Though extension services have long since proved their value to agricultural production and farmer prosperity, their record in sub-Saharan Africa has been mixed. To study the impact of such programs on farmers' learning about agricultural technologies, we implemented a quasi-randomized controlled trial and collected detailed panel data among Malawian farmers. Based on those findings, we develop a two-stage learning framework, in which farmers formulate yield expectations before deciding on how much effort to invest in learning about these processes.
This paper assesses how institutional interactions can strengthen effectiveness, by focusing on three multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy. Based on an expert survey and semi-structured interviews, the study provides both theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding institutional interactions in relation to effectiveness. Moreover, it provides insights on how to strengthen the effectiveness of multi-stakeholder partnerships for renewable energy
In this 90-minute webinar, Illuminating Hidden Harvests experts and authors share the rationale and methods behind the initiative and some of the progress and results so far. It includes a moderated roundtable discussion on how to leverage the methods, information and results from the IHH study towards improved policy decision making and in-country capacity for inter-disciplinary data collection and analysis.
The issue 1 of the 2020 Capacity Development Newsletter of the International Livestock Research Institute, brings the news regarding short training courses, research and travel grants, fellowships and scholarships as well as all capacity development oportunities lead by the Institute.
The issue 3 of the 2020 Capacity Development Newsletter of the International Livestock Research Institute, brings the news regarding short training courses, research and travel grants, fellowships and scholarships as well as all capacity development oportunities lead by the Institute.
Providing smallholder farmers with support through conventional government extension approaches is challenging as the number of extension agents is decreasing. At the same time, new information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as short message services (SMS) sent via mobile phones, show considerable promise to complement existing extension services. In the UP-scaling Technology in Agriculture through Knowledge and Extension (UPTAKE) Project, ICTs were used to create awareness and increase uptake and adoption of agricultural innovations by maize farmers in Tanzania.
This book discusses the role of inclusive innovation for development in rural India. It uses the evidence of innovation in the context of skewed or limited livelihood options and multiple knowledge systems to argue that if inclusive innovation is to happen, the actors and the nature of the innovation system need reform.
The article presents indicators of the agricultural industry management system: doing business in a digital and technological transformation from the perspective of an ontological approach. It is important to note that it is impossible to transform under the requirements of the modern world without the introduction of innovation. However, innovation is always marked by financial costs and loss of time, which reduces the innovative activity of organizations in the agricultural sector, and, therefore, determines the diagnosis of innovation and investment policy.
Food literacy among children and youth is configured by two knowledge domains: an informal community-based knowledge, and a formal curriculum-based knowledge. This paper examines how these two domains contribute to food literacy and strengthen food security among rural youth in Nepal. In consultation with schoolteachers and local farmers, a knowledge test was developed and administered to 226 high school students. Scores were collected on agro-ecological, cultivation and consumption-related knowledge on a locally grown staple crop, as contributor to food literacy
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.