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.
This teaching case study is to stimulate readers to think strategically and come up with innovative solutions to the challenges that Songxiaocai faces. The materials used to write this case is drawn from the sources including the semi-structured interviews with managers within Songxiaocai Company, online information, and materials
This study presents detailed examples of how repeat Sénékéla users have changed their farming and marketing practices, and the reasons underpinning these changes. Data was collected through a series of semi structured interviews with repeat Sénékéla users. The findings of the case study serve to complement quantitative data about customer behavior change that was collected through a structured survey with 50 customers from Mali
Digital as well as other technical and institutional innovations underpin the success of agriculture in developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Such innovations are encouraging a new generation of young ‘agripreneurs’ to tackle agri-food challenges, explore ways to build resilience to climate change, and improve the incomes and livelihoods of people in agriculture.
China has put in place a series of policies to support private companies to engage in biotechnology research. This study uses data from a survey of 103 major agribusiness firms in the agricultural chemical and seed industries in China to evaluate the impact of government policies on private R&D investment in biotechnology. The results show that firms with positive profit expectation, public R&D subsidies, R&D collaboration with universities/research institutes or state-owned enterprises are more likely to embark on biotechnology research activities.
This policy brief shows how digital tools can help to ensure that public money for agricul-tural extension is spent wisely. Governments often fund offices, training centers, and the salaries of extension officers, but cannot eas-ily review the impacts of these expenditures. This is because the activities of extension agents are not monitored systematically. Ex-ension services rarely generate quantitative data on the effects of their work.
Proven that the adoption rate of a new product is influenced by the network characteristics of the early adopters, the aim of this paper is to find the network features of the early adopters associated with high adoption rates of a specific new practice: the use of biodegradable mulching films containing soluble bio-based substances derived from municipal solid wastes. The study simulated the diffusion process by means of an agent-based model calibrated on real-world data.
The tank-based irrigated agricultural system in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka is one of the oldest historically evolved agricultural systems in the world. The main component of the system consists of a connected series of man-made tanks constructed in shallow valleys to store, convey and utilize water for paddy cultivation. Up to 10,000 tanks originating from the heydays of ancient kingdoms are still integrated in the current agricultural landscape. During the last two millennia, this indigenous system has undergone many changes in technological, management and socio-cultural norms.
This study focuses on the accumulated indigenous knowledge of the Yao ethnic minority in Bac Kan Province of Vietnam. Through centuries of observation and experimentation, the Yao people have developed complex farming systems, cultural practices, and a knowledge base well-suited to their environments. Data for this study was collected through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions to gather indigenous knowledge on native crop varieties and animal breeds, weather forecasting, and the timing and location of cultivation practices.
The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has to meet the needs of farmers and sustainably support the competitiveness of agriculture in a rapidly changing digital world. Under certain conditions of use, digital tools could facilitate the application to agriculture of the historical, methodological and socio-economic principles defining agroecology. This chapter is composed of four sections. In the first section we define a framework to study agricultural IC tools.