As many sub-Saharan African countries have committed to the continent-wide goals of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) of the Africa Union and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), policymakers are challenged with designing and implementing national agricultutal strategies and policies that will allow them to achieve these goals.
This article explores how conflict-induced displacement influences agricultural innovation processes and systems, and its implications after the return home or permanent resettlement of smallholder farmers. Results show that high rates of agricultural innovation occurred during displacement in the Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), many of which were maintained afterwards.
This paper presents empirical evidence on the effects of information asymmetry in input markets on the adoption of innovations and agricultural land use in rainfed districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Farmers’ input market integration may contribute to innovation and adoption among farmers, which may in turn positively influence the sustainable use of agricultural land. To examine this hypothesis, was conducted a study with farmers and input providers to assess the potential constraints on quality inputs, prices, and extension information.
Smartphone technology is promising for the future development of agriculture, as it can facilitate and improve many operational procedures and can also be combined with precision agriculture technologies. Yet, existing research on smartphone adoption in agriculture is scarce. Therefore, this paper empirically explores the factors influencing smartphone adoption by German farmers. The relationship between farmers, farm characteristics and smartphone adoption was analysed using a binomial logit model.
Smallholder farmers across the Global South increasingly need to adapt their farming activities to fast-paced changes, for example, in climate, policy and markets. In many places, public and private agricultural extension services support technological change through trainings and the dissemination of information. The effectiveness of extant ex-tension (advisory) methodologies is, however, challenged by the difficulty of reaching a large and growing clientele with highly diverse information needs.
Participatory action Research In Software Methodology Augmentation (PRISMA) is a software development methodology which has been amalgamated with Participatory Action Research (PAR). This paper justifies the inclusion of PAR in software development, and describes the PRISMA methodology vis-à-vis a case study. Specifically, the case study encompasses the development of eToro, an Indigenous Knowledge Management System for the Penans, a remote and rural community in Malaysian Borneo
This publication contains twelve modules which cover a selection of major reform measures in agricultural extension being promulgated and implemented internationally, such as linking farmers to markets, making advisory services more demand-driven, promoting pluralistic advisory systems, and enhancing the role of advisory services within agricultural innovation systems.
gricultural innovation is essential for improving the livelihoods of resource-poor farmers in developing countries such as Bangladesh. Within an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy for agricultural development, social media is considered a means of networking, collaboration and co-learning, and thereby supporting innovation processes. However, it is not known how extension agents of the Department of Agricultural Extension ‒ the largest public sector organisation ‒ have been utilising social media to strengthen agricultural innovation.
Agricultural extension in the Global South can benefit greatly from the use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT). Yet, despite two decades of promising experiences, this potential is not fully realized. Here, it is reviewed the relevant research literature to inform future investments into agricultural information services that harness the full potential of digital media.The study describes a recently emerging innovation agenda that is, in part, a response to the eventualfailure of many new agro-advisory initiatives.
In the context of an exponential rise in access to information in the last two decades, this special issue explores when and how information might be harnessed to improve governance and public service delivery in rural areas. Information is a critical component of government and citizens’ decision-making; therefore, improvements in its availability and reliability stand to benefit many dimensions of governance, including service delivery.