The article addresses how farmers learn to appropriate the gaze of the "new farmer", by describing how farmers and advisers in the field discursively construct farmland under scrutiny for inclusion in government support schemes. Based on the findings, recommendations for successful agricultural extension are presented. The methodological…

The role of farming previously dedicated mainly to food production changed with an increasing recognition of the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural areas. It seems obvious to expect that farmers and rural actors adapt themselves to these new conditions, which are innovative and redefine their job. In many regions farmers can increase…

The Agroforestry Support Program for Empowering Communities Towards Self-Reliance (ASPECTS) was conceived to develop a model of two-stage approach in agroforestry promotion by capacitating the upland communities to establish community-managed agroforestry extension services, while strengthening the agroforestry education programs of the three…

To investigate pesticide use and prevention practices of tangerine growers in Fang district, Chiang Mai province in Northern Thailand. A questionnaire survey of 312 farmers in the study area, in-depth interviews and group discussions. Only 36% of the participants pursued the recommended prevention practices every time they used pesticides.…

Wheat and soybean producers pay a small amount per bushel produced as a check-off. Funds are used for research, outreach, and crop promotion. Commodity organizations and Extension joined forces to develop multi-state educational outreach on spring wheat and soybean production. Participatory planning involved producers in developing these…

Two imperatives form the basis of the present paper. The first is the market-driven imperative, vital to production and value-chain development. The second is the knowledge imperative, central to the advancement of human capacity and institutional development. In view of these two imperatives, this paper argues for overhaul in extension toward a…

Treadle pump (TP) technology has been promoted by Enterprise Works in West Africa as an alternative to the traditional rope and bucket irrigation. The aim is to improve output and incomes and reduce poverty among farm households. This paper reports a short term (two years) assessment of the dynamics of its adoption and impacts, with a special…

Adoption resulting from University of Nebraska-Lincoln Crop Management Diagnostic Clinic (CMDC) field days was evaluated using an on-line survey. Respondents reported significant gains in skills because of CMDC, but the gains were similar across skill areas. Adoption was affected by compatibility with the cropping system, relative advantage,…

Water issues are a feature of public debate in Australia. The increasing privatisation of water and changes to water allocation systems are resulting in change, often referred to as water "wars" (de Villiers, 1999). The Australian dairy industry uses 25% of the surface irrigation water in Australia. How does a rural industry like…

In order to realise the strategic aim of constructing new socialist rural communities in the 21st century, "new farmers' education" has been placed on the Chinese government's agenda and will soon become a very important issue of Chinese adult education in both research and its practice. As an adult educational researcher I first…

This study was conducted to isolate the determinants of improved fish production technologies in Delta State, Nigeria. Data were collected from a sample population of 250 fish farmers from ten randomly selected Local Government Areas of Delta State. The data were elicited from respondents with the use of structured interview schedule while…

In this article, the practicability of introduction of computer multimedia as an educational tool was compared with the traditional approach for training sugarcane growers in ratoon management practices in three villages of Tamil Nadu state, India using pre-test, post-test control group experimental design. A CD-ROM was developed as a multimedia…

This study was designed to investigate changes in farming and to look at how farmers adapt to diverse changes in and around their farms in the province of Esfahan, Iran. It is part of a larger project aimed at developing a job competency profile for agricultural extension instructors (AEIs). One hundred and two farmers who had previously followed…

This article deals with the comparison of the conventional training based on two day community workshops and farmer-to-farmer video used as methodologies for the dissemination of improved rice parboiling process in Benin. From November 2007 to May 2008, we interviewed 160 women and 17 women groups who had been exposed to both, one or other of the…

The main objective of this study was to determine the attitude of farmers towards erosion and the adoption of appropriate soil conservation technologies (SCTs). For the survey, farmers were selected from the communities Esa Oke, Elwure and Owode-Ede and Akoda in Osun State in Nigeria. In the first three communities farmers did receive training on…