Purpose: The aim of this article to examine key irrigation management issues and their implications for future research and extension developments. Design/Methodology/Approach: Peri-urban landscapes are important as they supply fresh fruit, vegetables, turf, ornamental plants and other farm products to the cities. In this study, the…

Purpose: Many farmers remain hesitant to implement structured management plans and strategies tailored to address soil health, irrespective of mounting scientific evidence for the credibility of certain soil health indicators, an increase in the reporting of program benefits and progress in communicating these benefits. Hence, the purpose of this…

Purpose: Capacity development for agricultural research and development is missing an opportunity. Initiatives tend to focus on developing capacity of individuals and even when the ultimate aim is social change leave the transformation of individual into social learning largely to chance. I use the lens of social learning systems, particularly…

Purpose: Whilst children working in agriculture and domestic work is an inherent part of growing up and essential for survival, if boys and girls lose out on education they are less equipped to respond to inevitable environmental shocks and to negotiate agri-food value chains. This article investigates views of extension agents on children…

In order to meet clientele needs and strengthen family and consumer sciences (FCS) programming, University of Idaho Extension educators expanded their roles through the Horizons program--a community leadership program, funded by the Northwest Area Foundation, aimed at reducing poverty in small rural and reservation communities. This study measured…

Purpose: This article evaluates the dissemination and use of rice training videos by radio stations, farmers, farmer associations and extension services in Benin. It pays attention to positive deviants and process innovation within a "hands-off experiment". Design/methodology/approach: Using questionnaires and checklists we interviewed…

Corn clubs played an important role in improving agriculture at the turn of the 20th century. Corn clubs were local organizations consisting of boys who cultivated corn on one acre of land under the supervision of a local club leader. The purpose of this historical research study was to document the organization, operation, and outcomes of corn…

Extension educators have new computer-assisted tools as audience response systems (clickers) for increasing educational effectiveness and improving assessment by facilitating client input. From 2010-2012, 26 sessions involving 1093 participants in six diverse client categories demonstrated wide audience acceptance and suitability of clickers in…

Purpose: The aim of this article is to provide evidence on the consequences of the privatization process in Brandenburg with a focus on the agricultural advisors' situation. Before the background of future European Union (EU) expectations on Farm Advisory Systems (FAS), their capacities and competences to respond to such challenges are discussed.…

Purpose: This article outlines the emergence of programme teams in the Australian dairy farm sector as a response to counter weaknesses in the institutional environment for agricultural innovation which favours technology adoption/diffusion approaches. Design/methodology/approach: The strengths, weaknesses and risks of different approaches to…

There is an urgent need to quantify which extension methods are most effective in Africa. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of alternative extension methods on adoption of the triple bagging cowpea storage technology in Niger and Burkina Faso. This study was designed as a quasi-experiment with two alternative extension…

Purpose: Changing research design and methodologies regarding how researchers articulate with end-users of technology is an important consideration in developing sustainable agricultural practices. This paper analyzes a joint experiment as a multi-stakeholder process and contributes to understand how the way of organizing social learning affects…

Purpose: Approaches to build farmers' analytical capacities are said to trigger wide-ranging changes. This article reports on the communication process between participants and non-participants in one such approach, related to the technical and management skills learned by participants and the changes these participants subsequently made, and the…

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to analyse the attitude of Italian farms in gaining access to agricultural extension services (AES). Design/methodology/approach: The ways Italian farms use AES are described through the AKAP (Awareness, Knowledge, Adoption, Product) sequence. This article investigated the AKAP sequence by submitting a…

As our world becomes more interconnected on international, domestic, and personal levels, our need to be more culturally competent increases (Samovar, Porter, & McDaniel, 2007; Ting-Toomey, 1999). Recognizing this need, Washington State University Extension sought to increase skills of its personnel by developing a set of cultural competencies…