Please read the abstract in the section 08chapter7 (pp228-229) / Thesis (DPhil (Agricultural Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / DPhil / unrestricted

The Garden Route is situated between a mountain range and the ocean, both within close proximity. These geographic considerations make the farmers in the area vulnerable to extreme weather events, especially droughts and floods, which have been experienced in recent years. Agriculture in the area is predominantly focused on dairy and vegetables, which require intensive irrigation practices. It is this water demand that inspired adaptations to counteract the risks of extreme weather and dwindling water sources. These adaptations and behaviours were investigated to determine the underlying perceptions and influences. The research aimed to understand the way environmental knowledge would disseminate through the use of the Diffusion of Innovation theory, whilst determining the ecological worldviews of the participants through the use of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale. Both of these theories proved effective in researching the ecological perceptions of and various influences on the participants, with a few minor drawbacks. The data analysis investigated the research questions with a three-pronged approach. Interpersonal interviews and media content analysis of the local and agricultural media in the area was followed by analysing the two sets of findings, in order to find overlaps and relationships between the factors explored. The interviews were designed as semi-structured to allow for themes to emerge and were conducted mainly within the diary and beef industries, consisting of 24 participants. The media content analysis incorporated a niche agricultural magazine (32 articles) as well as the local newspaper (74 articles). The articles were coded for themes to allow for comparison between the two, and to provide an overall understanding of the media coverage. The use of the interviews and media content analysis concurrently, made it possible to determine the farmers’ perceptions of water conservation and the possible influences on these. By exploring this, the research endeavours to understand the dynamics between the farmers’ use of media and interpersonal networks and their water conservation practices. The farmers’ perceptions appeared to be predominantly shaped by agricultural media and interpersonal communities. The NEP scale responses exposed the clash between economic and environmental considerations. The farmers were acutely aware of their ecological impact and were employing various measures to counteract it. However, these were heavily dependent on their financial situation. This is in contrast to the NEP scale’s measuring of NEP statements contrasted with Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) statements to determine ecological attitudes. These findings confirm previous research and demonstrate that modern farmers are more likely to adopt conservation practices than their traditional counterparts, if it helps achieve their economic, social and environmental goals. The importance of the historical context of South Africa’s water issues emerged, with the past and future proposed changes to water regulation and legislation affecting farmers’ perceptions. The move from agriculturally privileged water legislation to equitable distribution is affecting the farmers negatively, causing distrust towards the government. The research was successful in achieving an understanding of the effect of the mass media and interpersonal communication influences on the farmers’ perceptions of water conservation.

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Agricultural Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Pollination-dependent fruit trees grown in home gardens play an important role in the agricultural based economy of Central Asian countries, yet little is known about the status of pollinator communities, the cultivated plant composition or the factors that influence management practices in Kyrgyz home garden agroecosystems. As agricultural systems are human created and managed, a logical approach to their study blends anthropological and ecological methods, an ethnoecological approach. Over three years, I investigated how species richness and abundance of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants, and home garden management were related using quantitative and qualitative methods in the Issyk-kul Man and Biosphere reserve. Structured surveys were undertaken with heads of households using a random sample stratified by village. Gardens were then mapped with participation of household members to inventory edible species in gardens, most of which are pollinator-dependent, and to compare home garden diversity as reported by respondents during interviews. Apple diversity was studied to the variety level to understand respondents’ classification system in the context of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Household members identified 52 edible plant species when mapping the garden, compared with 32 reported when interviewed. The proportion of plant species received from others through exchange and the number of plots cultivated significantly explained the variation in edible plant diversity among gardens. Insects were sampled in gardens and orchards to determine potential pollinator community composition and the effect of different management practices on Hymenoptera richness and abundance. I collected 756 Hymenoptera individuals (56 bee; 12 wasp species); 12 species were new records for Kyrgyzstan or within Kyrgyzstan. Economic pressures to intensify cultivation could impact management practices that currently promote diversity. A home garden development initiative was undertaken to study management practice improvement. Participants in the initiative had higher adoption rates than controls of management practices that improve long-term yield, ecological sustainability and stability of home gardens. Home gardens, as currently managed, support abundant and diverse pollinator communities and have high cultivated plant diversity with few differences in community composition between garden management types.

Low agricultural productivity is a persistent challenge in developing economies. In the first chapter of the dissertation, I study the concurrent but independently implemented expansion of rural roads and extension in Ethiopia to examine how access to markets and technologies affect agricultural productivity. Using geospatial data combined with large surveys and exploiting the staggered roll-out of the two programs, I show that there are strong complementarities between roads and extension. While ineffective in isolation, access to both a road and extension increases productivity. I find that roads and extension improve productivity by facilitating the take up of agricultural advice and modern inputs. Furthermore, households adjust crop choices and shift across occupations in response to their changing comparative advantages in access to markets and technologies. In the second chapter of the dissertation, co-authored with Samuel Bazzi and Martin Fiszbein, we study the long-run implications of the American frontier experience for culture and politics. We track the frontier throughout the 1790–1890 period and construct a novel, county-level measure of total frontier experience (TFE). Historically, frontier locations had distinctive demographics and greater individualism. Long after the closing of the frontier, counties with greater TFE exhibit more pervasive individualism and opposition to redistribution. We provide suggestive evidence on the roots of frontier culture: selective migration, an adaptive advantage of self-reliance, and perceived opportunities for upward mobility through effort. Overall, our findings shed new light on the frontiers persistent legacy of rugged individualism. In the third chapter of the dissertation, I use plant level census data to examine the effects of two policies designed to support prioritized sub-sectors and regions on the productivity of the Ethiopian manufacturing sector. The first policy, implemented during 1996-2002, was an activist industrial policy favoring import substitution while the second policy, active during 2003-2012, emphasized export promotion. I find that there is severe misallocation in Ethiopian manufacturing sector, but it has subsided over the studied period. The results suggest that the priority sector support policies have exacerbated the misallocation, and the within-sector variations of the policies largely account for the dispersion in revenue productivity.

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My study examined the influence of agricultural extension advice on household food consumption and food security outcomes in Malawi. I utilized a pooled cross-sectional dataset from the Malawi Integrated Household Survey (IHS) and Integrated Household Panel Survey (IHPS) conducted in 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019. To identify the effects, multivariate linear and logistic regression models were employed, considering various factors and incorporating fixed effects for survey wave, district, and data collection month. My findings revealed heterogeneity in the impacts of agricultural extension advice on food consumption and food security outcomes. Specifically, the results showed a positive correlation between agricultural extension advice and food consumption, but a negative association with household food security. These outcomes imply that while the adoption of agricultural extension advice improves household food consumption, it does not completely address the underlying threats to food security faced by maize producing-households in Malawi.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Agricultural Extension)) -- University of Limpopo, 2016 / Agriculture is regarded as one of the pillars for economic development for most developing countries including South Africa; however youth participation in the sector is minimal. Similar to the situation in many other developing countries both commercial and subsistence agriculture are practiced in South Africa. Agriculture is the primary employer and has the potential to contribute significantly towards youth employment and poverty reduction especially in rural areas of Limpopo province. However this might not be seen to be the case by the youth in rural areas of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study aimed at evaluating the extent of out of school youth participation in agricultural activities. the focus of the study was to (a) Identify and determine the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in agricultural out-of-school youth projects;(b) determine the socio economic factors that influence out-of-school youth participation in the agricultural sector;(c) determine and document the skills possessed by out-of-school youth participating in the agricultural sector and (d) determine strategies that can be used to attract and sustain youth participation in the agricultural sector. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection tools were used to collect data. These included semi-structured questionnaires, resource maps, transect walks and focus group interviews. The study revealed that out of school youth have the potential to contribute positively towards developing the agricultural sector as well as their local rural areas through agricultural activities. It was also shown that male youths were dominating in decision making of most of the projects even though their female counterparts generally played major roles in implementing agricultural activities. Although male youths dominated decision making in the projects, they were outnumbered in the projects by their female counterparts, more so for those in the early thirties (31-35). As revealed by the study, there was limited training in terms of skills development for out of school youths participating in agricultural projects. Also institutional factors such as access to land, funding and information flow influenced youth participation in agricultural activities. Partnerships between the state and other stakeholders were identified by all participants as crucial for attracting and sustaining youth in the sector and for addressing the constraints faced by the youths, e.g. Financial, technical and marketing problems. Several socio-economic factors that affect participation of out of school youth in agricultural activities were significant at different level of significance. Youth participation in agricultural activities in the study area varied from district to district. v Youth projects consist mainly of primary production activities with few supporting actors alongside the value chain. As such there are several constraints that prevent youth projects from accessing the high value chain markets. Therefore the study recommends the formulation and implementation of policies that are aimed specifically at youth in agriculture. Such policies can include subsidized inputs to youth projects and access to fund without demanding collaterals. Improved access to extension support and information centres will improve participation of youth in agricultural activities. Establishment of linkages alongside the agricultural value chain will allow youth projects to access high value markets. Multistakeholder partnership between government and all actors in the value chain will ensure effective and efficient demand drive service delivery

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