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The gender of the extension agent and farmers' access to and participation in agricultural extension in Nigeria
Abstract
A study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of male and female extension agents in reaching farmers, especially women, with extension services in Nigeria. Specially the study determined the levels of awareness of and participation in extension activities, adoption of and technical knowledge of recommended agricultural technologies/practices, satisfaction with the quality of extension services provided and agents' credibility of men and women farmers under male and female extension agents supervision. Data gathered from 141 men and 72 women farmers supervised by male agents and 22 men and 93 women farmers supervised by female agents in Oyo, Kaduna and Rivers State Agricultural Development Projects in Nigeria form the empirical basis for the study. Even though men farmers are more aware of and participated more in the extension activities organised by agents than women farmers, the study shows that women farmers, who are supervised by female agents have more access to extension services than women farmers who work with male agents. Specifically, women farmers, who had females for extension agents had relatively higher levels of awareness and participation of the extension activities organised, adoption of and technical knowledge of recommended technologies/practices and satisfaction with the quality of agents' services and credibility. These differential effects of female and male agents on women's access to extension are significant for the delivery of extension services to women farmers, especially. Extension organisations must encourage and recruit more females for extension work done at the same time evolve strategies that will help male agents to work better with women farmers.
... Women are also often denied equal access to productive resources like modern agricultural inputs, technologies and credit systems (FAO, 2011;Owolabi et al., 2011). In addition, women particularly those in male-headed households tend to participate less than men in formal activities like training, cooperatives, and official meetings (Lahai et al., 1999). Correcting this situation would substantially benefit rural economies and food security in developing countries. ...
... It is obvious that gender inequalities in technology delivery impose real costs on societies in terms of untapped potential leading to suboptimal agricultural development (Ragasa, 2012). The main reason behind the exclusion of women is that extension services are often designed and disseminated by men who do not necessarily regard women as part of their target group (Lahai et al., 1999). Furthermore, they do not take women's productive and reproductive roles 1 and preferences into consideration (Manfre et al., 2013). ...
... Women farmers should be given the opportunity to work with female extension officers with whom they feel they could easily discuss their problems (Due et al., 1997;Lahai et al., 1999). Our findings concur with this argument. ...
This study presents results from a farmer survey conducted with 560 rice farmers from 27 villages spread over five hubs (concentration areas of rice production and processing) in three different countries in Eastern Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Madagascar). The main research objective was to assess women's access to rice technologies and constraints to adoption of technologies. Constraints were analyzed over five different categories: (1) institutional (2) access to agricultural inputs, (3) technology-contextual, (4) household and socio-cultural and (5) extension. Key providers of extension were public (government), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and international organizations. Our study identifies that the overarching constraints to technology adoption are institutional and cultural impediments and related to the mode of delivery of extension services. Furthermore, the Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with the women, revealed that empowerment of women in decision making at the household level can enhance women’s access and engagement in better farming practices suggested under extension advisory services. This is specifically true where women are able to overcome the hurdles of acquisition of extension training and access to the improved technologies.
... In West Sumbawa Regency, there is a comparison between male and female extension officers as many as 48 males and 37 female extension officers. Male and female extension workers have equal opportunities to carry out their roles as extension officers properly (Lahai et al., 2000). Thus, the question in this study is what is the role of extension agents based on gender in increasing the success of farmer groups in Taliwang District, West Sumbawa Regency. ...
... Women have the same potential as men and can develop their abilities to become extension agents and be able to increase the success of the group or change the behavior of farmers. This is in line with findings that state that female extension workers have a high performance in changing farmer behavior (Lahai et al., 2000). ...
This study aims to analyze the role of extension workers based on gender, the level of success of farmer groups in this case in behavior change, and the relationship between the role of extension workers and changes in the behavior of farmer groups. The research was conducted in Taliwang District using survey techniques. Structured interviews were conducted with 48 farmer respondents and in-depth interviews with extension workers. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, different test statistics, and Spearman's rank correlation. Research has found that female extension workers have a higher role than men, the level of behavior change in members of the farmer groups assisted by female extension workers is higher than in male extension workers. however, there is a correlation between the roles of both male and female extension workers with an increase in changes in the behavior of farmer group members. Thus, both female and male extension workers have the same potential to change farmer behavior. It is hoped that male extension workers can take the same approach as female extension workers, namely conducting coaching to the farmer groups under their supervision very intensively and using methods appropriate to the group's characteristics.
... This shows that rice farmers had robust access to extension services which enables them to understand technical and agricultural information about NERICA rice technologies. Lahai et al. [17] found a direct relationship between farmers' frequency of contact with extension agents and their levels of participation in extension education. It was viewed that, frequent contact of farmers with extension agents helps them to internalize well the extension education they receive as issues can be clarified whenever the contact occurs. ...
... Although rice farmers had access to inputs like agrochemicals, extension services and training on how to combat pest like grass cuter to some extent, these measures still seem inadequate in the process of effective adoption of improved NERICA rice technologies. These findings are similar to those of Lahai et al. [17] who suggested that high cost of production, low income to farmers, low savings/investment are responsible for the widespread incidence of poverty among rice farmers and hence, the persistence of constraints in rice production. ...
Acceptance of new agricultural technology can lead to significant increase in productivity, income and improve livelihood of rural poor farmers in Nigeria. The study assessed adoption behaviour of the beneficiaries of Multinational (New Rice for Africa) NERICA Rice Dissemination Project in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique in a multistage sampling procedure was used to select 52 beneficiary rice farmers. Data were collected through the use of structured interview schedule and analysed using mean score, adoption index, multiple regression and factor analysis. The results revealed that majority (80.4%) of rice farmers were males, average age of the farmers was observed to be 40years and average farming experience of the famers was found to be 19years. Also, results showed high adoption score for planting distance, early planting, late planting and harvesting duration (61%), fertilizers use (95%) and herbicides use (75%), while water efficiency methods (26%) and improved rice varieties (48%) of the NERICA disseminated technologies had low adoption. Regression analysis indicated that only age and number of years spent in school influenced adoption decisions of rice farmers. The perceived serious constraints to adoption of improved NERICA rice technologies were menace of birds on rice field (M = 4.96), menace of grass cuter (M = 4.47), high cost of labour (M = 3.41), poor access to road (M = 3.61) amongst others. Also, the perceived not serious constraints to adoption of improved NERICA rice technologies were lack of sufficient land (M =1.96), untimely availability of improved NERICA rice varieties (M = 1.92), inadequate knowledge about rice processing techniques (M = 1.78), inadequate access to NERICA rice varieties (M = 1.59) and incompatibility of innovations conflict between technology and norms of the people (M = 1.59). Therefore, the study recommends that researchers should increase farmers' participation and interaction of local and ecological knowledge to enhance generation of socially, economically and ecologically adaptable rice varieties.
... Melalui kajian dari perspektif petani, beberapa kajian tentang responsivitas gender pada kegiatan penyuluhan umumnya menyimpulkan bahwa masih ada ketidakadilan gender atau diskriminasi gender terhadap petani perempuan (Lahai, 1999;Indraningsih, 2011;Krisnawati et al. 2013;Ikonny 2017;Ardita et al. 2017;Khairunnisa 2021;Ali et al. 2018). Adapun kajian yang menggunakan perspektif penyuluh sebagai sumber datanya relatif masih terbatas (misalnya Lahai et al. 2000;Hayati et al. 2024 Sehubungan dengan hal tersebut, penelitian ini bertujuan mengkaji responsivitas kebijakan penyuluhan pertanian di Kabupaten Bogor menurut persepsi penyuluh (laki-laki dan perempuan). ...
Kesetaraan gender dalam penyuluhan pertanian adalah kunci untuk meningkatkan produktivitas dankesejahteraan petani, termasuk di Kabupaten Bogor. Meskipun perempuan memegang peran penting dalamsektor pertanian, mereka sering kali diabaikan dalam program penyuluhan, pelatihan, dan akses teknologi.Kondisi ini antara lain disebabkan oleh hambatan budaya, stereotip gender, dan kebijakan yang tidak sensitifgender. Untuk itu, policy brief ini mengkaji peran lembaga dalam mendorong terwujudnya kesetaraan genderdalam kebijakan penyuluhan bagi ujung tombak pelaksana kegiatan tersebut, yakni para penyuluh. Pemberianakses yang lebih besar bagi penyuluh perempuan untuk mengikuti pelatihan dan pendidikan lanjutan yangdidukung oleh pelibatan yang lebih besar bagi para petani perempuan, diyakini menjadi solusi gunamewujudkan kebijakan penyuluhan yang lebih setara gender. Kondisi ini didukung oleh pewajiban bagipenyuluh dan staf bagian lainnya untuk membiasakan membuat pendataan secara terpilah gender. Dengandata ini, akan dapat diketahui permasalahan dan kebutuhan masing-masing gender, sehingga dapat dibuatprogram dan kegiatan yang lebih tepat sasaran. Upaya untuk memenuhi komitmen kesetaraan gender bagipenyuluh dan petani perempuan ini tidak saja memenuhi hak mereka, melainkan juga dapat meningkatkanproduktivitas mereka yang pada akhirnya akan meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat.
... This may be due to male farmers having more access to agricultural extension delivery than their female counterparts (Quaye et al., 2019), as such, having higher expectations or prior experience (Ragasa et al., 2013). Furthermore, according to Lahai et al. (1999) gender dynamics play a critical role in how farmers perceive extension services. The study highlights that female farmers supervised by female practitioners had higher levels of satisfaction; this finding is relevant to the current study, given the higher proportion of female farmers in the sample. ...
Farmers expect agricultural extension practitioners to provide and effectively communicate knowledge on climate-resilient agricultural practices and their impacts. In the face of increasing climate variability, extension services are crucial in equipping farmers with strategies for adaptation and mitigation. However, the effectiveness of these services in improving farm level adaptation remains limited. This study utilized a cross-sectional survey with 175 randomly selected farmers, employing interviews and structured questionnaires for data collection. Farmers' perceptions of extension practitioners' competencies were analyzed through content analysis, while a binomial logistic regression model identified factors influencing these perceptions. The findings revealed that most farmers accessed extension services and relied on them for climate adaptation information. Approximately 72.6% of respondents viewed practitioners as knowledgeable, positively influencing their adaptation efforts. However, significant differences in perception emerged: male and female farmers evaluated practitioners differently, and experienced farmers were more critical of practitioners' climate competencies. Membership in farmer organizations correlated with more favorable perceptions, while limited access to extension services was associated with less positive views, highlighting access barriers. Observed climate changes include floods (53%), prolonged droughts (63.4%), very hot seasons (25%), and very wet seasons (22%), while 3.7% of respondents reported no observed changes. Farmers emphasized the importance of technical climate knowledge among practitioners and the need for continuous training to enhance their effectiveness. The study recommends fostering regular farmer-practitioner engagement, prioritizing ongoing technical training for extension officers, and incorporating indigenous knowledge systems into extension frameworks to address local adaptation needs effectively.
... As shown in Table 2, the survey results show that most respondents are male (56.6%). A study by Lahai et al. (1999) Table 3 shows sources of agricultural-related information for practitioners in the study areas. The internet is ranked as the top source of information at 59.5%, followed by radio, colleagues at work, formal written communication, magazines/newspapers, and others. ...
Using a random sampling technique, the channels used by extension practitioners to communicate agricultural-related information to farmers were investigated from a sample of 126 practitioners and managers. Research activities included a formal survey, and data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The Pearson's Chi-square (χ2) test of independence with α = 0.005 as a criterion for significance and the binary regression method were used to analyse the data. Findings from descriptive statistics reported that 52.4% of the respondents comply with the Norms and Standards of Extension and Advisory Services, which prescribe that all practitioners in South Africa should have a four-year bachelor's degree as a minimum qualification requirement. Many Extension practitioners (60.3%) preferred visiting farmers in person; however, logistical issues such as transport to the field (38.9%) posed a barrier to farm visits and information sharing. The binary logistic regression model results showed that information sources and the frequency of farm visits were among the variables that influenced the channels extension practitioners used to communicate agricultural information. The study concludes that extension officers still prefer in-person farm visits despite the emergence of ICT and digital technologies. This study recommends that in-person farm visits be utilised with ICT and other digital technologies to address agricultural-related information delivery challenges.
... Women farmers may face additional constraints to seed use that prevent these interventions from effectively reaching, benefitting, and/or empowering them. In terms of reach, gender norms may prevent women from engaging with markets (important for quality certification), financial systems, or even conversations with men extension providers (Lahai et al., 1999;Adamu & Idisi, 2014;Adegbite & Machethe, 2020). If these gender norms include restrictions on women's mobility outside the home, women may be left out by seed grant or subsidy programs that require travel to obtain these benefits. ...
Gender gaps in adoption of high-quality seeds of improved varieties persist in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the implementation of various seed promotion interventions aimed at increasing adoption among all farmers. This paper reviews existing literature on common seed promotion interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa (including subsidies, financial services, quality certification schemes, and agricultural extension) and asks to what extent these interventions serve women farmers as much as men farmers. In addition, we consider the evidence on the effectiveness of gender-intentional design features that may enable seed promotion interventions to better serve women. We find mixed evidence that common seed promotion interventions reach, benefit, and empower women, with contextual factors and program design features driving differences in effectiveness. In some cases interventions are more effective for women when combined with gender-intentional program features, such as: explicit targeting of and resource provision to women (or joint targeting to couples); a focus on domains where it is more culturally acceptable for women to make decisions; and provision of information by women experts or through other modalities. We conclude that more work is needed to develop and test interventions that can close gender gaps in seed adoption.
... To the best of our knowledge, existing research does not test whether the gender of the person delivering nutrition messages matters for uptake of content on nutrition by men and women. However, a substantial literature documents the role of gender in uptake of extension services (see Appendix A). 1 Indeed, hiring more women agricultural extension workers has often been justified based on concerns around communications bottlenecks to female farmers, due to traditional and religious practices (such as purdah, or female seclusion) or women's lack of self-confidence in talking about their circumstances and problems with men (Lahai et al., 1999). Gender norms may also shape the type and content of extension messages that are trusted and perceived as appropriate (Feldstein et al., 1989, cited in Lahai et al., 1999. ...
We use a randomized controlled trial in rural Bangladesh to compare two models of delivering nutrition content jointly to husbands and wives: deploying female nutrition workers versus mostly male agriculture extension workers. Both approaches increased nutrition knowledge of men and women, household and individual diet quality, and women's empowerment. Intervention effects on agriculture and nutrition knowledge, agricultural production diversity, dietary diversity, women's empowerment, and gender parity do not significantly differ between models where nutrition workers versus agriculture extension workers provide the training. The exception is in an attitudes score, where results indicate same-sex agents may affect scores differently than opposite-sex agents. Our results suggest opposite-sex agents may not necessarily be less effective in providing training. In South Asia, where agricultural extension systems and the pipeline to those systems are male-dominated, training men to deliver nutrition messages may offer a temporary solution to the shortage of female extension workers and offer opportunities to scale and promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture. However, in both models, we find evidence that the presence of mothers-in-law within households modifies the programs' effectiveness on some nutrition, empowerment, and attitude measures, suggesting that accounting for other influential household members is a potential area for future programming.
... However, women have limited access to mechanisation and are often excluded from mechanisation interventions, as they are typically designed and implemented by men who do not consider women as a target group (Lahai et al., 1999). Extension systems tend to view women as welfare recipients rather than as active players in agricultural development (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2011). ...
This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The main objective of the review is to answer the following questions: What is the impact of mechanisation on agriculture? What is the impact of mechanisation on women's economic empowerment? The study will review the impact of mechanisation on labour demand and supply, land and labour productivity, farmers' incomes, health and women's empowerment. All literature will be considered, including nonintervention studies and studies not reporting gender‐disaggregated results.
... Female farmers have limited access to extension services as some countries with conservative societies, male agents are reluctant to work with female farmers (Martini et al., 2017). It is observed in Tanzania that female farmers being advised by female agents have higher adoption than the female farmers supervised by male agents (Lahai et al., 1999). So, with 15% female extension agents worldwide (FAO, 2009), we cannot expect inclusive extension services for female farmers. ...
The present systematic review was undertaken to obtain a detailed understanding of how climate change perceptions and adaptation differ globally by gender and different intersections among the farmers. Findings from 41 studies selected following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, mostly from Africa and Asia, suggest that climate change perceptions and adaptation are highly contextual and considerably varied by gender and different intersections. Existing gender role, farmers' age, education, knowledge, marital status, intra-household power structure, religion, social status and ethnicity were intersecting with gender and climate change perception and adaptation. Apart from gender and intersectionality, access to resources, social network and local institutions are found to be important correlates of adaptation strategies by farmers. While agriculture being feminized, mere technological changes are not conclusive to climate change adaptation rather socio-cultural, structural and political changes in inevitable. Female farmers were tend to be more concerned and fatalistic about climate change which reminds us the urgency of culturally appropriate climate change communication to obtain informed decision regarding climate change. Future climate change research could be more gender transformative by exploring the existing inequalities lying in different intersections of gender rather than highlighting binary gender differences only.
... Even though more women are becoming educated today compared to 50 years ago, the gender gap in education persists, especially in rural areas (FAO 2011;Evans, Akmal, and Jakiela 2020). Women also tend to have less access to agricultural and climate information and extension services that would build their knowledge and skills, improve agricultural production outcomes, and facilitate adoption of new technologies and climate-smart practices (Quaye et al. 2019;Lahai, Goldey, and Jones 1999;. There is also a considerable gender gap in access to financial services, such as having a bank account or access to credit, and building financial capital is also more difficult for women given that they have fewer economic opportunities and are more likely to work in informal, low-wage employment (FAO 2011;Morsy 2020;Hasler andLusardi 2017, Fletschner andKenney 2014;ILO 2021). ...
This dissertation uses a mixed-methods approach to explore issues related to womens empowerment and small-scale irrigation from several different angles: conceptually, based on a literature review, qualitatively and quantitatively, based on a case study in Northern Ghana, and qualitatively, as part of a larger effort of development organizations to promote adaptation to climate change. The analysis relies on a conceptual framework that illustrates the linkages between small-scale irrigation and the domains of womens empowerment as well as the broader opportunity structure shaping these relationships. It then uses qualitative and quantitative data from the case study area to identify what aspects of womens empowerment are salient in this context and how the irrigation intervention influences outcomes for women. Finally, the dissertation draws lessons from a capacity needs assessment of development organizations to identify areas for strengthening the delivery of gender-sensitive programs. Thus, the main research questions addressed by this dissertation are: 1) What are the linkages between small-scale irrigation technologies/systems and dimensions of womens empowerment? 2) What aspects of womens empowerment emerge as the most salient in the context of Northern Ghana where small scale irrigation is practiced and modern technologies (motor pumps) are being introduced? 3) How does the introduction of small-scale irrigation technologies (specifically motor pumps) affect indicators of womens empowerment? 4) What are the gender-related capacity needs of development organizations working to promote climate change adaptation (of which small-scale irrigation is an important practice)? The findings in this dissertation suggest that there are many factors to consider in the design and dissemination of small-scale irrigation technologies to ensure that these are equitably distributed and that both men and women have the opportunity to engage in and benefit from irrigation. These include gendered preferences for the type of irrigation technology or system, the underlying socio-political environment shaping the barriers that men and women face, and implementation approaches. Moving beyond simply reaching women (that is, counting their participation in program activities) to benefitting and empowering women (increasing their well-being outcomes and expanding their ability to make strategic life decisions) requires knowledge of the local context and dedicated attention toward ensuring that outcomes for women are achieved, even if this means expanding activities and opportunities outside of agriculture. Thus, greater efforts are also needed to build the capacity of implementing organizations to deliver gender-responsive programs. Creating platforms, like stakeholder consultation processes or dialogues, for setting goals and sharing information, approaches, and lessons learned is one way to build this capacity. Integrating gender-sensitive research tools into strategy development, project design, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation of implementing agencies would also support the development of more gender-responsive irrigation interventions and would contribute to fill remaining research gaps on the gendered implications of alternative agricultural technologies and practices. While this dissertation provides some evidence on the impacts of motor pumps for small-scale irrigation on womens empowerment, this is only one of many types of irrigation technologies and approaches. More research is needed on the implications for womens empowerment of alternative irrigation technologies, systems, and dissemination tactics, including group-based and service-based approaches.
... Gender inequality is found in the access of various agricultural resources such as modern agricultural inputs, technologies, credit and land. They are often not allowed to participate in formal activities like training, extension activities, and official meetings (Lahai et al., 1999). Therefore, the empowerment of women who are engaged in agricultural activities are very important for the overall development of agricultural sector. ...
A nation's capacity to utilise its agricultural production potential relies upon the use of innovations by various actors involved in agriculture. In fact, the adoption of new agriculture technology interventions and its impact on the agricultural productivity has been reported from around the world. However, agriculture sector being the highest employment provider for over 60% of women in Oceania, Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the implications of the adoption of technological interventions by women is paramount, especially for these developing and under developed countries. But gender inequalities and inequities that exist in these regions are found to decelerate the process and pose impediments in their strides to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2). Therefore, the chapter attempts to provide insights into the gender inequality that prevails in these countries that impede the battle to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and sustainable agriculture by 2030. Describes three main areas of gender inequality in the technological interventions viz. (1) technologies that increase agricultural productivity; (2) technologies that help in labour saving and transport; and (3) information and communication technologies. Barriers of attaining gender equity related to access and adoption of agricultural technologies, sociocultural norms, stereotyping of gender roles, lack of agencies and resources to implement gender balanced policies are discussed. Effect of multiple roles played by farm women as farm workers, home makers, and child bearers in the access of agricultural technology interventions are also examined. The urgent need for agricultural research and extension agenda to integrate gender analysis into the technology adoption and dissemination process has been highlighted. Thus the chapter brings to fore the rationale for improving women’s adoption of agricultural technology and the constraints and opportunities to include women in the technology-adoption agenda. It concludes on the need for inclusion of gender equity as an important variable in the holistic analysis of farming systems.
... Si bien hay experiencias en países de los continentes africano(Lahai et al., 1999) y asiático(Lamontagne-Godwin et al., 2017) donde, con base en análisis estadísticos, se han examinado los resultados de los servicios de extensión brindados por hombres y mujeres extensionistas, y no se han encontrado diferencias estadísticamente significativas, el debate internacional ha ponderado que el enfoque de género en la extensión rural puede representar una estrategia valiosa por el papel que las mujeres desempeñan en la agricultura y en los sistemas agroalimentarios, sobre todo en países de América Latina.Al analizar la edad de los extensionistas se encontró un promedio de 41.6 años, al desagregar el análisis por sexo, se advierte que las mujeres reportaron una edad media menor, de 36.3 años, mientras que para los hombres fue de 43.4 años. Esto permite inferir que se trata de una población relativamente joven, al estratificar el análisis por grupo de edad, resulta relevante observar que 22% de los extensionistas son personas con una edad menor a los 30 años, en el extremo opuesto se ubicó el estrato de entre 50 y menos de 60 años (21.3%). ...
La innovación rural sigue siendo un elemento crucial para resolver problemas de baja productividad en la agricultura y pobreza rural, la extensión rural constituye un instrumento de política agrícola que promueve la innovación a través de sus extensionistas. Con el propósito de caracterizar el perfil de estos actores, se realizó una tipología con base en sus atributos profesionales y los problemas que enfrentan. Se empleó la encuesta a extensionistas del sistema de monitoreo y evaluación de la política de extensión rural 2016-2017, ésta recolectó información en diez estados de la república y su tamaño muestral fue de 609 cuestionarios. La metodología utilizó procedimientos estadísticos multivariados, en un primer momento el análisis de correspondencias estimó dimensiones principales, posteriormente se construyeron clústers para definir la tipología. Se detectaron tres estratos que agruparon problema predominante y área de la carrera profesional, ello permite una mejor comprensión de las características de los extensionistas y establecer estrategias de solución de problemas en la política de extensión centrada en el conocimiento de las capacidades y condiciones de uno de sus principales actores.
... Such action helps in developing skills and motivation among women. In this regard some efforts should be made with regards to training of special practical courses in dairy development and livestock management courses to highlight the needs of meat and milk production (Lahai et al., 2000;Feder et al., 2001). Rural women contribution in livestock activities needs especially women from research institutes, extension field staff, and policy makers in the system (FAO, 1989;Hassan, 2008). ...
... Specifically, we construct a dummy variable that is equal to one if the advisor (plant doctor) and the recipient of the advice (clinic user) share the same gender. The hypothesis is that gender homophily can help build mutual understanding and trust, thereby influencing farmers' adoption choices (Lahai et al., 1999;Lecoutere et al., 2019). A is a vector of agro-climatic variables, which account for differences in growing conditions. ...
Given the recognised role of blanket extension advice in the low uptake of productivity-enhancing technologies among developing country farmers, personalised or site-specific extension approaches are gaining attention. Focusing on the case of the plant clinic extension model which provides personalised crop protection services to smallholder farmers, we investigate to what extent and how accurately farmers adopt personalised extension advice, and the implications for agricultural productivity. We combine a unique database of personalised integrated pest management (IPM) recommendations provided to 420 plant clinic attendees in Zambia with survey data on the actual IPM practices implemented by these same clinic attendees. We find that more than 80% of the sample farmers deviated from the personalised IPM recommendations they received from plant clinics. Based on the degree of deviation from the personalised recommendations, we identify five categories of adopters of IPM practices and show their heterogeneous effects on maize productivity. For example, our multi-valued treatment effect estimates suggest an 82% yield penalty for non-adopters compared to full adopters of recommended IPM practices, while the yield gain for full adopters is more than double that of partial adopters, as well as that of those who adopted additional practices beyond what was recommended. Our findings have important implications for the promotion of personalised extension services and for the measurement of the impact of complex agricultural technologies.
... Training Women extension workers in ICT could help fill the extension gaps between men and women in our societies. Lahai et al. (2000) documented that women farmers who were visited by female extension workers in Nigeria participated more in extension programmes and adopted new technologies than women who received extension advisory services from males. Female extension workers who receive regular ICT training with their male counterparts are likely to perform better than their male colleagues. ...
In recent years, the agricultural industry has been experiencing an ever-increasing application of information and communication technologies globally. This new revolution has been touted to impact efficiency and productivity in the agricultural extension services within the agriculture sector. Notwithstanding this, empirical researches need to be carried out amongst its users in the sector to ascertain these assertions. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) among agricultural extension workers and its implications on extension service delivery. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 153 field extension workers, and a structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data obtained were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics software version 22. The study revealed that agricultural extension officers use ICT for personal communication, but not mainly for extension activities. It was recommended that the agricultural extension services provide intensive ICT training for the agricultural extension workers to enhance ICT incorporation into extension advisory service.
... The society believed that factors like lack of security, unconducive rural environment to drive cars, jeeps, motorcycles; hire male drivers; ride bicycles for attending extension meetings by women were the main constraints which hindered their involvement in extension as clients or extension service providers. Therefore they were forbidden to work as extension workers (FAO, 2002 andLahai et al., 2000). However, there were some projects which provided needed facilities and hired female extension staff for a limited period of time (Farooq et al., 2000). ...
Since early years of the 20 th century, feminism has built a body of theory and in recent decades' women empowerment has been suggested as a mechanism to improve the quality of women's work as well as their personal lives. The empowerment of women is an essential precondition for the elimination of world poverty and the upholding of human rights. Women are about half of the population of Pakistan, they are active participants in every walk of life. But women participation as extension workers was discouraged in agriculture sector, extension wing due to field work nature of this job as it was considered as male oriented job only. Later on, during the last years of the first decade of this century the hiring of female extension workers by the Department of Agriculture (Extension and Adaptive Research) Government of the Punjab, Pakistan become a possibility. The study was conducted at Institute of Agri. Extension and Rural Development, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan during 2018-19. All the female agriculture officials working in agriculture extension, livestock and poultry sectors were the population of the study. In first step through proportionate stratified sampling technique 49 respondents from agriculture extension, 64 from livestock and 17 respondents from poultry sector were taken forming a sample size of 130 respondents. In second step, the respondents were randomly selected from each stratum. The data were collected from selected respondents through pre-tested interview schedule. The quantitative data and qualitative data were analyzed, and the data revealed that most of the respondents belonged to middle age group having master's degree and 1-3-year experience, half of the respondents were married with non-farming background. The major social constraints faced by the respondents in the field were identified as: male dominance, non-acceptance (unrecognition) as working lady, family responsibilities and harassment issues.
... He concluded (a) Academic achievement of students was not related to the attitude towards extension education and (b) In early stages, more favourable attitude towards extension education was observed in students. Lahaia et al. (1999) study shows that women farmers, who are supervised by female agents have more access to extension services than women farmers who work with male agents. Specifically, women farmers, who had females for extension agents had relatively higher levels of awareness and participation of the extension activities organised. ...
The aim of the present research was to study Attitude towards Extension Education among students of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. The sample of the study was 200 students of the College of Agriculture, Punjab Agriculture University. A five-point Likert type scale was used for data collection. No significant difference was found in respect to gender, locale and, landholding status. It was recommended that Extension Education activities should be initiated by the institutions right from the time of advertisement for admissions. Government officials can encourage extension workers to work in rural and remote areas by sharing resources and information. NGOs can take the help of extension workers for the implementation of their plans and policies.
... He concluded (a) Academic achievement of students was not related to the attitude towards extension education and (b) In early stages, more favourable attitude towards extension education was observed in students. Lahaia et al. (1999) study shows that women farmers, who are supervised by female agents have more access to extension services than women farmers who work with male agents. Specifically, women farmers, who had females for extension agents had relatively higher levels of awareness and participation of the extension activities organised. ...
The aim of present research was to study the Attitude towards Extension Education among students
of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. The sample of the study was 200 students of College of
Agriculture, Punjab Agriculture University. A five point Likert type scale was used for data collection. No
significant difference was found in respect to gender, locale and landholding status. It was recommended
that Extension Education activities should be initiated by the institutions right from the time of advertisement
for admissions. Government's officials can encourage extension workers to work in rural and remote areas by
sharing resources and information. NGOs can take the help of extension workers for the implementation of
their plans and policies.
... Parmi ceux-ci, Hoang et al. (2006) évoquent au Vietnam des considérations ethniques, de genre ou de statut social, qui définissent la place de l'individu dans les réseaux sociaux et sa réelle possibilité d'accéder au conseil. Plus particulièrement, la question du genre est centrale dans de nombreux pays et a été relevée par certains auteurs qui montrent les difficultés rencontrées par les femmes pour accéder au conseil, par exemple au Pakistan (Saima et al., 2005) ou au Nigeria (Lahai et al., 1999). Mayotte est fortement concernée par cette question du genre puisque, d'après le RA 2010, 52 % des exploitations sont dirigées par des femmes. ...
Le conseil en agriculture est perçu par les acteurs du développement agricole comme étant important pour l’amélioration des performances des exploitations. Cependant, seules certaines catégories d’exploitation accèdent au conseil que ce soit dans les pays du Sud ou dans ceux du Nord où dominent les petites exploitations familiales. L’objectif de l’article est de caractériser les déterminants de l’accès au conseil des petites exploitations dans les départements d’outre-mer français en abordant le cas de Mayotte. Des enquêtes auprès d’exploitations et des entretiens avec des organisations de conseil ont permis d’analyser l’offre et la demande de conseil. Les résultats montrent que la majorité des agriculteurs sont des pluriactifs demandeurs de conseils variés pour des systèmes de production diversifiés. Par contre, l’offre de conseil est principalement destinée à un public restreint, orientée vers la modernisation des systèmes de production et centrée sur l’amélioration des techniques agricoles. Pour améliorer l’accès au conseil, il est nécessaire d’améliorer la capacité de toutes les catégories d’exploitation à participer à la gouvernance du système de conseil et de promouvoir progressivement des méthodes de conseil prenant plus en compte la globalité de l’exploitation. Les conclusions tirées de cette étude peuvent être utiles dans des situations similaires, que ce soient des départements d’outre-mer français ou des régions où les petites exploitations pluriactives sont dominantes.
... More number of trained female extension workers is needed for extension intervention at individual farm women level. Lahai et al. (1999) found that women farmers, who are supervised by female agents, have more access to extension services than women farmers who work with male agents. Therefore, as an entry point for intervention, women's organizations in the intervention area should be strengthened and sensitized on recycling and using FVWs. ...
To overcome malnutrition and hunger, people need to be fed well, for which they need required quantities of animal source foods (ASFs) like milk, meat, fish and eggs. This is often difficult, due to feed and fodder scarcity especially in developing countries like India. The scarcity is more acute in landless animal and poultry production. Studies indicate potential of using fruit and vegetable wastes (FVWs) as feed, citing its nutritional value. On the other hand, FVWs are a burden and threat to environment. Unexplored areas of FVW research need to be studied for neutralizing threat by processing and recycling FVWs into animal and poultry feed. This paper gives an overview of the potential of FVWs as animal and poultry feed. Also, it describes the way forward and strategies to confront the constraints and challenges, highlights social marketing on waste disposal with special reference to FVWs and emphasizes collaborative involvement of stakeholders involved in fruit and vegetable value chain. As animals and poultry do directly and indirectly contribute to many of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), farmers and stakeholders of fruit and vegetable value chain need to be intervened with strategic extension and research initiatives to propagate and utilize the potential of FVWs as animal and poultry feed.
... Furthermore, only 7% of extension agents are female (Juma 2015). The importance of female extension agents working with women is underscored by a study in Nigeria that found women farmers served by female extension agents had higher participation in extension services, greater knowledge gained, and higher adoption of recommended practices than did women served by male extension personnel (Lahai et al. 1999). ...
The world’s population is expected to grow by over 30% by 2050, putting tremendous strain on agriculture to produce the estimated additional one billion tons of cereal grains and 200 million tons of meat to feed that population. Most of the population growth will occur in Africa and Asia where the majority of smallholder farms are located. Commercialization of smallholder farms can lead to increased productivity. Producer identified constraints to commercialization include infrastructure, poor knowledge of market prices, limited access to banking services and loan opportunities, and poor extension services, among others. To overcome these constraints will take actions by various sectors. Producer must become more market oriented and take advantage of current technologies to improve production. Government organizations should develop ways to build farmer capacity in market and production activities. Research institutes and universities must conduct research to drive innovation, help farmers to apply technologies, and develop means to enhance producer knowledge. Making loans and banking services available to farmers is a main role of the private sector. The private sector can also partner with producers on marketing and market access.
... The result is contrary to most reports where the males were dominated (Brummett et al., 2010;Adeoye et al., 2012;Olaoye et al., 2013). However, it is in line with Lahai et al. (2000) who suggested that women participated more than men in most farming activities. Total 6 100 17 100 10 100 4 100 3 100 10 100 50 100 ...
The study of the socioeconomic characteristics of any group is a requirement to a successful implementation of effective government assisted programme. The study examined the socioeconomic characteristics, production processes and production constraints of small-scale catfish fishing enterprises in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Simple randomized sampling technique was used to select 60 small-scale catfish farming enterprises. Structure questionnaires were used to collect primary data from the respondents. The collected information were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. The results showed that majority of the farmers were females (58%), married (74%), within the age group (31-40 years), Christians (92%), Igbo tribe (22%), and had university degree (58%) with household size (6-10). Majority have fish farming as primary occupation (32%), 1-5 years of experience, non-members of association (83%) and chose fish farming for profit maximization (50%). Based on this study, different aquaculture production systems were identified at the study area such as concrete tanks (34%), plastics tanks (20%), concrete+plastic (20%), earthen ponds (12%), earthen+concrete (8%), and earthen+plastics (6%). Respondents purchased land (66%), kept record (52%), used imported feed (52%), flow-through techniques (88%), monoculture as culture system (66%), stocked Clarias gariepinus (88%), borehole as water source (96%), procured fingerlings from private farms (84%) and personal savings as source of funding (86%). Some of the constraints like lack of extension service (76%), disease outbreak (52%), lack of capital (44%), lack of electricity (38%), preservation and processing (18%), lack of skilled human labour (10%), and lack of government assisted programmes (0%) were faced. In conclusion, catfish farming promises to improve in the area if there is adequate government assistance.
... A significant body of academic literature addressing questions of small-scale producer farming in agribusiness reinforces this view, especially in regard to less developed economies. For example, from the natural resource management perspective it is recognized that state-funded extension services will organise technology transfer in a top-down manner (Darr and Pretzsch, 2008;Lahai et al., 1999). Driving these practices is a set of regulations handed down by large buyer firms or national scientific consortiums designed to meet standards of quality that reflect narrow codified protocols. ...
This paper discusses how network theory and social capital can help explain different patterns of inclusion of small and medium sized producers in agri-food clusters. We make the argument that despite the centralized nature of practices, the manner in which inclusion takes place can vary significantly depending on structural features of local networks and governance factors, especially social capital and the role of lead organisations. Social network analysis allows us to investigate how different patterns of bonding, bridging and centrality of key actors in agricultural clusters can influence diffusion of knowledge. We frame this discussion through a typology that allows us to identify diverse scenarios of inclusion of small producers. This is then used to guide an empirical analysis of two agri-food clusters of small producers in Peru (mango) and Colombia (palm oil). Judicious use of mixed methods and the typology can prove useful to explain diverse patterns of inclusion which have important implications for small-scale agricultural producers.
... For objective 3, the perceived level of importance and self-rated level of competency for core competencies are the dependent variables. The existing literature (Brodeur, Higgins, Galindo-Gonzalez, Craig, & Haile, 2011;Eicher, 2006;Ghimire & Martin, 2011;Lahai, Goldey, & Jones, 1999;Lopokoiyit, Onyango, & Kibett, 2013;Okwoche et al., 2011;McClure, Fuhrman, & Morgan, 2012) was used as the basis for selecting the explanatory variables. Though the literature suggests that the core competencies of EPs differ by those demographic traits listed above, there is no agreement on how they differ. ...
This study examines the level of and gaps in core competencies among agricultural extension professionals in Nepal. The study population was composed of agricultural extension professionals in governmental extension offices and agriculture-based, non-governmental organizations. During August-September 2015, 349 extension professionals completed selfadministered surveys. The design for the data collection instrument was based on a literature review and on focus group recommendations. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that respondents perceived themselves to be moderately competent in extension core competencies -- program planning, program implementation, communication skills, educational and informational technology, program evaluation, personal and professional development, diversity, and technical subject matter expertise. Respondents’ perceived levels of competency differed by their current position, undergraduate college attended, and level of education, although not much by their age and experience in extension. Office chiefs and foreign-educated respondents perceived themselves as having higher levels of competency than their counterparts -- subject matter specialists and technical officers, and in-country-educated professionals. The perceived levels of the importance of all core competencies were significantly higher than the professionals’ perceived levels of their own competency, indicating gaps in extension core competencies among Nepalese extension professionals. The findings imply that that there is a need for in-service training of extension professionals in all core competency areas. Preservice extension education curricula need to be reviewed and updated, incorporating the core competencies highlighted in this study.
... Furthermore, Lahai, Goldey, and Jones (1999) show that female extension agents are important in improving access to extension services for women farmers; that is, women farmers who were supervised by female extension agents had more access to extension services than women farmers who worked with male agents. They also found that women farmers with females as extension agents had relatively higher levels of awareness and participation in extension activities, higher adoption of and technical knowledge of recommended technologies and practices, and satisfaction with the quality of agents' services and credibility. ...
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 the effect of socioeconomic factors on the use of this technology and its impact on extension service delivery as well as to assess the challenges faced by extension officers adopting this technology in Kenya.
Design/methodology/approach: Randomized survey data were collected through structured questionnaires in May 2013, March 2015, and November 2015 from 60 participants. STATA was used for descriptive and multivariate analysis.
Findings: Extension officers using the CRS SMART skills and Farmbook technology worked with significantly higher numbers of farmer groups than officers in the control group. Socioeconomic factors like gender, age, and education had an impact on the use of the technology and on extension service delivery. Absent farm records, low farmer literacy, software malfunction, and insufficient technical support were listed as some challenges faced in using the technology.
Practical implications: There is a need for government investment to improve extension service delivery with supplementary ICTs.
Theoretical implications: This study sheds more light on the important role of ICTs in agricultural extension service delivery, particularly extension officers’ experiences with ICTs.
Originality/Value: Farmbook is a novel ICT tool for agricultural extension developed by CRS and was field tested in East Africa in collaboration with University of Illinois’ Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services (MEAS) program. This technology has great potential in improving extension delivery.
... Rivera and Corning (1990) argued that extension is an important vehicle for integrating women into official development efforts throughout the world and for empowering them as human beings. Lahai et al. (2000) observed that women farmers, who are supervised by female agents, have more access to extension services than women who work with male agents. Gillespie et al. (2000) supported that community workshops are particularly important in establishing trust. ...
The start of food self-security programme in Sierra Leone since 2002, government and her donors have contracted several implementing partners, such as NGOs. But the roles of NGOs have often come under scrutiny despite their pronouncements of reaching the rural need more than any other institution including government and their numerous agencies. Beneficiaries' participation in developmental programmes like NGO-led food security programmes is an important component for successful implementations. This study investigated the level of beneficiaries' participation and identified problems they envisaged in their involvement in NGO-led food security programmes in Bo district, Southern Sierra Leone. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The sampling procedure was a combination of purposive, stratified and simple random sampling. Questionnaire comprising of four sections with three to four scales was employed to collect data from 120 (80 farmers and 40 NGO Officers) from 40 communities and three NGOs –WVSL, CARE, and BPDA/GTZ in Boama Chiefdom, Bo District. The findings of the research revealed that there are more men(60.0%) than women(40.0%) participating in NGO-led programmes, 25.0%, highly participated in pre-project and planning stages, 50.0% in implementation and 33.3% in monitoring and evaluation stages. It further revealed too much bureaucracy (74.7%) in taking actions, and misappropriation of funds (50.0%). It is concluded that though NGOs involved beneficiaries in some project implementation stages, women forks were neglected; and funds misappropriated. It was therefore suggested that in future, more women be encouraged to participate in NGO-led programmes as they perform most domestic and farm activities in rural settings. Finally, NGOs should either give special community development trainings to their extension agents or recruit trained and qualified extension agents that display high degree of honesty, commitment to work, and having communication skills that connect effectively with adults.
... A recent FAO survey showed that female farmers receive only five percent of all agricultural extension services worldwide and that only 15% of the world's extension agents are women (FAO, 2004). Women farmers in Nigeria were more satisfied with the quality of the services delivered by female than by male extension agents (Lahai et al., 2000). That more women should be recruited by service providers is well known, but often social, cultural or institutional barriers have hampered this. ...
... Education is an important factor which can influence farm productivity and determine farmer's access to loan and repayment, level of education according to the study showed that 33.3% of the respondents had no form of education. This is in line with the general opinion that most farmers are illiterates or semiilliterates; most of whom have dropped out of the formal school system, as evidence from the studies of Lahai et al.( 2000) and Delgado et al.(2003). ...
This study was conducted to evaluate the productivity, profitability and level of technology of artisanal women in small scale fishing enterprises in Ogun Waterside Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. A well-structured interview guide was used to collect primary data from one hundred and twenty respondents from five fishing communities (Iwopin, Idaleketa, Makun-omi, Agbalegiyo and Ode-Omi) based on their fishing activities. The information collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that (74.2%) were in the active age distribution of 30-50 years, 33.3% have no formal education while 45.0% were in the bracket of 21-30 years fishing experience, 83.3% of the respondents were married and 91.7% were not members of any fishery society. The result also showed a gross margin of N29,989.44 and a net income of N2,431.93 which could be attributed to their performance. There was a significant relationship between constraints faced by the fisher women and the size of the business. Implications of these findings were critically examined, and pertinent recommendations were proffered based on the salient findings in the study.
... This shows that male farmers had better frequency of contact with extension agents than the female farmers. Lahai et al. (2000) have found a direct relationship between farmers" frequency of contact with extension agents and their levels of participation in extension. In their view, frequent contact of farmers with extension agents helps them to internalize well the extension education they receive as issues can be clarified whenever the contact occurs. ...
This study examined farmers’ perception of their level of participation in Public Agricultural Extension Service (PAES) in Soddo-zuria Woreda in Southern Ethiopia vis-à-vis seven selected farmers’ characteristics; namely, sex, age, educational status, wealth status, farming experience, experience with extension and frequency of contact with extension agents. For this study, 225 farmers were randomly selected and interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire. The study showed that farmers in Soddo-zuria Woreda perceived their level of participation to be low, and had significant correlation with sex, educational status, wealth status and frequency of contact with extension agents. Female, illiterate and poor farmers’ perception of participation in the PAES was found to be lower than their male, literate and resource-rich counterparts. In a regression analysis, sex, educational status and wealth status explained 42.2% of the variance in farmers’ perceived level of participation in the PAES, with educational status alone contributing about 35%. To enhance farmers’ participation in the PAES, the Soddo-zuria Woreda Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development need to properly mainstream gender, combine pro-poor development strategies and integrate literacy programmes into the routine extension activities.
... Parmi ceux-ci, Hoang et al. (2006) évoquent au Vietnam des considérations ethniques, de genre ou de statut social, qui définissent la place de l'individu dans les réseaux sociaux et sa réelle possibilité d'accéder au conseil. Plus particulièrement, la question du genre est centrale dans de nombreux pays et a été relevée par certains auteurs qui montrent les difficultés rencontrées par les femmes pour accéder au conseil, par exemple au Pakistan (Saima et al., 2005) ou au Nigeria (Lahai et al., 1999). Mayotte est fortement concernée par cette question du genre puisque, d'après le RA 2010, 52 % des exploitations sont dirigées par des femmes. ...
Agricultural advisory services are perceived by stakeholders as essential to improve farms' performance. However, in both Southern and Northern countries, only some categories of farmers have access to advice. The objective of the article is to characterize the determinants of access to advice for small farms in the French overseas departments, especially in Mayotte. Based on surveys of farms and interviews with advisory organizations, supply and demand for advice were analyzed. The results show that the majority of farmers are part-time farmers seeking advice for diversified production systems. The advice supply, however, is primarily directed at a small audience, focusing on modernizing farming systems and improving agricultural practices. To improve access to advice it would be necessary to improve the ability of all types of farmers to participate in the governance of the advisory system and to progressively promote advisory methods that take the whole farm into consideration. The findings of this study may be useful in similar situations, in French overseas departments and in regions where small family farms are dominant.
... The ratio of the male to female crop farmers in this study was found to be 78:27. This is, however, against gender studies which seem to suggest that women participate more than men in most farming activities [17]. ...
... The gender issue is particularly critical in developing countries and is addressed by numerous authors who demonstrate the difficulties encountered by women in obtaining advisory services (e.g. Saima et al. (2005) in Pakistan, Lahai et al. (1999) in Nigeria). Finally, serious questions emerge on the capacity of advisory systems to reach a significant portion of producers and therefore to have an impact on the development of a territory or of a value chain. ...
... Most extension agents in developing countries are men, and multiple institutional and organizational bottlenecks exist in training rural women (Jiggins, Samanta, & Olawoye, 1997;Lahai, Goldey, & Jones, 2000). Although the use of radio and video has changed in response to new approaches to development, Norrish (1998) pointed to the danger of creating new exclusion zones, mainly affecting women and children. ...
LEARNER-CENTERED VIDEOS can contribute to institutional innova-tions and social inclusion of the poor. From 1999 to 2002 in the Seed Health Improvement Project, women in rural Bangladesh received hands-on training to improve their seed management. Rice yields increased by 5–15%. The sub-sequent farmer-to-farmer extension reached 13,000 farmers by the end of 2004.
Women in agriculture have historically been constrained by the complex interplay of societal norms, culture, and economic factors. Motivating women as farm managers is crucial for their livelihoods and food security. This research addresses the persistently low representation of female farm managers and explores the motivating factors that could enhance the participation and productivity of existing female farm managers, while also inspiring younger women. A total of 154 female farmers engaged in crop production, fish farming , and livestock management, were interviewed using struc-tured questionnaires. Motivating factors were examined using the Likert scale, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Principal Component Regression (PCR) to identify significant influences on farm scale. The results indicated that female farmers were more intrinsically motivated than externally. From 20 motivational statements, the PCA identified six principal components: sociability, family and community support, subsistence, recognition, government programs, and association support. The PCR results confirmed that age, education, and sociability were significant and positively motivating factors , while off-farm jobs, subsistence systems, and farmers' associations had negative influences. The research advocates for community-based agricultural training programs that emphasize the intrinsic motivation of women. Furthermore, crop and livestock farmers require targeted interventions in capital and pest-disease management techniques, while fish farmers need improved access to inputs.
Aflatoxins are hepatotoxins that can cause liver cancer, suppress immunity and impede normal development in children as antinutritional compounds. Women play significant roles in post-harvest activities and food preparation for their families. Therefore, awareness of aflatoxins and their mitigation across different demographic groups is important. Aflatoxin awareness studies in Kudan, Lere (Kaduna State), Kibiya and Doguwa (Kano State) local government areas (LGAs), Nigeria, were conducted to assess women’s level of knowledge of aflatoxins and aflatoxin management practices, including the use of Aflasafe® as pre-harvest for biological control of aflatoxins and the use of hermetic Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags for post-harvest control. The awareness levels of aflatoxins and aflatoxin management practices among women were low, ranging from 0% to 26%. Women reported the re-introduction of rinsed discolored and insect-damaged grains for meal preparation. Meals prepared for weaning children, lactating mothers the convalescing and elderly frequently include maize. Grain samples provided by the women were analyzed, and 82% of the samples contained aflatoxin above 4 ppb, which is the regulatory limit for Nigeria. Food safety along the value chain from production to consumption is critical, and it is important to strategically include women during sensitization efforts, because of their importance in food handling and preparation.
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between farmers' characteristics and their access to agricultural extension services from multiple sources. The researchers collected cross-sectional data from a sample of 384 rice-farming households and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and a binary Probit regression model. The result showed that age of the household, rice farming experience, plot number, cultivated rice land, dependency ratio, and crop diversification are drivers of receiving agricultural extension service. The study also explored the factors that drive farmers' choice of service providers for agricultural extension at the household level. The findings indicate that factors such as sex, education level, household size, dependency ratio, oxen number, crop income, and cultivated rice land are the main drivers of farmers' selection of service providers. This implies that farmers' socio-economic characteristics influence their choice of extension service providers. Given the current emphasis on demand-driven agricultural extension services, the findings of this study are particularly relevant. It is suggested that for better effectiveness of agricultural extension, it would be practical for providers of extension services to target a certain type of farmer that they can best serve.
Bu araştırmada Samsun ilindeki tarım danışmanlarının karşılaştıkları sorunlar ele alınmaktadır. Bu doğrultuda Samsun ilinde görev yapan 51 tarım danışmanı ile anket yapılarak, ele alınan tarım danışmanlarına ait bilgiler ve yaşadıkları sorunlar tespit edilmiştir. Araştırmanın sonuçları, Samsun ilindeki tarım danışmanlarının genç, eğitimli ve iletişim becerilerine önem veren bir grup olduğunu ve düzenli olarak kendilerini geliştirdiklerini göstermektedir. Araştırma aynı zamanda tarım danışmanlarının yaşadıkları sorunları da ortaya koymaktadır. Bu sorunlar arasında tarım danışmanlığı sisteminin yeterince kurumsallaşmamış olması, hukuki düzenlemelerin eksikliği ve görev-yetki belirsizlikleri gibi önemli konular yer almaktadır. Ayrıca çiftçilerin danışmanlık hizmetlerine olan talebinin düşük olması ve kamu kuruluşları arasındaki koordinasyon eksiklikleri de sektörün sorunları arasında yer almaktadır. Bu bağlamda, tarım danışmanları için düzenli hizmet içi eğitim sağlanmalıdır. Tarım danışmanlarının saha çalışmalarını daha etkin bir şekilde sağlamak için teknolojik araçlardan yararlanılabilir. Tarım danışmanlarının çalışma usul ve esaslarını belirleyen yasal düzenlemeler daha açık ve net hale getirilebilir. Çiftçi bilinçlendirme çalışmaları ve aynı zamanda tarım danışmanlarının saha faaliyetlerini sürdürülebilmeleri için finansman kaynaklarının önceden planlanması ve güvence altına alınması önemlidir.
Evaluating the Cebu of Technological University-Moalboal Campus' Paglambo Sa Kabatan-onan: World Vision Birthday Bounce Back Celebration Extension Project is essential in determining its impact on the community. This extension project encapsulates the different components such as the Financial Literacy (Savings), HIV/AIDS Awareness, Spiritual Nurture and Value Formation, and lastly, the Child Rights, Protection and Well-Being. There were 229 respondents who were randomly chosen to participate in the study. In the utilization of the university assessment questionnaire and validated evaluation instrument with a good Cronbach's Alpha per component, the researchers elicited data for analysis to deduce significant insights in understanding the effect of the extension project. Triangulation Design Mixed Method was employed in this study with Descriptive Analysis in treating the data (numbers) and Basic Qualitative Analysis in interpreting the data(words). Results revealed that the extension project (3.64) with the components: Financial Literacy (3.62), HIV/AIDS Awareness (3.59), Spiritual Nurture and Value Formation (3.63), and the Child Rights, Protection and Well-Being (3.70) exemplified a very positive response among the respondents. The overall comments concluded 3 themes such as (1) meaningful learning experiences, (2) engaging activities, and (3) grateful hearts for the experiences. It is recommended that this extension project may be sustained, have wider participation, and invite more stakeholders for its greater impact on the community.
Abstract
Nigeria is still predominantly an agrarian society; the agricultural sector employs around
40% of the entire labour force. Over the last four decades in a bid to enhance agricultural
production, various agricultural policies and programmes have been introduced by the
government. Based on conventional agricultural techniques these policies have done
little to support smallholder farmers and have resulted in negative environmental
impacts. Despite all these efforts, Nigeria remains a food deficit nation and a net importer
of agricultural produce. Increasing global food and environmental crises, particularly in
Africa, have created renewed interest in the viability of alternative approaches to
agriculture and food systems such as agroecology for ameliorating these issues. This
study had three broad aims: 1) to understand how agroecology is practised and
understood in Nigeria; 2) to evaluate the opportunities for wider adoption of
agroecological techniques; and 3) to understand the challenges to transitioning from the
current conventional farming system to a more agroecological approach. From these
aims, five objectives were developed, and these were addressed using a variety of
qualitative methods. This study adopted an inductive approach which incorporates
participatory action and design science research. A theoretical framework provides the
rationale for the study and justification for the methods chosen as this project intersects
at different research fields. Qualitative methods were successfully utilised for data
collection and analysis, these included focus groups, semi-structured interviews and
thematic analysis. The fieldwork research activities took place in Imo and Abia states, in
south-east Nigeria. In total, 70 participants took part in the study, this comprised of 40
farmers, 20 extension personnel and 10 agricultural university lecturers, purposively and
randomly selected. The farmers interviewed in this study were not familiar with the term
agroecology although they understood what organic agriculture was and were concerned
about the impact of conventional practices on their environment. Further work is needed
to determine if this is replicated in other regions of Nigeria. The examination of the
existing agricultural knowledge exchange systems (AKIS) in Nigeria identified two clear
strands, a top-down formal system determined by government policy and facilitated by
the extension services and a bottom-up, informal system of peer-to-peer knowledge
exchange between farmers. Currently, information on agricultural techniques and
innovation is provided to farmers through the extension services. A key organisation is
the National Extension and Advisory Liaison Service [NEARLS]. Interviews with
NEARLS personnel revealed that government agricultural policy was based solely on
intensive or conventional farming techniques and there was no expertise within the
vi
organisation on agroecology. As the top-down information AKIS is driven by government
policy, this is difficult to influence and change in the short-term. Therefore, this study
explored potential options to facilitate a bottom-up approach to agroecological transition.
Peer-to-peer knowledge exchange is a key aspect of this approach and mobile
applications (m-apps) could be used to facilitate this. A scoping review of currently
available m-apps in Nigeria, revealed none which support agroecology. The
SmartAgroeocology m-app was developed and demonstrated to farmers and extension
agents, feedback from participants was positive. In conclusion, this study found that
farmers are concerned about the negative impacts of the conventional techniques they
use, and they are interested in adopting agroecological practices although they need
support to do this. Currently formal support is provided by the extension services, but
this is based on government policy which does not include agroecology. This top-down
approach therefore does not currently support transition towards agroecological
systems. Encouraging farmers to support each other and facilitate peer-to-peer
knowledge exchange using mobile technology could instead facilitate a bottom-up
approach to agroecological transition. In this study in southeast Nigeria, the potential of
this was demonstrated by the SmartAgroecology app. The farmers in this study were
very positive about its potential but further work is needed to determine whether these
findings are representative of farmers in Nigeria.
Keywords: agroecological systems, transition challenges and opportunities, interactive
knowledge exchange.
Agricultural advisory, a learning and decision-making approach, is an important part of the agricultural policies in Sub-saharan Africa. This study aims to analyse the agricultural advisory service provided by comparing the organizational framework and implementation strategies with the realities observed in practice. Using simple random sampling method, 6 groups of 30 farmers from 6 different villages and 30 agricultural advisers were selected in the south of Benin, “Atlantique” department. Data were collected through focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using an analytical framework integrating the institutional and social environment as well as the various modalities used for the provision of agricultural advice. Results highlighted four main categories of factors limiting farmers’ access to agricultural advisory service: (i) agricultural advisory service-oriented towards large farms; (ii) individualized and overly specialized advice; (iii) limited number and unskilled agricultural advisers; and (iv) a “gendarme” monitoring and evaluation system little oriented towards the quality of the advice. This critical analysis of the implementation of the agricultural advice service offers some guidelines for strengthening agricultural innovation systems.
The role of female farmers has increased in recent years to supplement family income in many rural households. This research involved female farmers engaged in processing kai algae in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand studied by the population parameters technique. An interview schedule with open-ended and closed questions and descriptive statistics were used. The responses were scored on a five point Likert’s scale ranging from ‘very strongly agree (5)’ to ‘very strongly disagree (1)’ in order to assess the level of participation among respondents. Results of this study revealed that female farmers were mostly between 51 and 60 years old (33.2%), and most of them were members of the locally organized kai algal processing group (86.6%) of the village. Their educational attainment was low with 60.0% of respondents completing primary education and comprising a family of 3 to 4 members. Monthly income for most of them (43.3%) ranged between 5001 and 10,000 Thai Baht (100 THB = 2.83 US$). The participation of female farmers in group activities got established strongly within five areas, namely: 1) planning process (budget planning, mean = 4.27); 2) group production and implementation process (all production responsibility, mean = 4.47), 3) group activities evaluation process (group activities’ suggestion and improvement for the management, mean = 4.34); 4) selling activities (booth set up and exhibition, mean = 4.40); and 5) benefit distribution (benefit management for group member, mean = 4.53). The respondents indicated that the raw material was insufficient for the whole year production due to the highly seasonal nature of the algae. Moreover, the group needed more logistic and financial support for marketing and promotion both inside and outside the province.
The participation and contribution of agricultural extension can be the most useful approaches to ensure greater dissemination and sustainability of gains for the Thai farmers. The objectives of this study therefore were to ascertain farmers’ participation and involvement of agricultural extension programs, to identify some factors affecting farmers’ participation of extension program, and also to clarify constrains toward the prevention farmers’ involvement and association toward agricultural extension programs and services. The data were collected from 190 farmers household in Surin province, northeast Thailand. The semi-questionnaire structures were used as tools for data collection. One way ANOVA is used for analysis the statistic. The results coming from this study showed that the farmers had the neutral pagination level of the participation. Moreover, some socio-economic data of farmers merely educational level is significantly influenced reasons toward their participation. The main obstacles among farmers observed in this survey include lack of leaders/representatives for farming group activities of the participation. This study also suggested that agricultural mobility service should meet farmers often in order to motivate more famer’s participation in extension activities and get more information and knowledge.
Local ecological knowledge of shrimpers operating along the River Nun Estuary was assessed between Septembers 2013and March 2014. A total of 390 shrimpers are operate in the study area shrimpers out of which 221 were selected as informants based on 10 years of experience and above. Knowledge of the informants was recorded through the application of semi-structured interviews with the aim of investigating the local ecological knowledge of expert shrimpers in respect to morphology, distribution, feeding, reproduction and conservation of the Palemon shrimp. Through the analysis of shrimper's local ecological knowledge, several aspects of the life history of the shrimp were registered. The detailed local ecological knowledge of these experienced shrimpers compared favourably with scientific knowledge. Though the shrimpers were not able to identify the different species of the Palaemon shrimps found in the area, their information on the spawning and recruitment agreed with established scientific studies in the area. In areas where data and resources are lacking, local ecological knowledge becomes relevant for obtaining knowledge along the entire coast. Local Ecological Knowledge could be applied to guide management actions and a source of critical knowledge in areas in which the costs to carry out scientific studies is very high.
Ziel der Studie ist, zum besseren Verständnis und zum politischen Diskurs hinsichtlich der Reform des ländlichen Dienstleistungssektors in Uganda beizutragen. Sechs Aufsätze zeigen, wie Reformen im genossenschaftlichen Vermarktungsbereich und innerhalb der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung den Aufbau ländlicher Dienstleistungen unterstützen können, um zur Armutsbekämpfung in Uganda beizutragen. Paper 1 analysiert, warum in manchen Gemeinden ein größeres Angebot an Dienstleistungen zur Reduzierung der Armut beigetragen hat, während dies in anderen Gemeinden nicht erreicht werden konnte. Fallbeispiele zeigen, dass (1) der Zugang zu komplementären Dienstleistungen ländliche Lebensgrundlagen verbessern kann, (2) ein hoher Anteil kommunaler Dienstleistungen teilweise durch kollektive Anstrengungen, Selbsthilfe und Partizipation ersetzt werden kann, und dass (3) öffentl. Ordnung, Sicherheit und Eigentumsrechte unentbehrliche Voraussetzungen zur Verbesserung ländlicher Lebensbedingungen und zur Verbesserung ländlicher Dienstleistungsangebote sind. Paper 2 ist eine Literaturstudie über den Zusammenhang zur genossenschaftlichen Organisation und Armutsbekämpfung. Paper 3 untersucht die Bestimmungsgründe für Resilienz und Untergang des ehemaligen Genossenschaftssystems. Paper 4 analysiert den Wandel des Genossenschaftssystems anhand struktureller Unterschiede zwischen dem alten und neuen System. Fazit: Das ‚Revival des Genossenschaftsgedankens‘ war begleitet von der Implementierung neuer Institutionen, Verbesserung der Fortbildung und Ausweitung politischer Unabhängigkeit sowie finanziell tragfähiger Genossenschaften. Paper 5 u. 6 untersuchen den Beitrag einer der bedeutendsten politischen Reformen im ländlichen Raum des heutigen Ugandas: die Dezentralisierung des Angebotes landwirtschaftlicher Dienstleistungen. Fazit: Die weit verbreitete Einflussnahme auf den politischen Meinungsbildungsprozess schwächt das gute Image des National Agricultural Advisory Services.
This paper assessed the constraints of women in fish processing and accessibility to extension activities in Lagos State, Nigeria. The study examined the personal characteristics of the women in fish processing; investigated the approach through which the improved technologies are transferred to the women in fish processing; determined packages of the improved technologies; and determined the benefits derived by the women in fish processing from the use of the improved technologies. The study was conducted in eight purposively selected villages out of the fifty fishing villages in Lagos state. Structured interview schedule was administered on two hundred and eight women in fish processing selected through the simple random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics like frequency counts, percentages, and charts were used to analyse the data. Chi-square and correlation analysis inferential statistics were used to determine the association among some variables. The results indicated that majority of the women in fish processing (76.1%) were between the age range 21-50 years. Most (90%) of the women in fish processing had one form of education or the other. Most of the women (90.4%) were married with 56.94 percent having family size of an average of five persons. All the respondents were members of social associations, with 30.14 percent holding offices in the various associations. Only 45% had contact with extension agents. Majority of the women had been in the enterprise for more than five years, while 50.72 percent of the women were in low socio-economic status. Constraints perceived as impediments by the women include lack of electricity (96.65%), non availability of improved oven (77.03%), and lack of training on financial management and loan acquisition (77.03%). Other constraints were lack of transportation facilities (66.51%), non availability of extension agents (65.07%), lack of adequate capital (61.24%) high cost of inputs (49.76%) and inadequate fish landing (25.36%). Hypotheses testing showed that significant associations existed between accessibility to extension activities and age; level of education; contact with extension agents. Significant relationships also existed between constraints of women in fish processing and accessibility to improved technologies (rho = 0.66, p< 0.05). The result is indicative of constraints influencing the women’s accessibility to extension services. The association between the income of the women in fish processing and availability of improved fish processing techniques was significant. In view of the findings of this study, it is recommended that the Lagos State Government ensures an improvement in the present state of agricultural extension services delivery to women in fish processing in the study area; There is an urgent need by stakeholders in the fishery sub-sector of the agricultural economy of the nation to ameliorate the constraints faced by women in fish production which include among others high cost of inputs, inadequate electricity supply, lack of adequate capital, non availability of improved oven, non availability of extension agents, inadequate fish landing, lack of transportation facilities, lack of training on financial management and loan acquisition and that LSADA must serve women participating in fish processing in Lagos state better through employment of more agents, and improving the communication support unit of the authority.
A survey of fishing gear in Igbedi Creek, Niger Delta Area was carried out for six months from September 2012 to February 2013 to assess the types of fishing gear mostly used by fishers in this Creek. Five communities namely: Igbedi, Agorobene, Ogobiri, Toru-Ebene and Otuan were selected for the sampling framework. A total of 200 questionnaires were given out, 40 to each community. A two stage random sampling technique was adopted in the selection of fishers. Data collected was analyzed by using simple descriptive statistics, frequency and percentages. The greatest proportion (34.00%) of the fishers interviewed were within the agile age bracket of 30-39 years while 5.50% were within the non-active age (50 and above). Female fishers accounted for 61.00% while the males were 39.00%. Majority of the fishers (57.50%) were Ijaws and married fishers recorded the highest percentage (52.50%). Three types of fishing gears, hook and line, trap and net were used by the fishers. Net had the highest percentage (46.00%) while hook and line had the lowest percentage (7.50%). Most of the fishers (56.00%) generated about N2,500 to N3,000 as daily income while 17.50% realized more than N1,500 as daily income. Challenges affecting successful fishing operations include lack of fund to purchase fishing inputs, difficulty in accessing loans amongst others and proffered solutions were provision of fishing inputs at subsidized rate, provision of loans to fishers, provision of adequate extension services and others.
Models of African production are examined and it is shown that many of the assertions on which they are based are unsupported, or contradict the data and/or each other. These problems are traced to naturalist premisses about domestic organisation and the division of labour by sex. Three topics are studied in detail, drawing on published sources and on the author's field data from Nigeria (Yoruba) and Cameron (Beti). (I) the association of root and cereal production with different types of social organisation of work; (2) the effect on women's work patterns of child care constraints; and (3) the hypothesis that, in land-extensive systems, production is a function of the domestic domain and has little influence on, or connexion with, the politico-jural domain. Methodological suggestions for a social history and analysis of African production are made.
A Brief assessment of the Women In Agriculture Programme in Nigeria. Paper Presented at the Regional Workshop on Role of Women in Agriculture with Focus on Farm Tools and related Technologies in commonwealth Africa
- I D Erinle
Erinle, I. D. (1993) A Brief assessment of the Women In Agriculture Programme in Nigeria. Paper Presented at the Regional Workshop on Role of Women in Agriculture with Focus on Farm Tools and related Technologies in commonwealth Africa, 8-13, November, London. Food and Agricultural Organisation (1993) Agricultural Extension and Farm Women in the 1980s. FAO, Rome.
A Woman's Place: Gender Issues in Extension Reading Rural Development Communication
- P Goldey
Goldey, P. (1987) A Woman's Place: Gender Issues in Extension Reading Rural Development Communication, Bulletin, No. 22.
Working Women in south-east Asia: Development, subordination and Emancipation
- N Heyzer
Heyzer, N. (1986) Working Women in south-east Asia: Development, subordination and Emancipation, Open University Press, Milton Keynes, England.
Reaching Rural Women in the Northwest: A Presentation of More Ways Women are not Men Paper Presented to the Conference on Cameroon: The Role of Food and Agriculture
- A Koons
Koons, A. (1988) Reaching Rural Women in the Northwest: A Presentation of More Ways Women are not Men Paper Presented to the Conference on Cameroon: The Role of Food and Agriculture, University of Florida.
Agricultural Extension for Women Farmers in Africa World Bank Discussion Paper No
- World Bank
- D C Washington
- K Saito
- C T Weideman
World Bank, Washington D.C. Saito, K. & Weideman, C.T. (1990) Agricultural Extension for Women Farmers in Africa World Bank Discussion Paper No.
A comparative Analysis of the Assistance Extended to Women Farmers by Male and Female Extension Workers: Case of MIDENO Project. Cameroon Paper Presented at the 8th world conference of rural Sociology. August11-16
- J Endeley