security ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Strengthening of agricultural research and extension. The development and utilization of profitable and environmentally-friendly technology is an essential factor for the transformation of agriculture into a modern sector. The impact of technology can be attained through the revitalization of agricultural research and extension ...

  13. Challenges and agricultural extension needs of urban and peri ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... management (M=2.00), among others. Extension agents should regularly disseminate information on livestock production to urban and peri-urban livestock keepers via training, demonstration sessions or other extension teaching methods. Keywords: Animals, Constraints, dissemination, Farmers, Information, Production ...

  14. Managing the agricultural calendar as coping mechanism to climate variability: A case study of maize farming in northern Benin, West Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosaine N. Yegbemey

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays climate variability and change are amongst the most important threats to sustainable development, with potentially severe consequences on agriculture in developing countries. Among many available coping mechanisms, farmers adjust some of their farming practices. This article aims at exploring observed changes in the agricultural calendar as a response to climate variability in northern Benin. Interviews with local experts (agricultural extension officers and local leaders such as heads of farmer and village organisations and group discussions with farmers were organised. A household survey was also conducted on 336 maize producers to highlight the factors affecting decisions to adjust the agricultural calendar as a coping mechanism against climate variability. As a general trend, the duration of the cropping season in northern Benin is getting longer with slight differences among and within agro-ecological zones, implying a higher risk of operating under time-inefficient conditions. Farmers receive very limited support from agricultural extension services and therefore design their agricultural calendar on the basis of personal experience. Socio-economic characteristics, maize farming characteristics as well as farm location determine the decision to adjust the agricultural calendar. Consequently, providing farmers with climate related information could ensure a rational and time-efficient management of the agricultural calendar. Moreover, research and extension institutions should help in establishing and popularising clear agricultural calendars while taking into account the driving forces of behaviours towards the adjustment of farming practices as a climate variability response.

  15. Food Insecurity: Challenges of Agricultural Extension in Developing ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The emphasis on accelerated agricultural development by developing countries was meant to achieve food security. However, food insecurity has remained a problem throughout much of the developing world and is the result of such factors as slow (as well as highly variable) growth in domestic food production, rapid ...

  16. The Role of Social Networks in Agricultural Adaptation to Climate Change: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Abid

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Incorporating adaptation into subsistence farming systems is an important strategy to reduce damages related to climate change and to protect livelihoods in developing countries. Using a dataset of 450 farm households collected from three agro-ecological zones, this study examines rural networks, assesses farm-level institutional support and documents any existing structural gaps on climate change adaptation in the agricultural sector of Pakistan. For this purpose, a social network analysis method is used. The study findings reveal that farmers reported a decrease in crop production and increase in pests and diseases due to climate change. Further, changing crop varieties, sowing dates, input mixes and planting trees are the key measures adopted by farmers. Lack of information, finances and resources are the key adaptation constraints. The study findings show that only 28% and 13% of the respondents do not have access to financial services and climate adaptation knowledge, respectively. Support to farmers mainly consists of marketing information and farm equipment from community-based organizations, while private institutions offer weather forecasting services. Public institutions are poorly represented in the network analysis. We also found that extension services are key institutions in the climate adaptation network, while agricultural credits, post-harvest services and marketing of produce were dominant but weakly connected in the financial support network. We also found that with an increase in the provision of services at the farm level, farmers not only adapt more but also move from low-cost and short-term measures to advanced measures. This study proposes an integrated framework to improve the stakeholders’ networking through different kind of partnerships and better adaptation to climate change.

  17. Assessment of Ecosystem Services in a Semi-arid Agriculture-dominant Area: Framework and Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhungel, R.; Chen, Y.; Maltos, R.; Sivakumaran, K.; Aguilar, A.; Harmon, T. C.

    2015-12-01

    California's Central Valley (CV) water crisis has increased in severity due to a prolonged drought. The drought is directly contributing to the overexploitation of groundwater, along with deficiency in agricultural, recreational and aesthetic water services. The population of the CV, home to about 6.5 million people, is projected to be 12 million by 2040. Balancing water demand between municipal use, agricultural supply, and other ecosystem services, will be challenging for this region in perpetuity. In the heart of CV lies the San Joaquin River (SJR) where Friant Dam is the main low-elevation reservoir regulating water release. The Friant Dam's reservoir fulfills agricultural, municipal and industrial water needs through the Friant-Kern and Madera canals, as well as through the mainstem SJR. The SJR restoration project (SJRRP) is a recent development that is imposing additional demands on water releases in order to restore sustainable aquatic habitat for Chinook salmon and other species on the mainstem below the Friant Dam. The Chinook require adequate flow to moderate river temperature, particularly during hot summer and fall months. Temperatures on CV rivers exhibit strong diurnal and seasonal patterns, and can rise to harmful levels when flows are inadequate. In this study, we developed a framework that allows for assessing the effectiveness and implied costs of ecosystem services provided by a restored SJR in a semi-arid agriculture-dominant area. This is done by explicitly linking economics-based farmers' model with a reduced-form hydrological model that is loosely coupled to a physical-based stream-temperature model, specifically CE-QUAL-W2. The farmers' model is based on positive mathematical program approach calibrated with twenty proxy crops for year 2005. The river-hydrology is simulated by a vector autoregression model that incorporates daily flow variability. We study the mandated release policies by the SJR restoration project, along with hypothetical

  18. From crisis to development: the policy and practice of agricultural service provision in northern Uganda

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wairimu, Winnie Wangari; Christoplos, Ian; Hilhorst, D.J.M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper critically evaluates the transition from crisis to development in northern Uganda from the perspective of agricultural service provision. It contributes to debates on how efforts to link relief to rehabilitation and development may bypass the underlying challenges in linking humanitarian

  19. Public Sector Agricultural Extension System Reform and the Challenges Ahead

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera, William M.

    2011-01-01

    This paper is organized into two main sections. The first section examines extension as an engine for innovation and reviews the numerous priorities confronting extension systems. Section two highlights the current knowledge imperative and the critical connection of extension to post-secondary higher education and training, organizational…

  20. History of the Kansas Extension Service From 1868 to 1964; (Vol. I, II, III).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teagarden, Earl H., Comp.

    The comprehensive history of the Kansas Extension Service from 1868 is presented in three volumes and includes administration, information dissemination, club work, special area reports, personnel training, and continuing education. Administration involves such aspects as personnel, finances, organizational changes, cooperation with other agencies…

  1. Evaluation of agricultural ecosystem services in fallowing land based on farmers' participation and model simulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu Yen Lan,; Chang Kang-tsung,; Stoorvogel, J.J.; Verburg, P.H.; Sun Chin Hong,

    2012-01-01

    Fallowing with green fertilizer can benefit agricultural ecosystem services (AES). Farmers in Taiwan do not implement fallow practices and plant green fertilizer because the current subsidy level (46,000 NT$ per ha) is too low to manage fallowing. This paper defines the objective of government

  2. Evaluation of Agricultural ecosystem services in fallowing land based on farmers’ participation and model simulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Liu, Y.L.; Chang, K.T.; Stoorvogel, J.; Verburg, P.H.; Sun, C.H.

    2012-01-01

    Fallowing with green fertilizer can benefit agricultural ecosystem services (AES). Farmers in Taiwan do not implement fallow practices and plant green fertilizer because the current subsidy level (46,000 NT$ per ha) is too low to manage fallowing. This paper defines the objective of government

  3. India - 103 Agricultural Extension. Madhya Pradesh Hindi Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papazian, Elaine; Ray, S. B.

    This guide is designed for Hindi language training of Peace Corps workers in agriculture in India and reflects daily communication needs in that context. It consists of notes on Hindi phonology and pronunciation and a series of lessons on description, common phrases, and grammatical constructions. The 41 lessons are presented in four sections,…

  4. Factors influencing access to agricultural knowledge: The case of smallholder rice farmers in the Kilombero district of Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wulystan P. Mtega

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Access to agricultural knowledge is important in transforming livelihoods of those relying on agriculture for a living and in enhancing food security. This access to agricultural knowledge is influenced by infrastructure needed for information dissemination. However, information infrastructure is not uniformly distributed within and between countries. It is because of this that some of the farming communities are information rich while others are information poor. In Tanzania, the agricultural sector is characterised by poor research-extension-farmers linkage and inaccessibility of agricultural knowledge at farm level Objective: The study investigated the factors influencing access to agricultural knowledge among smallholder rice farmers in the Kilombero district of Tanzania. Specifically, the study identified categories of agricultural knowledge needed by farmers, determined how farmers access agricultural knowledge, and assessed the factors limiting the accessibility of agricultural knowledge among rice farmers in the Kilombero district. Method: Quantitative data were collected via semi-structured questionnaires administered face-to-face with rice farmers, community leaders, and agricultural agents in four villages at the Kilombero district of the Morogoro region in Tanzania. Results: The key finding indicates that farmers accessed and used agricultural knowledge in undertaking agricultural activities. It was further revealed that the level of acquisition of agricultural knowledge increased with an increase in age. Farmers needed agricultural knowledge on land preparation, seed selection, and rice planting, while few acquired knowledge on agricultural markets. Among the agricultural knowledge sources used, demonstration plots and agricultural extension agents were found to be used by the majority of the farmers. It was also found that a limited number of demonstration plots, late delivery of information services, a limited number

  5. African Journals Online: Agriculture & Food Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 50 of 53 ... Global Approaches to Extension Practice (GAEP), A publication of the Department of ... resources, Soil Science, Agricultural Engineering and Food Processing. ... Journal of Applied Chemistry and Agricultural Research.

  6. Conservation Agriculture in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Á. Kertész

    2014-03-01

    Yield performance and stability, operating costs, environmental policies and programs of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP, and climate change will likely be the major driving forces defining the direction and for the extension of CA in Europe. The role of agriculture in climate change mitigation in the EU is discussed in the paper.

  7. Environmental impacts of modern agricultural technology diffusion in Bangladesh: an analysis of farmers' perceptions and their determinants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, Sanzidur

    2003-06-01

    Farmers' perception of the environmental impacts of modern agricultural technology diffusion and factors determining such awareness were examined using survey data from 21 villages in three agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. Results reveal that farmers are well aware of the adverse environmental impacts of modern agricultural technology, although their awareness remains confined within visible impacts such as soil fertility, fish catches, and health effects. Their perception of intangible impacts such as, toxicity in water and soils is weak. Level and duration of modern agricultural technology adoption directly influence awareness of its adverse effects. Education and extension contacts also play an important role in raising awareness. Awareness is higher among farmers in developed regions, fertile locations and those with access to off-farm income sources. Promotion of education and strengthening extension services will boost farmers' environmental awareness. Infrastructure development and measures to replenish depleting soil fertility will also play a positive role in raising awareness.

  8. Extension Systems in Tanzania: Identifying Gaps in Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    in Tanzania on agricultural extension systems; review research globally on agricultural ... cal techniques, unique results and major recommendations. .... participation in decision-making, natural .... soil and water management technologies in.

  9. Effectiveness Of Communication Outreach Strategies Of Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Communication is a major component of agricultural extension and extension agents utilize various methods to deliver messages to their clienteles. The paper focused on the effectiveness of communication outreach strategies of extension agents in Imo State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected with the aid of ...

  10. 77 FR 43560 - American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program; Proposed Waivers and Extensions of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-25

    ... Program; Proposed Waivers and Extensions of the Project Periods AGENCY: Office of Special Education and... rehabilitation services to American Indians with disabilities who reside on or near Federal or State reservations... documents published by the Department. Dated: July 19, 2012. Alexa Posny, Assistant Secretary for Special...

  11. International Journal of Applied Agriculture and Apiculture Research

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The journal publishes current and emerging issues in the following areas: Animal science, crop science, weed science, biological science, food science, Biotechnology in agriculture and apiculture, agricultural extension, agricultural economics, soil science, agricultural technology and aquaculture. It aims to promote the ...

  12. Utilization of clean and safe delivery service package of health services extension program and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Southwest Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayou, Negalign Berhanu; Gacho, Yohannes Haile Michael

    2013-07-01

    In Ethiopia, 94% of births take place at home unattended by trained persons. The government introduced an innovative strategy, Health Services Extension Program in 2003. Clean and safe delivery service is a component of maternal and child healthcare package of the program. However, little is known about the status of uptake of the service. This study thus aimed to assess utilization of clean and safe delivery service and associated factors in rural kebeles of Kafa Zone, Ethiopia. A community based cross sectional survey was conducted in rural kebeles of Kefa Zone from January 21(st) to February 25(th), 2009 using a sample of 229 mothers. Kafa Zone is located 465 kilometres away from Addis Ababa to southwest of Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS for windows version 16. OR and 95% CI were calculated. Phistory of abortion, knowledge of danger signs and antenatal care attendance. Educating women and improving their knowledge about danger signs of pregnancy and labor is recommended. Health extension workers should consider antenatal care visits as opportunities for this purpose.

  13. 7 CFR 2.68 - Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ....S.C. 3318). (6) Enter cost-reimbursable agreements relating to agricultural research and statistical... promote and support the development of a viable and sustainable global agricultural system. Such work may... 7 Agriculture 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics...

  14. Analysis of effects of extension teaching methods on farmers' level of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study analyzed the effects of extension teaching methods used by Ogun State (Nigeria) Agricultural Development Programme's extension agents on farmers' level of production in maize and cassava. The sample included 210 randomly selected farmers, comprising adopters and non-adopters of introduced agricultural ...

  15. Life extension, power upgrade, and return to service work for Pickering NGS and other PWR and CANDU plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Millman, J.; Idvorian, N.; Schneider, W.

    2002-01-01

    Work on life extension, power upgrade and return to service has been performed and is in progress for a number of PWR and CANDU plants. For PWR plants, power upgrade work has been done for the new replacement steam generators in several cases. This work consists of redoing the formal equipment qualification analysis and reports for the uprated operating conditions to support the application for license adjustment. Life extension assessments have been performed for several CANDU plants. These are highly detailed assessments in which the particular steam generator is reassessed part by part as to the ability of each to sustain full life operation and also extended life operation. Return to service work for Pickering NGSA specifically has included this type of assessment and also specific repair, cleaning and retrofit activities including secondary side inspection, waterlancing, divider plate repair, eddy current inspection, etc. Steam generator modifications and retrofit work have been performed in a number of cases. The paper discusses various life extension, power upgrade, equipment modification and return to service activities all of which are part of the renewed drive in the industry to realise the full potential of nuclear plants by getting more and better performance from the extended service of existing plants. (author)

  16. Expected role of psychologists in rural extension in the Argentine Northeast

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Pablo Landini

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Rural extension is a complex practice that involves the provision of technical assistance and advisory services to farmers and other rural actors with the aim of improving agricultural production as well as organizational and commercial dynamics. Thus, it is clear that rural extension as an interdisciplinary practice that requires contributions from different social sciences. In consequence, it can be argued that psycholog y has a great potential to contribute to rural extension. Nonetheless, it has been mentioned that its contributions to the topic have been scarce. Aiming to understand the potential role of psychologists in the context of rural extension, a qualitative, exploratory-descriptive research was conducted. A total of 40 extensionists from the Argentine northeast provinces were interviewed. Interviews were recorded and latter analyzed following grounded theory’s guidelines and using Atlas Ti software. The findings allow concluding that most rural extensionists consider that psycholog y could contribute to their practice, but without being able to clarify its specificities. Additionally, exten-sionists highlight potential contributions in the area of group dynamics, conflict management and the understanding of farmers’ behavior.

  17. Women Farmers' Perceptions of the Economic Problems Influencing Their Productivity in Agricultural Systems: Meme Division of the Southwest Province, Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endeley, Joyce B.

    Women farmers produce about 60% of the food in Cameroon, but face more problems and constraints than men in performing their agricultural activities. Cash crop farmers (mostly men) are the targeted beneficiaries of government and international aids, and have better access to extension services, loans, subsidized production input (herbicides,…

  18. Global Approaches to Extension Practice: A Journal of Agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Credit Delivery Systems In Rural Nigeria: Issues And Implications For Rural Transformation · EMAIL FULL TEXT EMAIL FULL TEXT .... Influence Of Fund Availability On Adoption Of Improved Agricultural Technologies Among Farmers Involved In The Special Programme For Food Security In Rivers State, Nigeria · EMAIL ...

  19. An Analysis of Construct Validity of Motivation As It Relates to North Carolina County Agricultural Extension Service Agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calloway, Pauline Frances

    This study investigated the construct validity of the Herzberg (1964) theory of motivation as it relates to county Extension agents; and developed an inventory to measure the job satisfaction of county agents in North Carolina. The inventory was administered to 419 agents in 79 counties. Factor analysis was used to determine the number of job…

  20. Experience of good practices in the Cooperative No Agricultural of Construction Services, Scaffold & Chest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Montenegro Morales

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The implementation of No Agricultural Cooperatives constitutes an economic solution to the current context of Cuba. Its real impact on the lives of thousands of Cubans and Cubans validates the guarantee of this movement even in the experimental stage, establishing a balance between its economic and social development. In correspondence, the present investigation is elaborated with the objective of showing the experiences and good practices that the Non-Agricultural Cooperative of Construction Services, Scaffolds and Cofres has had in terms of social responsibility and local development. The following methods and techniques were used: documentary review, non-participant observation, interviews and survey, which allowed for an analysis demonstrating that the growth of economic indicators should also favor the transformation of society, including that of partners, members and their families; as well as in the awareness of a social economy based on cooperativism. The need to implement a social accounting system in non-agricultural cooperatives that allows measuring its impact on the conception of a social management model was demonstrated.

  1. Agricultural Extension Officers' Knowledge About the Role of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... Effects of Pesticides Control Measures on the Insects in Central Region of Ghana. ... The Extension Officers considered bees (mean of 1.86) and lepidopterans ... indicated that pollinators transfer pollen grains from the anther to the stigma.

  2. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... science of extension and of rural development as scientific discipline by stimulating thought, study, research, ... All articles published in this journal are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

  3. 76 FR 55708 - Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels; Extension of the Office of Management and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-08

    ...] Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels; Extension of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB... concerning its proposal to extend the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) approval of the information collection requirements specified in the Standard on Servicing Multi-Piece and Single Piece Rim Wheels (29...

  4. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    through conservation, recycling and renewal; practices preserve agricultural resources and prevent .... profits attained through marketing of agricultural products. .... The need to maintain and restore the ''natural'' state of water resources.

  5. Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and the Social Sciences generally aims to foster progressive partnerships between different stake holders towards sustainable Agriculture. Papers in Animal husbandry, Fisheries, wild life, crop and Soil Science, agricultural economics, Extension, Forestry, environment and papers with a ...

  6. Governance of the municipal services to the population: The case of an emerging economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lamlile Ndlovu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate farming community perceptions and expectations of quality of extension services rendered by the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs (DAEA within the uMngungundlovu District Municipality. In order to achieve the article’s objective, the researcher used a SERVQUAL questionnaire and collected and analyzed the data using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS. The results have shown that the customers perceive that they receive superior service from the extension staff. However the negative differences need to be eliminated to exceed the expectations of customers

  7. Assessing the changes in land use and ecosystem services in an oasis agricultural region of Yanqi Basin, Northwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuixian; Wu, Bin; Yang, Pengnian

    2014-12-01

    The Yanqi Basin, one of the most productive agricultural areas, has a high population density in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Land use changes, mainly driven by oasis expansion, significantly impact ecosystem services and functions, but these effects are difficult to quantify. The valuation of ecosystem services is important to clarify the ecological and environmental changes caused by agriculturalization of oasis. This study aimed to investigate variations in ecosystem services in response to land use changes during oasis agricultural expansion activities in the Yanqi Basin from 1964 to 2009. The methods used were based on formula of ecosystem service value (ESV) and ESV coefficients. Satellite data were combined with the ESV coefficients to quantify land use changes and ecosystem service changes in the study area. Sensitivity analysis determined the effect of manipulating the coefficients on the estimated values. The results show that the total ESVs in the Yanqi Basin were $1,674, $1,692, $1,471, $1,732, and $1,603 million in 1964, 1973, 1989, 1999, and 2009, respectively. The net deline in ESV was $71 million in the past 46 years, but the ESVs of each types of landscape changed significantly. The aggregated ESVs of water areas and wetlands were approximately 80 % of the total ESV. Water supply and waste treatment were the two largest service functions and contributed approximately 65 % of the total ESV. The estimated ESVs in this study were elastic with respect to the value coefficients. Therefore, the estimations were robust in spite of uncertainties on the value coefficients. These significant changes in land use occur within the entire basin over the study period. These changes cause environmental problems, such as land degradation, vegetation degeneracy, and changes in aquatic environment.

  8. Factors Affecting Water Dynamics and Their Assessment in Agricultural Landscapes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakadevan, K.; Nguyen, M.L.

    2015-01-01

    The intensification and extension of agriculture have contributed significantly to the global food production in the last five decades. However, intensification without due attention to the ecosystem services and sustainability of soil and water resources contributed to land and water quality degradation such as soil erosion, decreased soil fertility and quality, salinization and nutrient discharge to surface and ground waters. Land use change from forests to crop lands altered the vegetation pattern and hydrology of landscapes with increased nutrient discharge from crop lands to riverine environment. Global climate change will increase the amount of water required for agriculture in addition to water needed for further irrigation development causing water scarcity in many dry, arid and semi-arid regions. The water and nutrient use efficiencies of agricultural production systems are still below 40% in many regions across the globe. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer use in agriculture have accelerated the cycling of these nutrients in the landscape and contributed to water quality degradation. Such nutrient pollution has a wide array of consequences including eutrophication of inland waters and marine ecosystems. While intensifying drought conditions, increasing water consumption and environmental pollution in many parts of the world threatens agricultural productivity and livelihood, these also provided opportunities for farmers to use improved land and water management technologies and practices to make agriculture resilient to external shocks

  9. A systematic map of ecosystem services assessments around European agroforestry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fagerholm, Nora; Torralba Viorreta, Mario; Burgess, Paul J.

    2016-01-01

    the knowledge field and provide the first systematic synthesis of ecosystem services research in relation to European agroforestry. We reviewed 71 scientific publications from studies conducted in farmland and forest ecosystems with various types of agroforestry management. Each publication was systematically......, typical clusters of similar research approaches were identified. The results show that ecosystem service assessment of European agroforestry is currently focused on the spatially extensive wood pastures in the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Continental agricultural mosaic landscapes. A specific emphasis has...

  10. Does Prior Experience in Secondary Agricultural Mechanics Affect Pre-Service Agricultural Education Teachers' Intentions to Enroll in Post-Secondary Agricultural Mechanics Coursework?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Trent; Perry, Dustin K.; Anderson, Ryan G.; Shultz, Matthew J.; Paulsen, Thomas H.

    2013-01-01

    Agricultural mechanics coursework has historically been considered an important and necessary construct of the secondary agricultural education curriculum (Burris, Robinson, & Terry, 2005). With expectations of offering secondary agricultural mechanics coursework apparent, it is vital that agricultural education teachers be prepared to address…

  11. Journal of Agricultural Extension - Vol 20, No 1 (2016)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Attitude of students towards online shopping of agricultural products in selected tertiary institutions in Ogun state, Nigeria · EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT. AJ Oresanya, TJ Oresanya, 121-131. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/jae.v20i1.10 ...

  12. Applications of Smartphone-Based Sensors in Agriculture: A Systematic Review of Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suporn Pongnumkul

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Smartphones have become a useful tool in agriculture because their mobility matches the nature of farming, the cost of the device is highly accessible, and their computing power allows a variety of practical applications to be created. Moreover, smartphones are nowadays equipped with various types of physical sensors which make them a promising tool to assist diverse farming tasks. This paper systematically reviews smartphone applications mentioned in research literature that utilize smartphone built-in sensors to provide agricultural solutions. The initial 1,500 articles identified through database search were screened based on exclusion criteria and then reviewed thoroughly in full text, resulting in 22 articles included in this review. The applications are categorized according to their agricultural functions. Those articles reviewed describe 12 farming applications, 6 farm management applications, 3 information system applications, and 4 extension service applications. GPS and cameras are the most popular sensors used in the reviewed papers. This shows an opportunity for future applications to utilize other sensors such as accelerometer to provide advanced agricultural solutions.

  13. The economics of agricultural subsidies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch, R.A.

    1985-01-01

    PART ONE

    1. Agricultural subsidies have been defined as a government induced change of relative prices of goods, services and factors of production in the agricultural sector. These agricultural price changes may result from a large number of different government measures varying

  14. Current status of educational services in higher agricultural education in Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. S. Cobets’

    2016-07-01

    of passing students into the production, which is an absolute necessity in terms of training of qualified specialists. It is necessary to realize the concept of continuous and multi­level agricultural education focused on the holistic development of the individual, increasing social adaptation in today’s mobile world. It is important to ensure cooperation between higher education institutions from producers, services employment. Key terms of agricultural education European level is to create research universities and development of such scientific and educational centers. This is the way to competitive scientific developments, Bank of innovation, promotion of scientific and research work of local scientists in the international market of high technology products. Ukrainian experts are to be competitive in internal and world market.

  15. irrigated agriculture and poverty reduction in kassena nankana

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    2010-09-08

    Sep 8, 2010 ... a considerable extent, created a platform for employment and high agricultural output. How- ever, the high agricultural output has not ..... District Agriculture Extension Office, and food crop sellers in the Navrongo Central .... pled project farmers were dissatisfied with their household economic situation and ...

  16. Predictors of Job Satisfaction among Selected Agriculture Faculty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foor, Ryan M.; Cano, Jamie

    2011-01-01

    The construct of job satisfaction is rooted in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Herzberg's Motivator-Hygiene Theory. The current study was conducted to ascertain the level of job satisfaction of faculty members specializing in agricultural communication, agricultural leadership, agricultural teacher education, and extension education and to…

  17. Pollinator interactions with yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis across urban, agricultural, and natural landscapes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Misha Leong

    Full Text Available Pollinator-plant relationships are found to be particularly vulnerable to land use change. Yet despite extensive research in agricultural and natural systems, less attention has focused on these interactions in neighboring urban areas and its impact on pollination services. We investigated pollinator-plant interactions in a peri-urban landscape on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, where urban, agricultural, and natural land use types interface. We made standardized observations of floral visitation and measured seed set of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis, a common grassland invasive, to test the hypotheses that increasing urbanization decreases 1 rates of bee visitation, 2 viable seed set, and 3 the efficiency of pollination (relationship between bee visitation and seed set. We unexpectedly found that bee visitation was highest in urban and agricultural land use contexts, but in contrast, seed set rates in these human-altered landscapes were lower than in natural sites. An explanation for the discrepancy between floral visitation and seed set is that higher plant diversity in urban and agricultural areas, as a result of more introduced species, decreases pollinator efficiency. If these patterns are consistent across other plant species, the novel plant communities created in these managed landscapes and the generalist bee species that are favored by human-altered environments will reduce pollination services.

  18. Attitude of agricultural professionals towards their wards taking ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper examines the attitude of agricultural professionals towards their children or people under their care taking agriculture and agricultural extension as a career in Kwara State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from one hundred and eighty respondents. The findings revealed that the ...

  19. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Agriculture is the backbone of Nigeria's economy, despite being a leading producer of oil in the African ..... book amongst other requirements of the implementing agency makes the whole process unpleasant and ... References. Adebo, S.

  20. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    technology facilities that will enhance the dissemination of information. In Nigeria today, the ... For example, the agricultural transformation agenda (ATA) of the ... Based on the importance of mobile phone in information dissemination, this ...

  1. Constraints Faced by Stakeholders under Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Yoga Narasimhalu Naidu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA is a registered society in India with key stakeholders enmeshed with various agricultural activities for sustainable agricultural development in the state, with focus at district level. It is a hotbed for integrating research, extension and marketing activities and decentralizing day-to-day management of the public Agricultural Technology Development and Dissemination System. The present study was carried out in Andhra Pradesh state to explore the constraints faced by the extension functionaries at each level of decentralized management. Moreover, constraints perceived by the farmers with the support of ATMA in realizing their needs were also studied.

  2. Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    OLUWOLE AKINNAGBE

    2009-09-03

    Sep 3, 2009 ... Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment and Extension. Volume 8 ... 3 International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, High Rainfall Station,. Onne, Rivers State ...... Biosciences proceedings. 6: 444-454.

  3. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    Improving Farmers' Efficiency in Rice Production In Nigeria: The ... efficiency in agriculture and existing knowledge gap, the study was aimed to assess ... major crops grown in the State include rice, maize, millet, cowpea, groundnut and.

  4. Analysis on landscape pattern change and ecosystem services value of modern agriculture corridor: a case study of Jingcheng Highway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bao; Gu, Xiaohe; Zhang, Jing; Du, Chong; Di, Xingcui

    2009-10-01

    Based on SPOT images and other geoscience data, this paper gets the land use and land cover information of Modern Agriculture Corridor from 2006 to 2008 by RS and GIS technology and makes analysis of land use changes in landscape ecology view. Then we build a quantitative evaluation model which select vegetation coverage as adjustment coefficient to monitor the changes of ecological services value. The results show that: In the aspect of landscape pattern index, the landscape heterogeneity of the region is increasing, the land use types become various, degree of landscape fragmentation has increased; woodland, farmland and construction land play a leading role in the dynamic changes of landscape. In the view of ecosystem service value, the total value of ecosystem services of Modern Agriculture Corridor from 2006 to 2008 are respectively 186, 188, 193 million Yuan, and the annual average rate is 2%; ecosystem qualities are different in different seasons, and quality in summer is best which has 33% contribution to the full-year value of ecosystem services; the average contribution rates of forest and waters ecosystems are the highest, respectively 37% and 33%; increase of woodland, grassland and water area is the main reason that enhancing ecosystem services.

  5. 7 CFR 1210.505 - Department of Agriculture costs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Department of Agriculture costs. 1210.505 Section 1210.505 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE WATERMELON...

  6. 77 FR 6535 - Notice of the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics; Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-08

    ... Program Priorities, Computer Assisted Personal Interview Technology Applications, Census of Agriculture... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Agricultural Statistics Service Notice of the Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics; Meeting AGENCY: National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. ACTION...

  7. evaluation of job performance of village extension agents in lagos

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AFINNI IMAM

    ... Olaleye, R. S. and Umar, I. S.. Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Technology ... objectives are to determine the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents ..... Essentials of Agricultural Economics. Impact Publishers.

  8. Trade in Educational Services: An Overview of GATS and Policy Implications for Higher Agricultural Education in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soam, S. K.; Sastry, R. Kalpana; Rashmi, H. B.

    2007-01-01

    Higher education is a service that contributes to national development, integration and regional cohesion. Agricultural education in particular has been viewed in many developing countries as a significant contributor to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. In view of its public mandate, higher education in most countries is regulated…

  9. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    Family farms are critical for global food security, poverty reduction, livelihoods and are an engine for .... practices, the economic aspects, social acceptability and risk management. The paper also ..... primary agriculture to supply of implements in the agricultural industry. The father was .... within the value chain i.e. logistics.

  10. assessment of extension agents' communication methods

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    communication, therefore, requires a balance between homophily and heterophily. ... Networks are structured fabrics of the organization made up of lines, .... work life affect work performance among government agriculture extension officers?

  11. Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PC USER

    Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment and Extension. Volume 12 Number 3 ... agricultural field one could maintain a high level of soil fertility. ..... Journal of Applied Biosciences. 7: 202-206. ... International Journal of.

  12. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol.17 (2) December, 2013 ISSN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ONIKOYI

    aged between 41 – 50 years and their mean age was 40 years. A greater ... access to credit, agricultural information and market as well as rural ..... Utilizing Research Findings to Increase Food Production: What the mass media should do in ...

  13. User contributions and public extension delivery modes ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The high recurrent costs faced by the public extension service constraint the number of visits farmers receive. This study examined a number of extension communication channels through which farmers received farm management services/information from the public extension agent. The idea was, first, to find out the ...

  14. Challenges for extension service to render efficient post-transformer ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    LPhidza

    According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (2009), three out of every four poor people in developing countries live in rural areas, and most of them depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. In many parts of the world women are the main farmers or producers, but their roles remain ...

  15. Extension Agents' Awareness of Climate Change in Ethiopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abegaz, Dagmawi M.; Wims, Padraig

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The fact that highly vulnerable countries like Ethiopia face far greater challenges from climate change makes agricultural adaptation a top priority. Even though the public agriculture extension system in Ethiopia plays a central role in facilitating and supporting adaptation, very limited information is available on how aware the actual…

  16. Perceived Factors Affecting Performance Of Extension Workers In ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study focused on perceived factors affecting performance of extension workers in Imo State, Nigeria. Data for the study was collected from 83 Extension agents from the Imo State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP). Results of the study revealed that the organizational factors that affect performance are ...

  17. A Spatial Data Model Desing For The Management Of Agricultural Data (Farmer, Agricultural Land And Agricultural Production)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taşkanat, Talha; İbrahim İnan, Halil

    2016-04-01

    Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has been conducted many projects such as Agricultural Sector Integrated Management Information System, Agriculture Information System, Agricultural Production Registry System and Farmer Registry System by the Turkish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock and the Turkish Statistical Institute in order to establish and manage better agricultural policy and produce better agricultural statistics in Turkey. Yet, it has not been carried out any study for the structuring of a system which can meet the requirements of different institutions and organizations that need similar agricultural data. It has been tried to meet required data only within the frame of the legal regulations from present systems. Whereas the developments in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and standardization, and Turkey National GIS enterprise in this context necessitate to meet the demands of organizations that use the similar data commonly and to act in terms of a data model logic. In this study, 38 institutions or organization which produce and use agricultural data were detected, that and thanks to survey and interviews undertaken, their needs were tried to be determined. In this study which is financially supported by TUBITAK, it was worked out relationship between farmer, agricultural land and agricultural production data and all of the institutions and organizations in Turkey and in this context, it was worked upon the best detailed and effective possible data model. In the model design, UML which provides object-oriented design was used. In the data model, for the management of spatial data, sub-parcel data model was used. Thanks to this data model, declared and undeclared areas can be detected spatially, and thus declarations can be associated to sub-parcels. Within this framework, it will be able to developed agricultural policies as a result of acquiring more extensive, accurate, spatially manageable and easily updatable farmer and

  18. towards an appropriate extension approach for agricultural and rural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    increased competition, decreasing profit margins, etc. has forced Extension or advisory ... participatory approach, although not questioned from an ethical or value ..... In practice this means a problem orientation or focus, where the scope of the.

  19. 9 CFR 124.20 - Patent term extension calculation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Patent term extension calculation. 124... OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS PATENT TERM RESTORATION Regulatory Review Period § 124.20 Patent term extension calculation. (a) As provided in 37 CFR 1...

  20. Health Extension in New Mexico: An Academic Health Center and the Social Determinants of Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Arthur; Powell, Wayne; Alfero, Charles; Pacheco, Mario; Silverblatt, Helene; Anastasoff, Juliana; Ronquillo, Francisco; Lucero, Ken; Corriveau, Erin; Vanleit, Betsy; Alverson, Dale; Scott, Amy

    2010-01-01

    The Agricultural Cooperative Extension Service model offers academic health centers methodologies for community engagement that can address the social determinants of disease. The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center developed Health Extension Rural Offices (HEROs) as a vehicle for its model of health extension. Health extension agents are located in rural communities across the state and are supported by regional coordinators and the Office of the Vice President for Community Health at the Health Sciences Center. The role of agents is to work with different sectors of the community in identifying high-priority health needs and linking those needs with university resources in education, clinical service and research. Community needs, interventions, and outcomes are monitored by county health report cards. The Health Sciences Center is a large and varied resource, the breadth and accessibility of which are mostly unknown to communities. Community health needs vary, and agents are able to tap into an array of existing health center resources to address those needs. Agents serve a broader purpose beyond immediate, strictly medical needs by addressing underlying social determinants of disease, such as school retention, food insecurity, and local economic development. Developing local capacity to address local needs has become an overriding concern. Community-based health extension agents can effectively bridge those needs with academic health center resources and extend those resources to address the underlying social determinants of disease. PMID:20065282

  1. 7 CFR 28.917 - Limitations of Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE COMMODITY STANDARDS AND STANDARD CONTAINER... classification services shall result in loss of service. ...

  2. Farmers’ Preferences for Mobile Agro Advisory Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duraisamy Prabha

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu to understand the service preferences of the mobile agro advisory services offered by the public extension system. The agro advisories offered by the e-extension centre of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University were selected for the study. A sample of 200 respondents was selected employing proportionate random sampling method. The study was carried out in terms of dimensions viz., technical components, message frequency and timings, message physical dimension, message channel and message follow up. Results of the survey showed that among the technical components majority of the respondents opined that the information on advance warning of weather risks was very much adequate, the messages on plant protection were relevant and that the messages on advance warning of weather risks were timely. With reference to the message frequency, a majority preferred frequency of the messages on daily basis and preferred to receive messages during mornings.

  3. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 15 (2), December, 2011 http ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Irohibe and Agwu

    general livelihoods conditions of any population. Agriculture, being ... Africa, like the rest of the world, is experiencing increasing risk from climate change including ..... 93% of the farmers claimed that they understand the concept of climate change. Most (94.3%) ... Also, reduction in appetite, growth rate as well as increased ...

  4. Sustainable extensification as an alternative model for reducing GHG emissions from agriculture. The case of an extensively managed organic farm in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bluwstein, Jevgeniy; Braun, Martin; Henriksen, Christian Bugge

    2015-01-01

    GHG emissions of an extensively managed Danish organic farm were estimated upstream and on-farm. The results were compared to Danish national levels based on land area and output. Overall, the farm emitted 2.12 t CO2eq ha−1 yr−1. Excluding land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) related...... emissions, the combined GHG emissions from energy- and agriculture-based activities at the case farm were 47% lower (per unit area) and 12% higher (per unit output), than GHG emissions from Danish agriculture. With current livestock density (0.64 LU ha−1) and crop production area, the case study farm would...... supply at average 1,466 kcal per inhabitant per day in Denmark, if the farm was scaled up to Danish national level. With a reduction of livestock density to 0.36 LU ha−1 and proportional cropland area expansion for food production (ceteris paribus), the case study farm could supply around 4,940 kcal...

  5. What Influences Agents to Pursue a Career in Extension?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Shannon; Place, Nick

    2010-01-01

    The qualitative study reported here explored why agricultural agents pursue an Extension career. A purposive sample was used to select twelve Florida agricultural agents. Interviews investigated positive and negative influences that affected agents' employment decisions. Grounded theory was used as the primary data analysis method (Strauss &…

  6. Involving Extension in Urban Food Systems: An Example from California

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucy Diekmann

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Nationwide, Extension is increasingly involved in local food system work. In cities, initiatives to improve the local food system often include urban agriculture, which has attracted the attention of diverse stakeholders for its many potential social, health, economic, and environmental impacts. This article illustrates how Extension in the San Francisco Bay Area is developing urban agriculture programming and engaging in food-system-related partnerships. It also shares lessons learned from these efforts. In this metropolitan region, Extension practice aligns well with research findings on Extension involvement in local food systems, particularly with the emphasis on providing educational opportunities and resources adapted to unique needs of city residents and working collaboratively with community and government partners to facilitate broader food system change. The results of this case study will be useful for Extension personnel in designing and implementing programs related to urban food systems.

  7. Agro-Science Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Food, Environment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PC USER

    1Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension Technology, School of Agriculture and ... farmers redeemed with agro-inputs under the electronic-wallet initiative of the Growth Enhancement Support ... allocative role of price following distortion created by ... the development of a private sector distribution channel.

  8. Influence of voluntary coffee certifications on cooperatives’ advisory services and agricultural practices of smallholder farmers in Costa Rica

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Snider, Anna; Kraus, Eva; Sibelet, Nicole

    2016-01-01

    level is adding new topics for group training, and certification issues are directly linked with practices such as maintaining a farm record book or wearing a mask when applying pesticides. Practices which compete with productivity are unlikely to change. Practical Implications: The results are useful......Purpose: This article explores how voluntary certifications influence the way cooperatives provide advisory services to their members and the influence of these services on agricultural practices. Design/Methodology/Approach: Case studies were conducted in four representative Costa Rican...... cooperatives interviewing twenty interviewed cooperative administrators and members to determine changes in advisory services and farming practices over the past twenty years and factors which influenced those changes. Findings: Certifications induce cooperatives to offer new services to support farmers...

  9. 78 FR 23737 - Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection for Commodities...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-22

    ... Livestock Mandatory Act of 1999 AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Request for comments... Division, Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-13-0017] Request for...

  10. User account | National Agricultural Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skip to main content Home National Agricultural Library United States Department of Agriculture Ag Terms of Service Frequently Asked Questions Policies and Documentation Ag Data Commons Monthly Metrics statements or informal policies purporting to provide you with any expectation of privacy regarding

  11. Attitudes of students at College of Food and Agricultural Sciences toward agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Saleh Shenaifi

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The primary purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes of students at the College of Agriculture toward agriculture programs and the field of agriculture in an effort to better identify, recruit, and retain students in the College of Agriculture. The population of the study was 110 students from the College of Agriculture freshmen enrolling in course 203 Ag. ext. Communication skills in 2009 and 60 students who transferred from the College of Agriculture to another College. Questionnaire was reviewed for content and face validity by a panel of experts from the department of Agricultural Extension at the College of Agriculture, King Saud University. A five-point Likert-type scale was used. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was found to be 0.89, which indicated the internal consistency of the scale. Ninety-six of the students were from cities and do not have a farm background. Many of them indicated that they were not happy in the College of Agriculture. Only 31.18% of the respondents (53 indicated that more students should be encouraged to enroll in the College of Agriculture, whereas nearly 69 disagreed or were uncertain. The attitudes of students toward the field of Agriculture were positive. Seventy-one of respondents viewed Agriculture as a scientific area of study, nearly 66% of respondents viewed the field of Agriculture as a blend of scientific principles and agricultural practices. Significant differences at the level of 0.01 were detected, in means of students who had been enrolled in Agricultural program and those students who had not. Students who had enrolled in Agriculture program displayed different attitudes toward the field of Agriculture than did students who were in non-Agriculture program. Generally, students who were studying Agriculture programs possessed attitudes, which were supportive of Agriculture as a career field. Freshmen of the College of Agriculture viewed agriculture as being both scientific and technical. It

  12. evaluation of job performance of village extension agents in lagos

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AFINNI IMAM

    A Case For Participatory (Cost Sharing) Approach to Agricultural. Extension ... designed and implemented in the past towards the benefit of hand picked ... farmers, of which 95% is carried out by public extension (Rivera and Cary, 1997).

  13. Agricultural Extensnon Techniques in the Sultanate of Oman, Present Prospect and Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.A. Ghobashi

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available A study conducted during September 2003 included 80 participants grouped into 3 categories, who occupied different posts in the Agricultural (and Fisheries Development Centers (ADC. A questionnaire covering various elements of extension methods and techniques was used. Result showed that participant's opinions were identical in 90.6% of the aspects put forward in the questionnaire. There were, however, significant differences in opinions between the three groups involved in the study regarding representation of ministry extension personnel at village levels, availability of media equipment and facilities in the ADC and level of training of extension staff. The study also showed the need for a complementary extension structure at ABC level, development of an appropriate relationship between extension and agricultural research and more technical and practical training for extension staff. The participants also emphasized the relative importance of providing extension means and outputs for demonstration of plots to target groups, the availability of media equipment and the necessity for developing techniques for better execution and evaluation of extension programs. Research priorities should also be linked with problems related to agricultural production at farm level in Oman.

  14. Past and future impacts of land use and climate change on agricultural ecosystem services in the Czech Republic

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Lorencová, E.; Frélichová, J.; Nelson, E.; Vačkář, David

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 33, JUL (2013), s. 183-194 ISSN 0264-8377 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : climate change * scenarios * land use change * ecosystem services * agriculture * assessment Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.134, year: 2013

  15. 75 FR 77611 - Notice of Request for Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-TM-10-0106] Notice of... Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's... calling the AMS Marketing Services Branch contact listed. DATES: Comments received by February 11, 2011...

  16. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 17 (1) June, 2013 ISSN 1119 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Onyii Ogbonna

    Capacity Building Needs of Farmers for Safe Agro-chemical Use/Application in. Niger State, Nigeria ... mishandling of agrochemicals from their purchases, storage, application and disposal of ... agricultural work place (ILO, 2004). Training ...

  17. Corn Clubs: Building the Foundation for Agricultural and Extension Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uricchio, Cassandra; Moore, Gary; Coley, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Corn clubs played an important role in improving agriculture at the turn of the 20th century. Corn clubs were local organizations consisting of boys who cultivated corn on one acre of land under the supervision of a local club leader. The purpose of this historical research study was to document the organization, operation, and outcomes of corn…

  18. Career Preparation in Agriculture Project. Career Preparation Programs for Potential Agribusinessmen, Agricultural Agency Employees, and Agriculture Teachers. Final Report, July 1, 1977-June 30, 1978.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jasper S.; And Others

    The purpose of this project was to develop innovative agricultural education programs within the comprehensive high school setting in selected school districts in Mississippi. The following programs were implemented: horticulture (Starkville Vocational Center); vocational forestry (Lamar County); agricultural suppliers and services program (Alcorn…

  19. Spatially explicit scenario analysis for hydrologic services in an urbanizing agricultural watershed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, J.; Booth, E.; Carpenter, S. R.; Turner, M.

    2013-12-01

    The sustainability of hydrologic services (benefits to people generated by terrestrial ecosystem effects on freshwater) is challenged by changes in climate and land use. Despite the importance of hydrologic services, few studies have investigated how the provision of ecosystem services related to freshwater quantity and quality may vary in magnitude and spatial pattern for alternative future trajectories. Such analyses may provide useful information for sustaining freshwater resources in the face of a complex and uncertain future. We analyzed the supply of multiple hydrologic services from 2010 to 2070 across a large urbanizing agricultural watershed in the Upper Midwest of the United States, and asked the following: (i) What are the potential trajectories for the supply of hydrologic services under contrasting but plausible future scenarios? (ii) Where on the landscape is the delivery of hydrologic services most vulnerable to future changes? The Nested Watershed scenario represents extreme climate change (warmer temperatures and more frequent extreme events) and a concerted response from institutions, whereas in the Investment in Innovation scenario, climate change is less severe and technological innovations play a major role. Despite more extreme climate in the Nested Watershed scenario, all hydrologic services (i.e., freshwater supply, surface water quality, flood regulation) were maintained or enhanced (~30%) compared to the 2010 baseline, by strict government interventions that prioritized freshwater resources. Despite less extreme climate in the Investment in Innovation scenario and advances in green technology, only surface water quality and flood regulation were maintained or increased (~80%); freshwater supply declined by 25%, indicating a potential future tradeoff between water quality and quantity. Spatially, the locations of greatest vulnerability (i.e., decline) differed by service and among scenarios. In the Nested Watershed scenario, although

  20. Indicators for Alpine Pastures Multifunctional Use. The Case of Estates of the Regional Agricultural and Forestry Services Board of Lombardy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michele Corti

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available 18 Alpine pastures (AP, in the alpine provinces of Lombardy managed by ERSAF (Regional Agricultural and Forestry Services Board of the Lombardy Region were investigated to understand how to plan their future. In order to assess their potential multifunctional use three macro functions were considered: 1 agricultural economy (dairy and meat products and agritourism services; 2 leisure and education (direct use of the land; 3 public goods conservation and production (rural heritage, social values, landscape and nature. For each macro function several aspects (three to four were identified. They were evaluated through operational criteria (three to nine based on quantitative or qualitative estimates, the former based on linear measures the latter on synthetic evaluations by a panel of experts. By summing up operational criteria scores and applying weighting coefficients an index was calculated for each pasture aspect. These indicators were then used for statistical analysis. Clusters and principal components analysis grouped the pastures into categories suitable for various functions (agritourism and/or agricultural production, ecotourism. Furthermore they highlighted weaknesses and opportunities of individual estates. Results show that multifunctional use indicators could help the management planning of AP pertaining to public land .

  1. A Study of the Application of Big Data in a Rural Comprehensive Information Service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leifeng Guo

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Big data has attracted extensive interest due to its potential tremendous social and scientific value. Researchers are also trying to extract potential value from agriculture big data. This paper presents a study of information services based on big data from the perspective of a rural comprehensive information service. First, we introduce the background of the rural comprehensive information service, and then we present in detail the National Rural Comprehensive Information Service Platform (NRCISP, which is supported by the national science and technology support program. Next, we discuss big data in the NRCISP according to data characteristics, data sources, and data processing. Finally, we discuss a service model and services based on big data in the NRCISP.

  2. a comparative study of two agricultural extension approaches in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    each approach are described and their strengths and weaknesses are revealed including the implications of having two extension ... line of technical support and administrative control, b) to change the multi-purpose role ... evaluation and training plots called Management Training Plots (MTPs). According to Quinones et al; ...

  3. 7 CFR 1540.24 - Determination of the Secretary of Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Determination of the Secretary of Agriculture. 1540.24 Section 1540.24 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL TRADE Emergency Relief From Certain...

  4. Gênese, desenvolvimento, crise e reformas nos serviços públicos de extensão rural durante a década de 1990 Genesis, development, crisis and reforms in public agricultural extension during the 1990s

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César Augusto Da Ros

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo traça um painel histórico sobre a gênese, desenvolvimento, crise e reformas realizadas nos serviços públicos de extensão rural ao longo da década de 1990, oferecendo uma visão geral sobre os seus principais determinantes, tendo por base a literatura especializada sobre o tema. Neste percurso, analisou-se o processo de constituição dos aparatos institucionais destinados ao oferecimento dos serviços de extensão rural e sua vinculação as políticas de modernização técnica da agropecuária mundial durante o período do pós-guerra, tecendo-se considerações sobre o caso brasileiro. O artigo também examina os aspectos que determinaram na emergência de uma crise dos serviços públicos de extensão rural ocorrida ao longo da década de 1980, num contexto de intensificação das críticas ao modelo agrícola da revolução verde. Por fim, o artigo busca destacar as conexões existentes entre a crise e as reformas de privatização dos serviços públicos de extensão rural ocorridas em diversos países do mundo durante a década de 1990 pautadas na reformulação dos seus formatos institucionais, das formas de financiamento, dos seus objetivos, do seu público alvo, das metodologias de trabalho e da matriz tecnológica preconizadaThis article presents an historical overview of the processes of genesis, development, crisis and reforms in public agricultural extension throughout the 1990s, offering an overview of its main determinants, based on the literature on the subject. In this way, we analyzed the process of constitution of institutional apparatuses for the offering of extension services and linking policies technical modernization of agriculture worldwide during the postwar period, weaving considerations on the Brazilian case. The article also examines the aspects that determined the emergence of a crisis of public extension occurred during the 1980s, amid intensifying criticism of the Green Revolution model of

  5. INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL SECTORS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to deal with environmental problems for agricultural sectors caused by goods and services production. The aspects to calculate the real benefit of agricultural sectors and environmental cost for analyzing are natural resources materials, energy and transportation, fertilizer and pesticides, and sanitary and similar service. From the research it was found that the highest environmental cost of natural resources materials was 026: charcoal and fire-wood, while the lowest was 010 coconut. The highest environmental cost for energy and transportation was 024: agricultural services, while the highest environmental cost for fertilizer and pesticides was 011: palm oil. lastly, 017: other agricultural products was found as the highest environmental cost for sanitary and similar service. As a result, 010: coconut gained the highest real benefit, while 024: agricultural services presented as the lowest read benefit for the company. If Thailand using environmental problem indicator, especially with the agricultural sector, it can help to formulate efficient policies and strategies for the country in 3 development areas, which are social, economic, and environmental development.

  6. The online age and the agricultural user education

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yousif-Aballi, A F [Scientific Research Council, Baghdad (Iraq). Scientific Affairs Office

    1990-05-01

    Accelerated developments in the computer and telecommunication technologies have been well exploited in production and provision of information to meet needs of different groups of agricultural user population; however, in developing countries topmost computerized agricultural scientific and technical services available serve groups who by profession are scientists and academics. User education became of crucial importance for optimum utilization of information. General user educational requirement, particular user response and problems, information resources, services, and available facilities were taken into consideration in designing an information service training course for agricultural researchers, a detailed outline of the course is given in this paper as well as trainees and trainers evaluation. (author). 6 refs.

  7. The online age and the agricultural user education

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yousif-Aballi, A.F.

    1990-05-01

    Accelerated developments in the computer and telecommunication technologies have been well exploited in production and provision of information to meet needs of different groups of agricultural user population; however, in developing countries topmost computerized agricultural scientific and technical services available serve groups who by profession are scientists and academics. User education became of crucial importance for optimum utilization of information. General user educational requirement, particular user response and problems, information resources, services, and available facilities were taken into consideration in designing an information service training course for agricultural researchers, a detailed outline of the course is given in this paper as well as trainees and trainers evaluation. (author). 6 refs

  8. AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN JAPAN - A MODEL FOR COOPERATIVIZATION OF AGRICULTURE FROM ROMANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remus Gherman

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Japan's agriculture provides only a part from the population's needs, in caloric terms Japan must impute 60% of foods. Arable land are few, but are worked very performant, rice being the main crop together with cotton, citrus, sugarcane, wheat, potato, soybean, sugar beet, other vegetables. Widely is practiced sericulture and fisheries, Japan being one of the leading producers of silk from the world and having over 600 ports specialized for fishing. Japanese agriculture has remained behind the industry and services, this trend being manifested after the very high economic growth from 1960-1970. The main focus of the movements from the Japanese cooperative system is represented by the creation of large specialized farms through the replacing of the traditional ones. The most important task of agricultural cooperatives from Japan is meeting the consumption needs of its members. Integrated leadership of Japanese cooperatives of farmers act at all levels, primary, at prefecture level and at national level. Contractual relationships play a decisive role in the integration of Japanese farmers. In Japan there are about 840 agricultural cooperatives very well organized with a balanced planning and efficiently conducted, agricultural cooperative MIKABI being the most developed, mainly focused on the production of mandarins. In Japan there are three large distribution centers of agricultural products, 29 distribution markets controlled by the prefecture and 1,000 local markets. Organization of cooperatives is the pyramid system on three levels: local, prefecture and national (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives.

  9. Assessment of training needs of extension staff of agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study identified strong training needs for Edo State extension agents on communication skills (X= 4.60), planning demonstration (X=4.60), evaluation of trials (X= 4.57) and farmers training (X=4.56). The correlation analysis showed that education had significant relationship many areas of the respondents' training ...

  10. 77 FR 38033 - WTO Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-26

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Foreign Agricultural Service WTO Agricultural Safeguard Trigger Levels... and trigger levels for safeguard measures provided for in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement... measures under the safeguard provisions of the WTO [[Page 38034

  11. Strategi Pengembangan Good Agricultural Practices (GAP di Kabupaten Bangka, Provinsi Kepulauan Bangka Belitung

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fournita Agustina

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to identify the problems faced by agricultural extension workers and to formulate alternative of extension strategies in realizing the application of horticultural GAP by farmers in Bangka Regency. This study was conducted in Bangka Regency of Bangka Belitung Province in February 2014. The data obtained in the field were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis and SWOT analysis method. The results of this study indicate that: (1 The problems faced by agricultural extension workers in realizing the application of horticultural GAP by farmers in Kabupaten Bangka are low knowledge and skill about GAP horticulture, the existence of agricultural extension workers that have heavy work load, programme extension does not correspond to the need of farmer horticulture; (2 The strategy of agricultural extension workers in realizing the application of GAP horticulture by farmers in Bangka Regency is to increase the training and visit and demonstration plot (plots GAP horticulture, applying to the Food Security Agency of Bangka Regency related to the lack of education and learning tools horticulture, increasing knowledge and skills on horticultural GAP. Enhance interaction with universities and research institutions, knowledge and skills based on experience farming horticultural crops farmers as well as keeping exercise routines and visits to horticultural farmers

  12. AN ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Osondu

    natural condition, there are ecological eight zones. (Deng, 2007). ... Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China. 182# Nanhu .... result from reallocation of resources among .... extension, agriculture foreign direct investment,.

  13. Journal of Agriculture and Social Research (JASR) Vol. 11, No. 2 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    fadaa

    Department of Agricultural Extension & Rural Development, University of Ilorin. 2 ... important staple food of many households, rice production in Nigeria rose from 2.4 million ... attributed to low resource productivity (Federal Ministry of Agriculture, 1995). ... (NACRDB) to carter for credit needs in the agricultural sector.

  14. 7 CFR 58.5 - Where service is offered.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Where service is offered. 58.5 Section 58.5 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards... Grading Service § 58.5 Where service is offered. Subject to the provisions of this part, inspection or...

  15. 78 FR 23885 - Federal Seed Act Program; Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-23

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No. AMS-LS-13-0008] Federal Seed...: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this document announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's...

  16. Disposal of pesticide waste from agricultural production in the Al-Batinah region of Northern Oman

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al Zadjali, Said [Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, P O Box 321 Muscat 100 (Oman); Centre for Environmental Strategy, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7JH (United Kingdom); Morse, Stephen; Chenoweth, Jonathan [Centre for Environmental Strategy, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7JH (United Kingdom); Deadman, Mike, E-mail: mikedeadman59@gmail.com [Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P O Box 34, Al Khod 123 (Oman)

    2013-10-01

    During the last two decades Oman has experienced rapid economic development but this has been accompanied by environmental problems. Manufacturing and agricultural output have increased substantially but initially this was not balanced with sufficient environmental management. Although agriculture in Oman is not usually considered a major component of the economy, government policy has been directed towards diversification of national income and as a result there has been an increasing emphasis on revenue from agriculture and an enhancement of production via the use of irrigation, machinery and inputs such as pesticides. In recent years this has been tempered with a range of interventions to encourage more sustainable production. Certain pesticides have been prohibited; there has been a promotion of organic agriculture and an emphasis on education and awareness programs for farmers. The last point is of especial relevance given the nature of the farm labour market in Oman and a reliance on expatriate and often untrained labour. The research, through a detailed stratified survey, explores the state of knowledge at farm-level regarding the safe disposal of pesticide waste and what factors could enhance or indeed operate against the spread and implementation of that knowledge. Members of the recently constituted Farmers Association expressed greater environmental awareness than their non-member counterparts in that they identified a more diverse range of potential risks associated with pesticide use and disposed of pesticide waste more in accordance with government policy, albeit government policy with gaps. Workers on farms belonging to Association members were also more likely to adhere to government policy in terms of waste disposal. The Farmers Association appears to be an effective conduit for the diffusion of knowledge about pesticide legislation and general awareness, apparently usurping the state agricultural extension service. - Highlights: • Recent

  17. Disposal of pesticide waste from agricultural production in the Al-Batinah region of Northern Oman

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al Zadjali, Said; Morse, Stephen; Chenoweth, Jonathan; Deadman, Mike

    2013-01-01

    During the last two decades Oman has experienced rapid economic development but this has been accompanied by environmental problems. Manufacturing and agricultural output have increased substantially but initially this was not balanced with sufficient environmental management. Although agriculture in Oman is not usually considered a major component of the economy, government policy has been directed towards diversification of national income and as a result there has been an increasing emphasis on revenue from agriculture and an enhancement of production via the use of irrigation, machinery and inputs such as pesticides. In recent years this has been tempered with a range of interventions to encourage more sustainable production. Certain pesticides have been prohibited; there has been a promotion of organic agriculture and an emphasis on education and awareness programs for farmers. The last point is of especial relevance given the nature of the farm labour market in Oman and a reliance on expatriate and often untrained labour. The research, through a detailed stratified survey, explores the state of knowledge at farm-level regarding the safe disposal of pesticide waste and what factors could enhance or indeed operate against the spread and implementation of that knowledge. Members of the recently constituted Farmers Association expressed greater environmental awareness than their non-member counterparts in that they identified a more diverse range of potential risks associated with pesticide use and disposed of pesticide waste more in accordance with government policy, albeit government policy with gaps. Workers on farms belonging to Association members were also more likely to adhere to government policy in terms of waste disposal. The Farmers Association appears to be an effective conduit for the diffusion of knowledge about pesticide legislation and general awareness, apparently usurping the state agricultural extension service. - Highlights: • Recent

  18. Lake Urmia (Iran): can future socio-ecologically motivated river basin management restore lake water levels in an arid region with extensive agricultural development?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazel, Nasim; Berndtsson, Ronny; Bertacchi Uvo, Cintia; Klove, Bjorn; Madani, Kaveh

    2015-04-01

    Lake Urmia, one of the world's largest hyper saline lakes located in northwest of Iran, is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar site, protected as a national park and, supports invaluable and unique biodiversity and related ecosystem services for the region's 6.5 million inhabitants. Due to increased development of the region's water resources for agriculture and industry and to a certain extent climate change, the lake has started to shrink dramatically since 1995 and now is holding less than 30 percent of its volume. Rapid development in agricultural sector and land-use changes has resulted in immense construction of dams and water diversions in almost all lake feeding rivers, intensifying lake shrinking, increasing salinity and degrading its ecosystem. Recently, lake's cultural and environmental importance and social pressure has raised concerns and brought government attention to the lake restoration plans. Along with poor management, low yield agriculture as the most water consuming activity in the region with, rapid, insufficient development is one of the most influential drivers in the lake desiccation. Part of the lake restoration plans in agricultural sector is to restrict the agricultural areas in the main feeding river basins flowing mostly in the southern part of the lake and decreasing the agricultural water use in this area. This study assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed plans and its influence on the lake level rise and its impacts on economy in the region using a system dynamics model developed for the Lake consist of hydrological and agro-economical sub-systems. The effect of decrease in agricultural area in the region on GDP and region economy was evaluated and compared with released water contribution in lake level rise for a five year simulation period.

  19. STUDY OF THE PARAMETERS OF EFFICIENCY IN CENTRES FOR REPAIR OF AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Stoyanova

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper makes a thorough study of the parameters of efficiency in the centers for the repair of agricultural machinery, considering production and technological structure, the basic principles for design of the process of service, the quantitative indicators for servicing. It presents a theoretical model for the management of services in the service business, taking into account the basic system requirements for maintenance of agricultural machinery, the main elements of the standards of customer service, choice of forms for maintenance of agricultural machinery. Opportunities are proposed for the optimization of repair activities in the centers for repair of agricultural machinery.

  20. 7 CFR 1780.54 - Technical services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Technical services. 1780.54 Section 1780.54 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF..., Constructing and Inspections § 1780.54 Technical services. Owners are responsible for providing the engineering...

  1. 7 CFR 371.4 - Veterinary Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Veterinary Services. 371.4 Section 371.4 Agriculture..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, FUNCTIONS, AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY § 371.4 Veterinary Services. (a) General statement. Veterinary Services (VS) protects and safeguards the Nation's livestock and...

  2. Assessment of Extension Service Delivery on Improved Cassava ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SH

    credit facilities, improved planting materials and marketing. The mean ... (2010), and to surpass 250 million metric tons for ... the effectiveness of the research system, a number ... link is an effective agricultural system to ..... Strategy for poverty.

  3. Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig; Magda, Danièle

    2016-12-01

    The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn't reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to increase

  4. Managing adaptively for multifunctionality in agricultural systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodbod, Jennifer; Barreteau, Olivier; Allen, Craig R.; Magda, Danièle

    2016-01-01

    The critical importance of agricultural systems for food security and as a dominant global landcover requires management that considers the full dimensions of system functions at appropriate scales, i.e. multifunctionality. We propose that adaptive management is the most suitable management approach for such goals, given its ability to reduce uncertainty over time and support multiple objectives within a system, for multiple actors. As such, adaptive management may be the most appropriate method for sustainably intensifying production whilst increasing the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. However, the current assessment of performance of agricultural systems doesn’t reward ecosystem service provision. Therefore, we present an overview of the ecosystem functions agricultural systems should and could provide, coupled with a revised definition for assessing the performance of agricultural systems from a multifunctional perspective that, when all satisfied, would create adaptive agricultural systems that can increase production whilst ensuring food security and the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. The outcome of this high level of performance is the capacity to respond to multiple shocks without collapse, equity and triple bottom line sustainability. Through the assessment of case studies, we find that alternatives to industrialized agricultural systems incorporate more functional goals, but that there are mixed findings as to whether these goals translate into positive measurable outcomes. We suggest that an adaptive management perspective would support the implementation of a systematic analysis of the social, ecological and economic trade-offs occurring within such systems, particularly between ecosystem services and functions, in order to provide suitable and comparable assessments. We also identify indicators to monitor performance at multiple scales in agricultural systems which can be used within an adaptive management framework to

  5. 7 CFR 371.6 - Wildlife Services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Wildlife Services. 371.6 Section 371.6 Agriculture..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION, FUNCTIONS, AND DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY § 371.6 Wildlife Services. (a) General statement. Wildlife Services (WS) manages problems caused by wildlife. (b) Deputy Administrator of...

  6. Agricultural Credit Utilization among Small Scale Women Farmers in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... monitor regularly the disbursement of agricultural loan to women farmers at the appropriate planning season with reasonable interest charge and that extension agents should ensure that the loan is utilized for only agricultural purposes. Key words: Credit utilization, small-scale farmer's income generation, Niger State.

  7. AIDS and African smallholder agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutangadura, G

    1998-09-01

    During the Responding to HIV/AIDS: Technology Development Needs for African Smallholder Agriculture Conference in Harare, about 70 delegates participated from government and nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, agricultural research, and regional and international organizations. The aims of the conference were to analyze the impact of HIV/AIDS on smallholder agriculture; identify the necessary technologies, policy, and institutional responses; and propose frameworks for future activities. The conference participants noted that the onset of HIV/AIDS has changed the African rural environment in which existing policy and programs on agriculture have been operating. In view of this, recommendations on technology and development and policy to mitigate the impact of the epidemic were highlighted; namely, promote existing labor and capital saving technologies; review existing agricultural extension; develop appropriate technologies to reduce the time spent on water and fuel collection; develop income-generating activities; strengthen existing community-based initiatives; and redefine the criteria for land tenure and ownership. Moreover, collaboration between development organizations and applied research were also emphasized.

  8. Farmers\\' perceptions of information services of agricultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    International Journal of Tropical Agriculture and Food Systems. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 2, No 2 (2008) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  9. 7 CFR 58.6 - Supervision of service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Supervision of service. 58.6 Section 58.6 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards, Inspections, Marketing Practices), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (CONTINUED) REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS UNDER THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETING ACT OF 1946 AND...

  10. Investigating the limits of multi functional agriculture as the dominant frame for Green Care in agriculture in Flanders and The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dessein, J.; Bock, B.B.; Krom, de M.P.M.M.

    2013-01-01

    European agriculture and rural areas are facing multiple socio-economic changes, including a transition from an agriculture-based to a service-based economy. This restructuring forces agricultural and rural actor-networks to reformulate their (self-)definitions. One reformulation prevailing both in

  11. 7 CFR 27.9 - Marketing Services Offices; Grading Section.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Marketing Services Offices; Grading Section. 27.9 Section 27.9 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE....9 Marketing Services Offices; Grading Section. Marketing Services Offices shall be maintained at...

  12. Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 17 (1) June, 2013 ISSN 1119 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Onyii Ogbonna

    potential of rural women as agents of change for climate mitigation and ... women play a leadership role in early warning systems and reconstruction. Women ... According to the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO) (2007), women and men ..... about Climate Change Risk Perceptions and Willingness to Sacrifice, Risk.

  13. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the Imo State fisheriers extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study evaluated the Imo State Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries Extension Programmes. Questionnaires were used to collect data from 15 randomly selected extension staff and 200 proportionately selected fish farmers from the three fisheries zones of the state between November 1997 and February 1998. Data were ...

  14. 76 FR 66682 - Request for an Extension to a Currently Approved Information Collection for the Regulations...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-27

    ... Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget, for an... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Doc. No.: AMS-DA-11-0087; DA-11-05] RIN...) AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with...

  15. Rapid assessment of ecosystem services provided by two mineral extraction sites restored for nature conservation in an agricultural landscape in eastern England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaen, Phillip J; Jia, Li; Peh, Kelvin S-H; Field, Rob H; Balmford, Andrew; MacDonald, Michael A; Bradbury, Richard B

    2015-01-01

    Despite growing recognition that mineral sites restored for nature conservation can enhance local biodiversity, the wider societal benefits provided by this type of restoration relative to alternative options are not well understood. This study addresses this research gap by quantifying differences in ecosystem services provision under two common mineral site after-uses: nature conservation and agriculture. Using a combination of site-specific primary field data, benefits transfer and modelling, we show that for our sites restoration for nature conservation provides a more diverse array of ecosystem services than would be delivered under an agricultural restoration scenario. We also explore the effects of addressing different conservation targets, which we find alter the provision of ecosystem services on a service-specific basis. Highly species-focused intervention areas are associated with increased carbon storage and livestock grazing provision, whereas non-intervention areas are important for carbon sequestration, fishing, recreation and flood risk mitigation. The results of this study highlight the wider societal importance of restored mineral sites and may help conservation managers and planners to develop future restoration strategies that provide benefits for both biodiversity and human well-being.

  16. Untied Efforts: The Challenges for Improved Research, Extension and Education Linkages

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eneyew, Adugna

    2013-01-01

    Ethiopian agriculture is characterized by smallholders farming whose access to modern technology and basic education is very limited. Research, extension, education and farmers are the main pillars of agricultural knowledge systems and their effectiveness largely depends on strong linkage among each other. However, the existing…

  17. NAIP Public Image Services

    Data.gov (United States)

    Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture — This map provides a preview and information about the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) image services available on the APFO public image server. Click on...

  18. 7 CFR 3419.1 - Definitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION... provided to the eligible institutions under section 1445 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension...

  19. 78 FR 14071 - Notice of Appointment of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-04

    ...,'' Charles Boyer, Dean, Jordan College of Agriculture and Technology, California State University-Fresno... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Office of the Secretary Notice of Appointment of Members to the National... Act, 5 U.S.C. App 2, the United States Department of Agriculture announces the appointments made by...

  20. Biosurfactants in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sachdev, Dhara P; Cameotra, Swaranjit S

    2013-02-01

    Agricultural productivity to meet growing demands of human population is a matter of great concern for all countries. Use of green compounds to achieve the sustainable agriculture is the present necessity. This review highlights the enormous use of harsh surfactants in agricultural soil and agrochemical industries. Biosurfactants which are reported to be produced by bacteria, yeasts, and fungi can serve as green surfactants. Biosurfactants are considered to be less toxic and eco-friendly and thus several types of biosurfactants have the potential to be commercially produced for extensive applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food industries. The biosurfactants synthesized by environmental isolates also has promising role in the agricultural industry. Many rhizosphere and plant associated microbes produce biosurfactant; these biomolecules play vital role in motility, signaling, and biofilm formation, indicating that biosurfactant governs plant-microbe interaction. In agriculture, biosurfactants can be used for plant pathogen elimination and for increasing the bioavailability of nutrient for beneficial plant associated microbes. Biosurfactants can widely be applied for improving the agricultural soil quality by soil remediation. These biomolecules can replace the harsh surfactant presently being used in million dollar pesticide industries. Thus, exploring biosurfactants from environmental isolates for investigating their potential role in plant growth promotion and other related agricultural applications warrants details research. Conventional methods are followed for screening the microbial population for production of biosurfactant. However, molecular methods are fewer in reaching biosurfactants from diverse microbial population and there is need to explore novel biosurfactant from uncultured microbes in soil biosphere by using advanced methodologies like functional metagenomics.

  1. Interdependence and dynamics of essential services in an extensive risk context: a case study in Montserrat, West Indies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sword-Daniels, V. L.; Rossetto, T.; Wilson, T. M.; Sargeant, S.

    2015-05-01

    The essential services that support urban living are complex and interdependent, and their disruption in disasters directly affects society. Yet there are few empirical studies to inform our understanding of the vulnerabilities and resilience of complex infrastructure systems in disasters. This research takes a systems thinking approach to explore the dynamic behaviour of a network of essential services, in the presence and absence of volcanic ashfall hazards in Montserrat, West Indies. Adopting a case study methodology and qualitative methods to gather empirical data, we centre the study on the healthcare system and its interconnected network of essential services. We identify different types of relationship between sectors and develop a new interdependence classification system for analysis. Relationships are further categorised by hazard conditions, for use in extensive risk contexts. During heightened volcanic activity, relationships between systems transform in both number and type: connections increase across the network by 41%, and adapt to increase cooperation and information sharing. Interconnections add capacities to the network, increasing the resilience of prioritised sectors. This in-depth and context-specific approach provides a new methodology for studying the dynamics of infrastructure interdependence in an extensive risk context, and can be adapted for use in other hazard contexts.

  2. Maximizing Amazonia's Ecosystem Services: Juggling the potential for carbon storage, agricultural yield and biodiversity in the Amazon

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connell, C. S.; Foley, J. A.; Gerber, J. S.; Polasky, S.

    2011-12-01

    The Amazon is not only an exceptionally biodiverse and carbon-rich tract of tropical forest, it is also a case study in land use change. Over the next forty years it will continue to experience pressure from an urbanizing and increasingly affluent populace: under a business-as-usual scenario, global cropland, pasture and biofuels systems will carry on expanding, while the Amazon's carbon storage potential will likely become another viable revenue source under REDD+. Balancing those competing land use pressures ought also take into account Amazonia's high - but heterogeneous - biodiversity. Knowing where Amazonia has opportunities to make efficient or optimal trade offs between carbon storage, agricultural production and biodiversity can allow policymakers to direct or influence LUC drivers. This analysis uses a spatially-explicit model that takes climate and management into account to quantify the potential agricultural yield of both the Amazon's most important agricultural commodities - sugar, soy and maize - as well as several that are going to come into increasing prominence, including palm oil. In addition, it maps the potential for carbon to be stored in forest biomass and relative species richness across Amazonia. We then compare carbon storage, agricultural yield and species richness and identify areas where efficient trade offs occur between food, carbon, and biodiversity - three critical ecosystem goods and services provided by the world's largest tropical forest.

  3. 76 FR 21700 - Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-18

    ..., Science and Technology, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence... may be sent to Jane Ho, Technical Services Branch, Science and Technology, Agricultural Marketing... / Monday, April 18, 2011 / Notices#0;#0; [[Page 21700

  4. 7 CFR 62.204 - Authority to request service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Authority to request service. 62.204 Section 62.204 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Standards... prove his/her financial interest in the product or service at the discretion of the Deputy Administrator. ...

  5. Aligning Land Use with Land Potential: The Role of Integrated Agriculture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. A. Liebig

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary agricultural land use is dominated by an emphasis on provisioning services by applying energy-intensive inputs through relatively uniform production systems across variable landscapes. This approach to agricultural land use is not sustainable. Achieving sustainable use of agricultural land should instead focus on the application of innovative management systems that provide multiple ecosystem services on lands with varying inherent qualities. Integrated agricultural systems (IAS represent an alternative approach to prevailing land use, whereby site-adapted enterprises are implemented to enhance synergistic resource transfer among enterprises and sustainable delivery of ecosystem services. Sustainable deployment of IAS on agricultural land involves placing the “right enterprise” at the “right intensity” at the “right time” on the “right location,” with the inherent attributes of location providing guidance for management decisions. There is an urgent need to design IAS that enhance delivery of ecosystem services while ensuring land potential thresholds are not exceeded.

  6. 7 CFR 1900.155 - Designating the processing/servicing official.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 12 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Designating the processing/servicing official. 1900.155 Section 1900.155 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) RURAL HOUSING SERVICE, RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE, RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, AND FARM SERVICE AGENCY...

  7. Biofertilizers: a potential approach for sustainable agriculture development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahanty, Trishna; Bhattacharjee, Surajit; Goswami, Madhurankhi; Bhattacharyya, Purnita; Das, Bannhi; Ghosh, Abhrajyoti; Tribedi, Prosun

    2017-02-01

    The worldwide increase in human population raises a big threat to the food security of each people as the land for agriculture is limited and even getting reduced with time. Therefore, it is essential that agricultural productivity should be enhanced significantly within the next few decades to meet the large demand of food by emerging population. Not to mention, too much dependence on chemical fertilizers for more crop productions inevitably damages both environmental ecology and human health with great severity. Exploitation of microbes as biofertilizers is considered to some extent an alternative to chemical fertilizers in agricultural sector due to their extensive potentiality in enhancing crop production and food safety. It has been observed that some microorganisms including plant growth promoting bacteria, fungi, Cyanobacteria, etc. have showed biofertilizer-like activities in the agricultural sector. Extensive works on biofertilizers have revealed their capability of providing required nutrients to the crop in sufficient amounts that resulted in the enhancement of crop yield. The present review elucidates various mechanisms that have been exerted by biofertilizers in order to promote plant growth and also provides protection against different plant pathogens. The aim of this review is to discuss the important roles and applications of biofertilizers in different sectors including agriculture, bioremediation, and ecology.

  8. 75 FR 48929 - Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-08-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service Notice of Meeting of the Agricultural Air Quality Task Force AGENCY: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States... Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711; (919) 541-5400. The Agricultural Air Quality Task Force (AAQTF) will...

  9. Intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity across Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsiafouli, Maria A; Thébault, Elisa; Sgardelis, Stefanos P; de Ruiter, Peter C; van der Putten, Wim H; Birkhofer, Klaus; Hemerik, Lia; de Vries, Franciska T; Bardgett, Richard D; Brady, Mark Vincent; Bjornlund, Lisa; Jørgensen, Helene Bracht; Christensen, Sören; Hertefeldt, Tina D'; Hotes, Stefan; Gera Hol, W H; Frouz, Jan; Liiri, Mira; Mortimer, Simon R; Setälä, Heikki; Tzanopoulos, Joseph; Uteseny, Karoline; Pižl, Václav; Stary, Josef; Wolters, Volkmar; Hedlund, Katarina

    2015-02-01

    Soil biodiversity plays a key role in regulating the processes that underpin the delivery of ecosystem goods and services in terrestrial ecosystems. Agricultural intensification is known to change the diversity of individual groups of soil biota, but less is known about how intensification affects biodiversity of the soil food web as a whole, and whether or not these effects may be generalized across regions. We examined biodiversity in soil food webs from grasslands, extensive, and intensive rotations in four agricultural regions across Europe: in Sweden, the UK, the Czech Republic and Greece. Effects of land-use intensity were quantified based on structure and diversity among functional groups in the soil food web, as well as on community-weighted mean body mass of soil fauna. We also elucidate land-use intensity effects on diversity of taxonomic units within taxonomic groups of soil fauna. We found that between regions soil food web diversity measures were variable, but that increasing land-use intensity caused highly consistent responses. In particular, land-use intensification reduced the complexity in the soil food webs, as well as the community-weighted mean body mass of soil fauna. In all regions across Europe, species richness of earthworms, Collembolans, and oribatid mites was negatively affected by increased land-use intensity. The taxonomic distinctness, which is a measure of taxonomic relatedness of species in a community that is independent of species richness, was also reduced by land-use intensification. We conclude that intensive agriculture reduces soil biodiversity, making soil food webs less diverse and composed of smaller bodied organisms. Land-use intensification results in fewer functional groups of soil biota with fewer and taxonomically more closely related species. We discuss how these changes in soil biodiversity due to land-use intensification may threaten the functioning of soil in agricultural production systems. © 2014 John Wiley

  10. Extension of Small-Scale Postharvest Horticulture Technologies—A Model Training and Services Center

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Kitinoja

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available A pilot Postharvest Training and Services Center (PTSC was launched in October 2012 in Arusha, Tanzania as part of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID funded project. The five key components of the PTSC are (1 training of postharvest trainers, (2 postharvest training and demonstrations for local small-scale clientele, (3 adaptive research, (4 postharvest services, and (5 retail sales of postharvest tools and supplies. During the years of 2011–2012, a one year e-learning program was provided to 36 young horticultural professionals from seven Sub-Saharan African countries. These postharvest specialists went on to train more than 13,000 local farmers, extension workers, food processors, and marketers in their home countries in the year following completion of their course. Evaluators found that these specialists had trained an additional 9300 people by November 2014. When asked about adoption by their local trainees, 79% reported examples of their trainees using improved postharvest practices. From 2012–2013, the project supported 30 multi-day training programs, and the evaluation found that many of the improved practices being promoted were adopted by the trainees and led to increased earnings. Three PTSC components still require attention. Research activities initiated during the project are incomplete, and successful sales of postharvest goods and services will require commitment and improved partnering.

  11. The Impact Of Information And Communication In Extension ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article examines the impact of information and communication in extension services to rural farmers in Niger- Delta. Questionnaire, interview and personal observation methods were employed to elicit information on the impact information and communication in extension services to rural farmers. The study reveals the ...

  12. Improving Disability Awareness among Extension Agents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahadevan, Lakshmi; Peterson, Rick L.; Grenwelge, Cheryl

    2014-01-01

    Increasing prevalence rates and legislative mandates imply that educators, parents, and Extension agents will need better tools and resources to meet the needs of special populations. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service addresses this issue by using e-learning tools. Extension agents can take advantage of these courses to gain critical…

  13. Evaluating the relative impact of climate and economic changes on forest and agricultural ecosystem services in mountain regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briner, Simon; Elkin, Ché; Huber, Robert

    2013-11-15

    Provisioning of ecosystem services (ES) in mountainous regions is predicted to be influenced by i) the direct biophysical impacts of climate change, ii) climate mediated land use change, and iii) socioeconomic driven changes in land use. The relative importance and the spatial distribution of these factors on forest and agricultural derived ES, however, is unclear, making the implementation of ES management schemes difficult. Using an integrated economic-ecological modeling framework, we evaluated the impact of these driving forces on the provision of forest and agricultural ES in a mountain region of southern Switzerland. Results imply that forest ES will be strongly influenced by the direct impact of climate change, but that changes in land use will have a comparatively small impact. The simulation of direct impacts of climate change affects forest ES at all elevations, while land use changes can only be found at high elevations. In contrast, changes to agricultural ES were found to be primarily due to shifts in economic conditions that alter land use and land management. The direct influence of climate change on agriculture is only predicted to be substantial at high elevations, while socioeconomic driven shifts in land use are projected to affect agricultural ES at all elevations. Our simulation results suggest that policy schemes designed to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on forests should focus on suitable adaptive management plans, accelerating adaptation processes for currently forested areas. To maintain provision of agricultural ES policy needs to focus on economic conditions rather than on supporting adaptation to new climate. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. 78 FR 37504 - Notice of Request for Extension and Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-21

    ... Marketing Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's..., Poultry and Seed Program, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400...

  15. Assessment Of Schools In Agricultural Program As A Strategy For ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    It is suggested that there is a need for government to develop partnership with private and non-governmental organizations for financial support specifically for rural youth agricultural programs. Keywords: Agricultural program, technology transfer, Poverty alleviation. Global Approaches to Extension Practice Vol. 2 (2) 2006: ...

  16. Lessons from the Malawi Agroforestry Extension Project Abstract

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    The study examined the factors affecting agroforestry technology upscaling and .... This means that farmers whose main source of income is crop sales are .... depended on the performance and commitment of the agricultural extension staff in.

  17. Diagnosing Management of Agricultural Research and Technology Development under the Agricultural Innovation Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed at identifying and analyzing issues and challenges on the agricultural research and technology development under the national innovation framework. The survey consisted of two groups: agricultural researchers of Agriculture-Research and Education Organization and all faculty members of public agricultural faculties of Ministry of Scientific, Research and Technology. Using Cochran sampling formula and multi-stage sampling method, 188 researchers and 205 faculty members were selected in order to fill in the survey questionnaire. Using the SPSS, collected data analyzed based on explanatory factor analysis. Totally, factor analysis of three sets of issues and challenges on the agricultural research and technology development under the national innovation framework led to extract 13 factors, including agricultural structure and policy, infrastructure and resources of agricultural development, supportive services for agricultural development (level of agricultural development, investment and capacity building in research and technology, management of research and technology development, research and technology productivity, research culture, networks for research and technology development (level of national innovation system, agricultural research policy, impacts and effectiveness of agricultural research and technology development, integrated management of research and technology, institutional development for agricultural research and technology and systematic synergy of agricultural research and higher education (level of agricultural innovation system. Totally, these three sets of factors explained 64%, 75% and 73% of the total variances. Finally, using conceptual clustering for the extracted factors, a conceptual model of issues and challenges of agricultural research and technology development under the national innovation framework was presented.

  18. 7 CFR 1540.44 - Submission of recommendations by the Secretary of Agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Submission of recommendations by the Secretary of Agriculture. 1540.44 Section 1540.44 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL TRADE Emergency Relief...

  19. Conservation planning in agricultural landscapes: hotspots of conflict between agriculture and nature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shackelford, Gorm E; Steward, Peter R; German, Richard N; Sait, Steven M; Benton, Tim G

    2015-03-01

    Conservation conflict takes place where food production imposes a cost on wildlife conservation and vice versa. Where does conservation impose the maximum cost on production, by opposing the intensification and expansion of farmland? Where does conservation confer the maximum benefit on wildlife, by buffering and connecting protected areas with a habitable and permeable matrix of crop and non-crop habitat? Our aim was to map the costs and benefits of conservation versus production and thus to propose a conceptual framework for systematic conservation planning in agricultural landscapes. World-wide. To quantify these costs and benefits, we used a geographic information system to sample the cropland of the world and map the proportion of non-crop habitat surrounding the cropland, the number of threatened vertebrates with potential to live in or move through the matrix and the yield gap of the cropland. We defined the potential for different types of conservation conflict in terms of interactions between habitat and yield (potential for expansion, intensification, both or neither). We used spatial scan statistics to find 'hotspots' of conservation conflict. All of the 'hottest' hotspots of conservation conflict were in sub-Saharan Africa, which could have impacts on sustainable intensification in this region. Systematic conservation planning could and should be used to identify hotspots of conservation conflict in agricultural landscapes, at multiple scales. The debate between 'land sharing' (extensive agriculture that is wildlife friendly) and 'land sparing' (intensive agriculture that is less wildlife friendly but also less extensive) could be resolved if sharing and sparing were used as different types of tool for resolving different types of conservation conflict (buffering and connecting protected areas by maintaining matrix quality, in different types of matrix). Therefore, both sharing and sparing should be prioritized in hotspots of conflict, in the context of

  20. The National Agriculture Imagery Program Change 2002-2017

    Data.gov (United States)

    Farm Service Agency, Department of Agriculture — The National Agriculture Imagery Program Change 2002-2017 is a web mapping application hosted on the ArcGIS online FSA Organizational Subscription. This web...

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