Search

The promotion of climate-resilient practices (CRPs) requires the development of the capacity of farmers to adopt these practices owing to the knowledge-intensive nature of technologies. Extension services serve as a conduit for facilitating the conceptualization of CRPs and are instrumental in improving the resiliency and mitigation of climate change. We used a social-ecological framework and a multivariate probit model to analyze the drivers of the CRP uptake in moisture-stressed areas in Ethiopia, with a particular focus on extension services. Unlike previous studies that investigated a single technology, we considered a bundle of technologies. We focused on the use of two capital-intensive CRPs (drought-resistant seed and inorganic fertilizer) and four knowledge-intensive CRPs (minimum tillage, farmyard manure, water-saving technology, and crop residue retention). The role of extension services in promoting other CRPs beyond input and capital-intensive technologies was insignificant. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that the correlation between extension services and the adoption of other knowledge-intensive natural resource management practices holds irrespective of the proximity to the extension service providers. This finding highlights the need for targeted and tailored interventions that support farmers to address the challenges faced by them in moisture-stressed areas. Accordingly, we propose continuously improving the ability of the extension service providers to promote climate-change adaptation knowledge and practices. This should be accompanied by efforts to strengthen a pluralistic extension system, improve land tenure security, and decrease transaction costs for farmers through output market linkages.

The study aimed to determine the role of workers' comprehension level in agricultural extension centers through their knowledge of administrative processes when providing agricultural extension services in some central governorates of Iraq, as well as, some of the respondents' characteristics and the relationship between the studied independent variables. The research area has 220 employees, with a sample of 50% selected in four governorates (Babylon, Anbar, Baghdad, and Salah al-Din) using simple random sampling. A number of agricultural extension workers selected from each of the studied governorates came from outside the research sample as a pretest to express the opinion of the sample members regarding the provision of agricultural extension services to these centers. Their number reached 25 agricultural extension workers. The reliability coefficient was 0.89 degrees, and the respondents provided data in October 2022. The arithmetic mean, standard deviation, percentage, simple and multiple correlation coefficients, and frequency distribution tables helped analyze and interpret the research results. The findings indicated that 44.55% of respondents had no knowledge about extension centers' instructional, planning, and promotional roles in agricultural extension services. It also appears from the results that there is a weakness in the role of the respondents in the processes studied, namely, planning, coordination, communication, training, and education. The research suggests holding extension meetings to inform extension workers of their role in understanding the administrative processes of agricultural extension centers while providing extension services and the importance of that to them, as well as, training workers in their roles and using their knowledge to understand the administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether cocoa cooperatives can significantly improve the revenue of cocoa farmers. A simple random sampling technique was adopted to draw a sample of 306 farmers from a population of 25,109 cocoa farmers in the Mankranso Cocoa District. Structured questionnaires were administered to obtain primary data from the households. Descriptive statistics were used to compare revenues generated by cocoa farmers. The study employed the multiple linear regression model to assess the effect of cooperative membership on cocoa farmers’ income. The study also used the Kendall's coefficient of concordance to assess the constraints faced by cooperatives societies. Revenue comparison reveal that although the price per bag of cocoa did not vary, the income level of cooperative members was significantly higher than non-members. Cooperative membership, credit access, and extension service significantly and positively affect cocoa revenue and revenue generated from other activities. The Likert scale analysis also indicate that farmers generally agree that cooperatives play social and production roles but disagree that cooperatives play appropriate financial roles. Lack of external motivation was the main limiting constraint faced by cocoa farmers. The study recommends that extension and credit institutions should be strengthened among cocoa farmers. Importantly, the positive effect of cooperative membership raises the need to incentivize cocoa cooperatives and the need for farmers to be actively motivated to join cooperative societies.

The study was conducted in Ethiopia’s neighboring weredas, Raya Alamata in Tigray and Raya Kobo in Amhara regional states, to determine the reasons for disparities in household food security in the two districts. The goal was to see if there was a link between social vulnerability in terms of access of communities to basic infrastructures and food security among households in the two districts. It employed both qualitative and quantitative methods using the Aloui Zouhaier governance model. Despite their near proximity, similar work habits, natural resource availability, and land size, the Raya Alamata and Raya Kobo communities have a substantial gap in food security and social vulnerability, with Raya Alamata reporting 84% food insecurity and Raya Kobo reporting 24%. The study examined the degree of social vulnerability and food security of households, with irrigation systems, agricultural input consumption, extension packages, and other support systems being the primary variables connected to disparities in food security between the two weredas. Differences in social vulnerability and food security between the two weredas were mostly attributable to households’ lack of access to irrigation systems, agricultural supplies, and extension services, which were exacerbated by Raya Alamata’s ostensibly, intended administrative marginalization. The study recommends that basic social infrastructure, such as irrigation infrastructure, extension services, agricultural supplies, roads, standard education, health infrastructure facilities, etc., be provided to households in the area, and that the federal government should hold the regional and local government bodies accountable for the failures to ensure the provision of the services that could realize a reduced level of social vulnerability to food insecurity.

This research aimed to: 1) Determine the level of application of the digital transformation in agricultural extension from the viewpoint of extension personnel 2) determine the level of extension service performance in the agricultural extension organization and 3) examine the relationship between the degree of application of the digital transformation in agricultural extension from the viewpoint of extension personnel and the degree of extension service performance in the agricultural extension organization .five districts (Shibin el kom, Quweisna, Birket el Sab, Menouf, Ashmoun) are selected randomly from EL Menoufia governorate as a geographical framework for the field study. Data were collected using a questionnaire administered on a sample of a 135 of the extension personnel in the studied governorate, during the period from October to November 2022. Frequencies, percentages, mean, range, relative weight and Pearson's simple correlation coefficient were used for data analysis and presentation. The study revealed that the average score for application of the digital transformation in agricultural extension in Egypt reached 56 degrees, representing about 64.4% of the total score of the scale, and the average score for extension service performance in the agricultural extension organization reached 50.3 degrees, representing about 69.9% of the total score. The research also revealed the following relationships:  A positive significant correlation at the 0.01 level of significance between all components of digital transformation and degrees of extension service performance.  A positive significant correlation at the 0.01 level of significance between strategy as a component of digital transformation and responsiveness, reliability and tangibility and at 0.05 level with guarantee.  A positive significant correlation at the 0.01 level of significance between organizational culture as a component of digital transformation and responsiveness, tangibility and guarantee.  A positive significant correlation at the 0.01 level of significance between leadership as a component of digital transformation and reliability, tangibility, sympathy and guarantee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study analysed the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of inclusive extension service among agricultural extension workers in southwestern Nigeria. All the extension workers (268) in Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) in five states randomly selected within southwestern Nigeria were interviewed for the study via a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. The collected data were presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. The mean age, formal education and job experience of the extension workers were 43.3±8.4, 17.0±2.6 and 14.1±8.4 years, respectively. The majority of the respondents were male (74.3%) and married (77.8%). Furthermore, most of them have encountered farmers with special needs such as albinism (81.7%), hearing impairment (87.3%), visual impairment (85.2%) and mental disability (81.7%) among others. The majority of the respondents (60.0%) had high capacity for inclusive extension service. The extension workers differed significantly across the states in terms of their practice scores, but not in their knowledge and attitude scores. The findings revealed that at p

Information is a critical factor in the farming business as the survival of the participants relies on their ability to access innovations and meet the dynamic challenges of the sector. This study analysed the information needs of poultry farmers in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design, and a multistage sampling technique to collect data (from 113 poultry farmers) for the study. Descriptive statistics, a three-point rating scale, and the Ordinary Least Square regression model were used to analyse the data collected. The findings of the study indicated that the prominent information sources among the farmers were: the internet, acquaintances/friends, and radio. Similarly, the study revealed that the respondents require information on various aspects of poultry production. Based on the results, age, household size, educational level, and membership in association negatively influence poultry farmers’ information needs, whereas gender, farm size, and farming experience have shown a positive influence on the farmers’ information needs. Hence, the study emphasised the need for the government and other actors in the agricultural sector to employ and also motivate agricultural extension workers to widen the scope of their reach using the internet.

There is a consensus that conservation agricultural practices increase crop productivity and save resources. However, even after a decade of active promotion of conservation agriculture in sub‐Saharan Africa, the adoption of such practices as minimum tillage is low. This article finds out the determining factors that influence the adoption decision of smallholder farmers of Kenya about minimum tillage practice. The study is based on survey data from a randomly collected sample of 300 households in the maize‐dominant farming system of eastern Kenya. A plot‐level analysis consisting of 437 plots is carried out using the Probit regression to estimate the adoption decision model. Access to extension information is found to be a key determinant of adoption decisions for minimum tillage. Household labor availability, land allocated for maize crop, and plot‐level characteristics such as soil type, plot size, and intercropping practice followed on the plot are also found to have influenced farmers' decision to adopt minimum tillage practice. Extension services being a vital element in the efforts to promote minimum tillage practice, more effective implementation of promotion programs need to be undertaken by the Government in Kenya in particular and sub‐Saharan Africa in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution to the special issue is an historical account of Paulo Freire's pedagogical and administrative praxis before his forced exile in 1964. It relies on interviews collected during a field trip in 1976, a conversation with Paulo Freire in Geneva one year later and on the secondary literature up to date. Being the head of the first Extension Service of a major Brazilian university in the early 1960s gave Freire and his collaborators the space and time to experiment with the today world famous literacy method bearing his name. The concept of 'Field of Cultural Production' (Bourdieu) is used to elucidate better Freire and his team's avant-gardist production within the spaces opened up by Brazil's popular movements in the early sixties. The contribution shows how the 'Paulo Freire System' developed in the praxis of a cultural movement and received its academic consecration in an incremental and eclectic style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development communication is realized in extension, and extension activities are also DevCom in nature. This study aimed to describe and narrate that development communication is practiced and realized through extension in Batangas State University – The Philippines’ National Engineering University, CALABARZON, Philippines. This study utilized the descriptive-narrative research design in a qualitative approach. Various literature of the Extension Service Office and DevCom of BatStateU were collected to answer the research objectives. Interview-conversations were also conducted among university extension officials and development communication faculty. It was found out that BatStateU has a rich historical development up to what it is now as The National Engineering University. It offers 12 extension agenda plus 1 - to be approved by the University Board of Regents. And lastly, values and concepts that comprised development communication based from Quebral’s definition in 2012 were embodied in the practice of extension in BatStateU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we evaluate the efficiency of extension programmes in the adoption of chemical fertilizers in Ethiopia between 1994 and 2004 using matching techniques in a quasi-experimental setting. In addition to common factors, measures of culture, proxied by ethnicity and religion, aim to control for potential tensions between extension agents and peasants. We find considerable impact of extension services on the first fertilizer adoption. Although, there are several exercises of evaluation of extension services policies, this paper manages to disentangle the policy treatment from other confounding effects for two reasons. Firstly, we focus on the first adoption decision to isolate the effect of new information provided by the extension service. Secondly, we restrict the sample to villages characterized by late adoption, id est villages where adoption had not occurred before and its appearance can be associated with the policy action with more certitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyse the experiential learning approach to induce attitudinal change in the Ethiopian agricultural extension system to transform services from a top-down teaching to a participatory and interactive way. Reconstruction of three training of trainers' pilot trainings in a regional Ethiopian extension system from 2017 to 2020. The article analyses authors' reflections and trainees' self-assessment of the process and learning outcomes in view of the experiential and transformative learning perspective. The article showcases how theories are translated to concept development and application of an innovative training of trainers' pilot. It describes the actors, processes, outcomes and main learnings of a repeated training of trainers. Experiential learning-based training has the potential to activate individual agents as starting points that enable transformative changes in the Ethiopian extension system. In order to increase that potential, such a design should consider the prerequisites inside the extension system and among its agents. The study offers insights for practitioners working towards enhancing the competences of agricultural advisors. Based on learned lessons, it serves as a guidance in the design of training the trainer approaches in similar contexts and whenever reorganisation of advisory services is required. There is a need to include the long-term dynamics of knowledge and attitudes between individuals and their organisations; the way how organisations learn and transform themselves and how systematic reflections can be used to better assess the effectiveness of innovative training methods for more participatory advisory systems. The iterative sequence of theories, concepts, application, and outcomes, and referring back to concepts, and the clear demonstration of peer learning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past studies on organizational behavior or industrial psychology found work-related attitude crucial for the performance and success of organizations, whereas the industrial organization studies emphasized the importance of team operations and focused on the peer interaction among team members in the workplace. This study attempts to bridge the gap in the two parallel literature by investigating the determining factors for the performance of the extension department in Taiwan farmers’ associations (TFAs). The results in this study indicate that work-related attitude reflecting the extension personnel’s willingness to devote time and efforts as well as their holding high self-expectation for themselves and work, have positive influence on both the group and individual performances. Nonetheless, attitudinal contagion is found to have a significant adverse effect on group performance. This result suggests the need to pay close attention to individual employee’s job satisfaction even in the non-profit organizations like TFAs. Moreover, a routine monitor of the work atmosphere or one-by-one consultation with the extension personnel can improve their performance.

Purpose: The study aims to analyze the contributions of the extension practice of Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid (UFERSA), in the elaboration of public policies aimed at urban planning in the city of Pau dos Ferros/RN. Methodology/Approach: This is exploratory-descriptive research that uses content analysis of qualitative information collected through the application of 10 semi-structured interviews with subjects who participated in this process. Findings: The empirical results point to the need to better adapt the practice to formal aspects and also to the need to implement systematization processes in the relationship with society, especially with political agents. Research Limitation/implication: Need for qualitative information, through structured interviews with the actors involved, in order to deepen the assessment regarding the contributions and aspects to be improved in this cooperation action between universities and society. Originality/Value of paper: The use of the criteria that guide the practice of territorial governance recommended in the Dallabrida model (2017) is intended to be a model of an analysis tool that helps public universities to identify in their extension practices the aspects that allow the assessment of good governance and, consequently, relationship with society.

This study aims at determining the level of the performance of agricultural staff for the agricultural planning and executives tasks in the directorate of Duhok Agriculture. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire which consisted of two parts, the first of which is independent variables of (qualification academic, specialization, duration of extension service). The second part included the dependent variable, and it consisted of 22 items representing each paragraph that was an extension task, and its validity and reliability were verified. The stability factor was calculated by the method of Fakrombakh on an exploratory sample estimated at 20 respondents excluded from the research sample, where the stability coefficient in this research was reached. 0.85 is considered acceptable. The results of the study showed high level of performance of agricultural staff working in the Nineveh Agriculture Directorate for tasks assigned to them. We recommended to provision of employees with information and knowledge, especially in the executive field, as well as taking care of holders of degrees who have a great number of years of service in job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, single smokeless tobacco use continues to increase in conjunction with the dual use of smokeless tobacco and other nicotine products. Problematically, much of the tobacco prevention literature and funding inundates tobacco users with smoking tobacco information while neglecting to provide them any information about smokeless tobacco. Meanwhile, American tobacco companies continually market new and dissolvable tobacco products targeted at non-smokers. New data suggests that smokeless tobacco use is, also, increasing in West Virginia and, in order to address this increased use, the West Virginia Extension Service recently partnered with the Division of Tobacco Prevention in the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources to develop a comprehensive spit tobacco curriculum for West Virginia students between third and sixth grade. This article details the development and assessment of the spit tobacco prevention curriculum and the resulting report from the initial pilot of the program. The curriculum was piloted across six counties with the participation of schools, after-school programs and 4-H clubs. After implementation, survey results demonstrate that youth have increased awareness of the health effects of smokeless tobacco. Throughout the article, we explore West Virginia's Cooperative Extension Service's response to this emerging public health issue and release a call to action for the National Cooperative Extension Services to join us in spit tobacco prevention.

The sustainability of organic agriculture is associated with the farmers' experience, quality of information provided, management of risks, and compliance with legislation. The objectives of this study were to identify the sources used by the organic farmers to gain information related to organic production, and to assess organic farmers' perceived attitudes towards extension services. To address the research objectives, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 organic farmers in central Pennsylvania. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim, categorized and coded, then thematically analyzed using an interpretive description methodology. The results showed that the extension services were not identified as a primary source of information that was frequently used by the organic farmers. Other organic farmers and organizationa for organic agriculture were the two primary sources of informaiton. The organic farmers were very adept at building social capital in seeking informaiton to address their issues and problems. The primary challenges faced by the organic farmers were the control of insects and weeds, and weather-related issues. The results highlighted that in addition to identifying viable information sources, factors such as adaptive capacities to climate change and certification were key to successful production in organic systems. The present study provides rich and deep information on how farmers perceive organic agriculture and extension services. The outcome of the research undertaken will enable planners, policy makers and the related Cooperative Extension personnel to better understand perceptions of the farmers to devise viable and workable policies and plans that address the concerns and challenges of the farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural poultry production is an appropriate system for supplying the fast-growing human population with quality food and provides additional income to resource-poor farmers, especially women to improve their livelihoods. The main objective of this study was to identify factors that affect the access of women to poultry extension services in Northwestern, Tigray, Ethiopia. Multistage sampling techniques based on probability proportional to size were used to select districts, tabia (peasant association) and women poultry producers in the Northwestern Tigray. Variables on socio-economic characteristics of women poultry producers, access to information, access to training, access to credit service and times of visit by extension agents were generated from primary data collected from the study area. Data were subjected to logit econometric regression analysis. The result of the logistic regression model estimate revealed that out of the 10 factors, 6 variables were found to have a significant influence on the probability of women’s access to poultry extension service. These variables included household size, age of women, farmland size, information about poultry extension service, number of visits by extension agent and access to poultry production training. The coefficients of access to information about poultry extension service and the number of visits by extension agent were statistically significant at 1% probability level of significance, whereas household size, age of women poultry producers, farmland size and access to poultry production training were statistically significant at 5% probability level of significance.

Rural poultry production is an appropriate system for supplying the fast-growing human population with quality food and provides additional income to resource-poor farmers, especially women to improve their livelihoods. The main objective of this study was to identify factors that affect the access of women to poultry extension services in Northwestern, Tigray, Ethiopia. Multistage sampling techniques based on probability proportional to size were used to select districts, tabia (peasant association) and women poultry producers in the Northwestern Tigray. Variables on socio-economic characteristics of women poultry producers, access to information, access to training, access to credit service and times of visit by extension agents were generated from primary data collected from the study area. Data were subjected to logit econometric regression analysis. The result of the logistic regression model estimate revealed that out of the 10 factors, 6 variables were found to have a significant influence on the probability of women's access to poultry extension service. These variables included household size, age of women, farmland size, information about poultry extension service, number of visits by extension agent and access to poultry production training. The coefficients of access to information about poultry extension service and the number of visits by extension agent were statistically significant at 1% probability level of significance, whereas household size, age of women poultry producers, farmland size and access to poultry production training were statistically significant at 5% probability level of significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though community engagement is an important function of higher educational institutions (HEIs), many HEI personnel across the world are in need of training in this area. In the extant literature, trainings for community engagement in an HEI context are well studied in countries of the Global North. However, there seems to be a dearth of literature about this field in the Philippines. Our research addresses this gap by delving into the certificate course on community engagement and organizing offered by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila. Specifically, this study describes the content and conduct of the course, presents the satisfaction evaluation results of course participants, and examines their learnings and insights. This study contributes to the literature by documenting efforts made by HEIs in the Philippines in mainstreaming community engagement in the fabric of academic life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose : Generally Cooperative Associations play positive and productive role in disseminating the latest information on all aspects and services to the farming communities. However, it seemed imperative to assess the perceptions of the members and evaluate role of the Unaizah Agricultural Cooperative Association (UACA) to improve its working by addressing the issues and concerns of its members. Research Method : One hundred thirty-two respondents representing 25% of registered member farmers of the association were identified by applying a random sampling technique. Data were collected by using a welldesigned and pre-tested questionnaire to achieve the objectives of the study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze and interpret the data. Findings : Respondents had high perceptions regarding the role of UACA in the following areas: makes agricultural innovations available to the farmers at suitable prices; establishes good contacts with extension staff; brings useful activities; helps solving agricultural problems; provides timely information; maintains good relations with its members; establishes beneficial agreements with traders to enable farmers to have easy access to markets. Though majority (70.5%) of the respondents were highly aware of the importance of the association yet almost half of the respondents (53%) were moderately satisfied, suggesting an improvement in its working. Originality/ Value : No scientific study of the kind has not been launched before. Hence the outcomes of the study would help the association in enhancing its working. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyse the level and the significance of farmers' financial knowledge or literacy, as well to propose measures for the improvement of financial skills in agricultural holdings. According to the paper's results, the level of farmers' financial knowledge is low; at the state level there hasn't been established satisfying financial education of farmers. It is necessary to establish continuous education programs in this field through agricultural extension services; at the state level, it is important to improve the coordination between different state bodies that conduct an educational program in agricultural sector, as well as the science research results and to make an educational material available to farmers. When considering the significance of financial literacy, it is usually analyzed from the perspective of adult people. However, recent studies indicate the importance of increasing financial literacy already at the level of youth or children. This theoretical concept is currently being accepted in the activities of the Government of the Republic of Serbia. In this regard, the Ministry of Economy has decided to introduce entrepreneurship to primary school through numerous projects.

The paper elaborates on the evolution of agricultural extension service development in Bosnia and Hercegovina in the period before and after the 90-ties. In order to make a review of agricultural extension in characteristic periods, historical method of data analysis sourced secondary in combination with analysis and synthesis method. The review was conducted according to a standardized template to nine criteria stating both their advantages and disadvantages. Review of the current state of agricultural extension services by entities has been based on analysis of data from primary and secondary sources and personal observations by author. Results of the research show that the Agricultural Extension Service in Bosnia and Herzegovina has gone through three stages and three different models of extension service development: Technology Transfer Model, The Farm Management Model and The Rural Extension Model. Taking into consideration the problems and weaknesses that were identified some recommendations were made to improve the Bosnia and Herzegovina Agricultural Extension Service performance.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of extended service based on information motivation behavioral skill (IMB) model in patients with traumatic brain injury( TBD). Methods From Jan. 2017 to Dec. 2018,92 patients with TBI, admitted in this hospital, were enrolled and randomly divided into observation group(47 cases) and control group(45 cases). The patients in control group were given regular health education at the time of discharge. The patients in observation group were given extension service based on IMB model on the basis of the control group. The daily living ability, medication compliance and quality of life of patients in the two groups were compared. Results After intervention, the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) score and Barthel index ( BI) score of observation group were higher than control group (P < 0. 05), the compliance rate and total compliance rate were higher than control group( P

Changes in contemporary rural space have influenced new perception of rural way of life. This has affected changes in economic reproduction of rural communities towards diversification. Rural tourism is one of the possible directions in achieving it. As a form of innovative rural economic practice, rural tourism should be based on diffusion of knowledge and information (DKI). Therefore, extension service can be of a great assistance in rural tourism development. The authors have pointed out characteristics of extension work in rural tourism in Vojvodina. The research results have showed that even though professional help has been identified as a main factor of rural tourism development, there are several obstacles in extension activities in rural tourism development (managerial, financial). In the conclusion, the authors have emphasized the necessity of strengthening visibility and recognition of extension service in rural tourism development.

Copyright of Italus Hortus is the property of Societa di Ortoflorofrutticoltura Italiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of the current study was to determine the job performance level of agricultural extension workers in Babylon province generally to estimate the level of job performance in each field of the research and to find the correlation between the level of job performance and some personal and functional characteristics in Babylon province. The research community were included the agricultural extension workers in the Directorate of Agriculture of Babylon province and the agricultural divisions that belonged to it. The random sample of 50% of the total population of (8) agricultural people was removed from them, in which (298) staff members were assigned a random sample of (152) employees. The questionnaire form was used as a tool for collecting data from respondents, which consists of two parts; the first includes questions related to the measurement of personal and functional characteristics (age, duration of employment, duration of extension service and Information related to the extension work), the second part includes a measure of the agricultural extension workers performance within the agricultural divisions. The scale was consisted of 102 items divided into two fields: the first field consisted of 74 items (performance of the extension work) and the second field consisted of 28 items (rural work and service of farmers) . The answers for the previous items through an index were with five level (always, often, sometimes, rarely, unknown), with a corresponding numerical values (5, 4, 3, 2, 1). Stability was computed by split - half method and reached (0.77) in general. The results of the research showed that the general level of job performance of workers in agricultural extension average tends to high, and that the job performance level in the field of performance of extension work and work in the rural and agricultural service was high and tends to medium, Also ,the results showed that there was a significant correlation between the indicative job performance and the following variables: (years of job service, years of extension service, number of courses, and development), and the variables give an explanation for 46.6% of the changes in the performance. The researcher recommended that the Directorates responsible for training the staff in order to prepare them and raise the efficiency of their job performance in preparing training courses on the content of their material in the fields of extension work carried out by the workers in agricultural extension taking into consideration the variables that showed a relationship of significant correlation in the preparation of training courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information is key in reducing the uncertainties of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs). The objective of this study was to improve the understanding of the relationship between utilized informational sources and other key identified factors affecting Malaysian vegetable producers' choices. The findings of a multivariate probit model suggest that information sources are complementary. The choices for these sources are influenced by heterogeneity in access to credit, social network (member of farmers association), and farm settings (distance from farm to market, resource depletion issues, and geographical regions). Future promotion of SAPs should be delivered through the provision of quality content disseminated through the preferred information sources, which target potential users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To foster the adoption of sustainable intensification practices amongst Ghana's farmers, they are widely promoted through training sessions provided by development organizations, companies, and the public extension service. We investigate whether these training sessions are effective and find that they are effective only for the diffusion of organic fertilizers but not for mulching. We suggest that this comes from the complexity of the innovations. Mulching is one of the simplest sustainable intensification technologies. It diffuses easily through peer learning and, after an initial training delivered to a critical mass of farmers, does not require training anymore. The use of organic fertilizers, in contrast, requires more specific knowledge and adaptation, which limits the effectiveness of peer learning and increases the effectiveness of training. This suggests that to achieve a widespread diffusion of sustainable intensification amongst Ghana's farmers, training sessions should focus on those practices that are complex and thus difficult to learn from peers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]