Call number: LD2668 .T4 1952 L6 / Master of Science

Thesis ( Agricultural Extension) --University of Limpopo, 2014 / Refer to the document

No description available.

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

In recent years there has been a growing literature that advocates various forms of participatory development. This is illustrated by the promotion of approaches/tools such as participatory rural appraisal (PRA), participatory technology development (PTD), and participatory process projects 1 These "new" approaches are fast taking on the form of a new generalised orthodoxy for solving development problems. It would seem from the perspective of some of the promoters of this orthodoxy that the problem of development is no longer one of not having the right approaches and methods, but one of getting recalcitrant policy makers, bureaucrats, academics to appreciate and adopt these new methods and techniques. My concerns with this new advocacy are that: i It does not relate to experience; ii It does not address issues of power structure and control over information and other resources in multiple and complex arenas of science and technology (S&T); iii By placing major emphasis on management approaches and tools, the new orthodoxy is cutting itself off from a critical reflective understanding of the deeper determinants of technical and social change. Unfortunately, I suspect that if this new orthodoxy does not develop a more critical reflective view of itself then, like previous dominant orthodoxies, it will soon have to develop a range of "escape hatches" to explain why these participatory approaches are not giving the results that their advocates promise. / AVOCADO series; v 06/95

Submitted by Jakeline Ortega (jakortega@unoeste.br) on 2018-09-18T20:08:59Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Itamar Xavier de Camargo - PDF.pdf: 2004303 bytes, checksum: 8e50a284b6dab4ce9c008a3360e4fc7f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-09-18T20:08:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Itamar Xavier de Camargo - PDF.pdf: 2004303 bytes, checksum: 8e50a284b6dab4ce9c008a3360e4fc7f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-04-26 / The theme of this research emerged from initial questions about what the contributions of the university Extension Project (entitled “Reading Champion”) in the school process of reading motivation would be; and cultural contribuition to the students’ critical-ideological performance. The general objective of the research was therefore to analyze these contributions of university extension in the cultural development of the reading capacity of elementary students I (in one of the municipal schools of the interior of São Paulo, involved in the actions of this developed by an NGO, in partnership with a private university, the municipal prefecture and the civil society of the municipality). We chose an empirical research, with a qualitative approach, including document analysis (university extension project, political pedagogical project, teacher education plan), semi-strutured interview with the management team and teachers; and application of questionnaires with 4th grade students. The selected theoretical contribution contemplated the historical-cultural studies (bakhtinians and vygotskyans); and the theories of the research, referring to the qualitative approach and to the final procedures o triangulation of data collected. The results confirmed significant contributions of the Extension Project analyzed, regarding the motivation process for reading; but at the same time they allowed critical reviews on the recognition of the need for a review of the profile of their activities, so that in fact they allow the mediating role of teachers in the cultural construction of the critical-ideolocal performance of the readers in formation. / O tema desta pesquisa emergiu de questionamentos iniciais sobre quais seriam as contribuições do Projeto de Extensão Universitária (intitulado “Leitura Campeã”) no processo escolar de motivação do ato de ler; e de contribuição cultural para o desempenho crítico-ideológico dos alunos. O objetivo geral da investigação foi, portanto, o de analisar as contribuições da extensão universitária no desenvolvimento cultural da capacidade leitora de alunos do ensino fundamental I (em uma das escolas municipais do interior paulista, envolvida nas ações desse projeto, desenvolvido por uma ONG, em parceria com uma universidade particular, a prefeitura municipal e a sociedade civil do município). Optou-se por uma pesquisa empírica, de abordagem qualitativa, com inclusão de análise de documentos, entrevista semiestruturada com a equipe gestora e docentes; e aplicação de questionários com alunos do 4º ano. O aporte teórico selecionado contemplou os estudos histórico-culturais (bakhtinianos e vygotskyanos); e as teorias da pesquisa, referentes à abordagem qualitativa e aos procedimentos finais de triangulação de dados coletados. Os resultados confirmaram contribuições significativas do Projeto de Extensão analisado, no que se refere ao processo de motivação para a leitura; no entanto, permitiram ao mesmo tempo, revisões críticas sobre a necessidade de uma adequação do perfil de suas atividades, para que, de fato, elas possibilitem a função mediadora dos docentes na construção cultural do desempenho crítico-ideológico dos leitores em formação.

The study was prompted by the escalating levels of poverty in Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province despite the poverty alleviation programmes that have been established since 1994. The main objective of this study was to identify the underlying factors and challenges that affected agricultural extension organisations in the Amathole District Municipality and explore the role and the prospects of extension organisations as a strategy for development and growth in the district municipality. Data was collected through interviews and with the use of structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered to 300 farmers and 20 extension practitioners that had been selected by the systematic random sampling technique in the Amathole District Municipality. After data collection, questionnaires were coded, captured and analysed using MS Excel (2010) and SPSS version 22 (2014). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Results indicated that although extension officers indicated that they had a positive relationship with the communities they services, farmers indicated that extension policies did not favour them. Conclusions were therefore drawn that agricultural extension organisation was not effective in accelerating development in the Amathole District Municipality. The study, therefore, recommended that further research focusing on the impact of extension services on the economy of South Africa be conducted / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

The study was prompted by the escalating levels of poverty in Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape Province despite the poverty alleviation programmes that have been established since 1994. The main objective of this study was to identify the underlying factors and challenges that affected agricultural extension organisations in the Amathole District Municipality and explore the role and the prospects of extension organisations as a strategy for development and growth in the district municipality. Data was collected through interviews and with the use of structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were administered to 300 farmers and 20 extension practitioners that had been selected by the systematic random sampling technique in the Amathole District Municipality. After data collection, questionnaires were coded, captured and analysed using MS Excel (2010) and SPSS version 22 (2014). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Results indicated that although extension officers indicated that they had a positive relationship with the communities they services, farmers indicated that extension policies did not favour them. Conclusions were therefore drawn that agricultural extension organisation was not effective in accelerating development in the Amathole District Municipality. The study, therefore, recommended that further research focusing on the impact of extension services on the economy of South Africa be conducted / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)

Rural Ethiopia rolled-out a program for the establishment of farmers’ collective action groups known as ‘Farmers’ Development Groups’ (FDGs), in 2007, based on presumed common interest of smallholder farmers. Although the government trusts that FDGs fetch fast and widescale agricultural transformation as part of the participatory agricultural extension system, systematic study and evidence on what motivates smallholder farmers to act collectively, the group dynamics, long term impact and transformative potential of the agricultural extension groups is scarce. Using the expectancy-value theory in social-psychology, this study explores what drives smallholders to act collectively; their participation level and benefits in groups, particularly for women and the youth; and the extent to which farmers’ groups attain intended agricultural transformation goals of productivity and commercialization. The study collected a mix of qualitative and quantitative data in 2016, through 46 key informant interviews; 8 focus group discussions with farmers, and a survey of randomly selected 120 smallholder farmers (30 percent women) in four sample woredas (districts) of Ethiopia. The findings of the study are drawn through a content analysis, and descriptive and correlation analysis of the qualitative and quantitative data, respectively. The study findings show that social identity, and not ‘common interest’ motivates smallholder farmers to join and participate in FDGs. The study provides evidence that participation in FDGs enhances smallholder farmers’ adoption and use of agricultural technologies, where 96 and 84 percent of the farmers who received extension messages in the group on crop and livestock production, respectively, applied the message. Consequently, by 2015 more than 85 percent of the survey respondent farmers reported above 10 percent increase in crop and livestock productivity. Nevertheless, the nature of the incremental changes brought by the collective actions are not transformative, nor sustainable. Extension groups have limited contribution to commercialization of smallholders, where only 20 percent of the FDG members participate in output marketing. More so, FDGs avail limited collective opportunity for the landless youth, and married female farmers in a rural society where difference in power, status and privilege prevail. It also limits deviation of thought among the rural community. Limited access to inputs and technology; large family size; limited access to farm land; over dependence of the extension system on ‘model’ farmers and public extension agents, and poorly designed sustainability features bound the transformative potential of FDGs. The study forwards a set of five recommendations to unleash the potential of FDGs: reconsider the group design to be identity congruent; ensure inclusiveness for young and female farmers; empower and motivate voluntary group leaders; encourage collective marketing and; invest in sustainability features of the group. / Development Studies / Ph. D. (Development Studies)