Information Sourcing and Managing Behavior of Dairy Entrepreneurs of Kerala

The study was conducted in Kerala state to comprehend the information sourcing and managing behavior of dairy entrepreneurs; by examining the frequency of contact with the information sources, available sources of training, ICT utilization, market orientation and scientific orientation. The data was collected by survey using a structured schedule and the results were exhibited in tables. The overall frequency of contact was found to be medium for majority of the dairy entrepreneurs; the results exhibiting a similar trend also in market orientation. The preferred training centers by most of the entrepreneurs were dairy cooperatives due to their proximity and flexibility. The modern day information tools like android mobiles and television were the preferred ICT sources. Scientific orientation was higher for majority of the dairy entrepreneurs signifying an encouraging impact of the information management. The multiple linear regression model showed that while experience was negatively correlated; annual income, overall frequency of contact and market orientation were positively correlated and significant with scientific orientation. Among the three geographic regions, highland entrepreneurs had high scientific orientation. Nevertheless, overall results suggest the need for extension support and training interventions to improve the information sourcing and managing behavior of dairy entrepreneurs of the state.

Production Characteristics and Strategies for Adapting to the Impact of Climate Change on Cassava Whiteflies and Viruses in Tanzania

Cassava is Africa’s most important food security crop and sustains about 700 million people globally. Survey interviews of 320 farmers in three regions of Tanzania to identify their production characteristics, and interviews with 20 international whitefly/virus experts were conductedto identify adaptation strategies to lessen the impacts of cassava whiteflies and viruses due to climate change in Tanzania. Structured and pre-tested interview schedules were conducted using a multistage sampling technique. Most of the farmers (66.8%) produced cassava primarily for food, and relied mainly on their friends (43.8%) and their farms (41.9%) for cassava planting materials. Farmers significantly differed in their socio-economic and production characteristics except for gender and access to extension support (P < 0.01). A significant association was found between extension support, sources of planting materials, and reasons for growing cassava with both the control of cassava viruses and the control of whiteflies by the farmers. A significantly higher number of farmers controlled cassava viruses (38.1%) than cassava whiteflies (19.7%). The adaptation strategies most recommended by experts were: integrating pest and disease management programs, phytosanitation, and applying novel vector management techniques.The experts also recommended capacity building through the training of stakeholders, establishing monitoring networks to get updates on cassava pests and disease statuses, incorporating pest and disease adaptation planning into the general agricultural management plans, and developing climate change-pest/disease models for accessing the local and national level impacts that can facilitate more specific adaptation planning in order to enhance the farmers’ adaptive capacities.

Farmers’ Perceived Needs of Extension’s Support During COVID–19 in Hawaiʻi

Extension plays an essential role in serving local communities. How it can support farmers during the pandemic is a novel phenomenon that necessitates careful analysis. Drawing from a survey responded by 313 farmers across Hawai'i in late April 2020, this study assesses how farmers feel Extension can support them best during the pandemic. Farmers identified five areas of needs: community engagement and networking, information sharing and education, funding, research, and local sustainability. Discussion regarding the role of Extension support during the pandemic is offered.

Farmers’, Farm Characteristics’ and Use of Public Agricultural Extension Support across Time in Selected Municipalities of Limpopo Province, South Africa

ABSTRACT The paper compares data on subsistence grain producers’ socio-economic, farm characteristics, and their use of public extension support for farm management across time and in various municipalities of Limpopo province, South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect the data in eight selected local municipalities by means of multi-stage sampling. Data were analysed by means of descriptive statistics. Findings across time periods (2014 and 2017) and aggregated for all the different local municipalities investigated were similar regarding respondents’ socio-economic and farm characteristics as well as use of public extension support for farm management. These evidence-based findings augur well for the development of uniform and appropriate strategies for the local municipalities to improve public extension support so that producers can receive more extension farm visits and, therefore, more farm management information. Such support will help producers to improve their farming operations and invariably, their productivity and household food security.

EMPOWERMENT QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF FOREST FARMER GROUPS IN NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS MANAGEMENT

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) management by the forest farmers group (FFG) is not optimal. This condition is thought to be related to the low quality of empowerment of FFG. This can be influenced by the effectiveness of group leadership, extension support, and support for external environmental factors as well as group internal environmental factors. The purposes of the study were: 1) to analyze the factors that influence the quality of FFG empowerment in the management of NTFPs and 2) to formulate model for improving the quality of FFG empowerment in the management of NTFP. The study was conducted in Desember 2016 - April 2017 in East Lampung District, Lampung Province and Sleman District, DI Yogyakarta Province. Respondents were 248 members of FFG who manage NTFPs based on census. The data were analyzed by using descriptive technique and Structural Equations Model. Result of the study showed that the factors that influence the quality of empowerment are extension support as well as FFG internal environment support.Efforts to improve the quality of empowerment can be carried out with:1) a model of enhancement of extension support that empowers FFG towards filtering power, competitiveness, and partnership power and 2) a model of increasing support for conducive internal environmental factors.

Assessment of socio-economic characteristics that determine farmers’ access to agricultural extension services in Eastern Cape, South Africa

The study reported on in this paper investigated smallholder farmers’ access to extension services. The study sought to distinguish the varying degrees of access to services of smallholder farmers engaged in different production systems, that is, home gardening, field cropping, and livestock production. The study was conducted in Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, specifically in two communities, namely Ngcabasa and Phathikhala villages. Research activities included a survey of 100 farmers as well as focus group discussions. Employing logistic regression analysis, the study aimed to understand what influences whether or not a smallholder farmer accesses extension. The study also used various types of comparative statistics (T-test) to assess the implications of access to extension support, for instance for production and farm income. The main findings of the study were that 68% of the farming households interviewed in Ngcabasa and 71% of those in Phathikhala had access to extension services. Farmers who had access to extension had more farm income in both enterprises compared to those who had no access to extension services. From the regression analysis, farmers who were more likely to receive extension support appeared to be those who were older, those with less education, and those farming with livestock.

Pearl Millet as a Sustainable Alternative Cereal for Novel Value-added Products in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review

Pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] is an underutilized small grain, nutrient-rich cereal crop cultivated in the arid and semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. However, several barriers exist that preclude the full exploitation of the crop such as low yield, inadequate processing technologies, lack of extension support and limited productive varieties. Furthermore, anti-nutritional factors in the grain such as polyphenols reduce digestibility, palatability and bio-availability of other nutrients. Reduction or elimination of these anti-nutritional factors through pre-treatments like boiling, cooking, roasting, soaking improves the nutritional quality of the grain. Underutilized pearl millet genetic resources and processing has the potential to contribute towards sustainable agriculture particularly in drought prone and marginal areas of Africa. This review focuses on nutritional value, pearl millet cultivation and utilization challenges, processing and value addition interventions to improve crop adoption and productivity in sub-Saharan Africa.

Prospects of Agroforestry as Climate-smart Agricultural Strategy in Cocoa Landscapes: Perspectives of Farmers in Ghana

Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is increasingly being promoted by the international community to help farmers adapt to climate change and lift them out of poverty. An essential technique that is promoted under the climate- mitigating smart agriculture policy package to reduce forest loss is agroforestry&mdash;the planting of woody plants or trees into farming systems. Integrating agroforesty into cocoa landscapes, it is argued, create forest-like habitats which serves as faunal refuges, sequester carbon and therefore contribute to increasing agricultural productivity, resilience (adaptation) and removal of greenhouse gas emissions. This article uses a qualitative data collected from 100 households in seven communities around the Kakum National Park in the Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira District in Ghana, where a climate-smart agriculture programme is being piloted. The study analysed the extent of willingness of farmers to participate in interventions that promote increased adoption of agroforestry in cocoa landscapes. The result shows that though farmers have favourable perception about the role of agroforestry on cocoa systems, and are willing to adopt the practice, this does not automatically translate into their willingness to participate in agroforestry program that was asking them to extend the number of trees currently maintained on their cocoa landscapes. The study further reveals that size of farms, the age and height of cocoa trees, extension support and the general ecology of the cocoa varieties as some of the reasons influencing whether the agroforestry practices promoted could be adopted or not.

298 Can phenomics contribute to improved livelihood and food security in South Africa?

In South Africa, there are almost 14 million cattle, which constitute 1.6 million dairy and 12.5 million beef cattle. Of the latter, approximately 53% are kept in commercial systems and the remaining 47% in informal systems. Phenotypic and pedigree recording of livestock faces constraints in terms of the extensive nature of the farming systems and the large informal livestock sector consisting of communal and small-holder farmers, which is characterized by a general lack of resources such as financial, infrastructural and extension support. Animal recording thus remains a challenge in both the commercial and informal agricultural sectors. This review will evaluate the use of precision phenotyping in the beef and dairy cattle industries of South Africa, and highlight the challenges, limitations and possible impact of the technology. Measuring objective, relevant phenotypes, such as activity level, temperature, and weight of an individual animal over time, could assist in detecting sickness before it exacerbates to the point of death. Weight measurement would be especially useful in the developing sector, where infrastructure is not available and could provide insight into the nutritional needs of the livestock, timing of the mating period, the possibility of disease or internal and external parasites. Measuring vital parameters and using them to predict various future occurrences would empower emerging farmers to optimize productivity by providing critical information to the farmer at any given time. Phenomics will provide new and emerging farmers the opportunity to participate in the agriculture economy, which will have a lasting effect of upliftment and empowerment and also contribute to the country’s agriculture output and its gross domestic product. Farmers will benefit from the use of automated technologies in terms of improved animal welfare and economic sustainability in resource-poor areas.