Journal of Extension Education

Determinants Aﬀecting the Adoption of Silvopastoral Production among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

2022-04-04T06:56:50+00:00

The main goals of silvopastoral production are to increase the quality and production of fodder and promote the conservation of soil and biodiversity. Despite its achievements as an approach, it has not been fully practiced by small holder farmers. The study sought to determine the factors inﬂuencing the adoption of silvopastoral production in Chikwaka communal area in Goromonzi district of Zimbabwe. Simple random sampling technique was used involving sixty-six respondents. Factors that aﬀect adoption were estimated by binary logistic regression model. Variables that signiﬁcantly aﬀected the adoption of silvopastoral were land size, number of cattle owned as well as household size. The results revealed that uptake level of silvopastoral is still low . Therefore, the continuous eﬀort to improve livestock herd under smallholder farmers through silvopastoral, should be taken as a priority to encourage more farmers to adopt the system.

Determinants in the Adoption of Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Evidence from Wheat Farmers in Bundelkhand Region, India

2022-04-05T03:37:19+00:00

By using systematically collected ﬁeld survey data of 200 farmers and binary logistic regression, results of this study reveals that wheat farmers of Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, India are well-aware of changing climate and adjusting their farm practices to enhance climate resilience capacity. Farmers use their indigenous knowledge coupled with extension services provided by the
government to diversify their occupation and cropping pattern as adaptation strategies. The Binary logistic regression results show that information on climate, access to institutional credit and having crop insurance motivate farmers to improved irrigation facilities. Further, farmers perceive that increase in temperature, decline in rainfall and water tables jointly change cropping pattern from the high water-intensive crop (wheat) to low water-intensive crop (chickpea) as a climate adaptation strategy. The study suggests developing a common platform for government services for the region. Community participation and regular training programmes in the sample villages are beneﬁting farmers to channelize their indigenous knowledge and optimize local resources, which leads to sustainable farming.

Impact of Extension Services Provided by ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) on Small and Marginal Farmers in Rural Assam

2022-04-05T03:40:28+00:00

Agricultural Extension Services aim at disseminating new knowledge and skill to farmers to aid them in adopting new agricultural technologies and use their resources eﬃciently. Agricultural knowledge improves their skill and decision-making and enhances more eﬃcient utilization of agricultural technologies. With a sample of 160 famers collected from Golaghat district of Assam by using multi-staged random sampling method, this study attempts to understand the impact of extension services provided by ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) in rural Assam. The Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique is employed to control for potential sample selection biases. The analysis and ﬁndings reveal that the extension services provided by ATMA in the study area positively impacts on the income and paddy production of the small and marginal farmers. Timely dissemination of extension services which meet the actual needs of the farmers can impact the farmers income and output production to larger extent.

Development of a Scale to Measure the Marketing Behaviour of Vegetable Farmers

2022-04-25T01:10:49+00:00

Marketing behaviour is the attitude and/or conduct of a person towards marketing activities. Marketing decisions made by the farmer are based on factors such as commodity, quantity and quality of produce, distance from market, transportation facilities, risk bearing ability, innovativeness, etc. The study of marketing behaviour of the farmer could help in promoting inclusive markets with the direct participation of farmers leading to better proﬁt margins. In the present study a scale was developed to measure the marketing behaviour of vegetable farmers. The items generated rated for relevance by expert judges and after item selection; it was administered to respondents for scoring. This was followed by factor analysis using principal component analysis. The scale was standardized after reliability testing using Cronbach's alpha and scale validation using content analysis. The ﬁnal scale covered seven dimensions, viz., production oriented decisions, planning orientation, farm enterprise management, enterprise planning, technology oriented marketing, market based production preferences and quality oriented production with 27 statements.

From the Editor's Desk

2023-02-12T01:45:17+00:00

This JEE Editorial speaks on "Data-driven Agriculture" [Volume: 33; Issue: 3]