Tesis (Ingeniero Agronomo)--Universidad Nacional de Colombia. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: leaves 58-59.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1958. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (carbon copy). Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-75).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 13, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The thesis investigates the extent to which agricultural extension methods as used in the developed countries can be applied to the countries in Southeast Asia with particular reference to Thailand. The working hypothesis is that the peculiar conditions of agriculture in the underdeveloped countries restricts the total transfer of extension methods from the developed regions to the underdeveloped regions of the world. The historical development of agricultural extension work in the developed countries of Europe and North America is traced, and the general theory and methods of agricultural extension are explored. Then the agricultural problems of Southeast Asia are studied, with a view to identifying the factors which will affect the agricultural extension work in that region. It is concluded that the method of personal contact which is effectively used in the developed countries can be the main method for persuading farmers in Southeast Asia to accept improved techniques and training them to apply these methods efficiently. However, the personal contact method involves costly personnel, transportation and equipment. The meeting and demonstration methods tend to be effective also. Mass methods of agricultural extension including radios, newsprint, magazines and circular letters would not be effective, since few farmers can read and a still smaller number have radios. However, posters and farm exhibits are two types of mass media which would stimulate a great deal of interest on the part of the rural population. Ideally, methods should be diversified. Meetings, demonstrations, discussions, films and slides can be used to complement each other. Their combination for best results varies with local conditions. In Thailand, as in any other underdeveloped country, a complete agricultural extension program is required. This would necessitate a greater number of agricultural extension workers than the country now has and therefore a training program for extension personnel is in urgent demand. The study also deals in some detail with the case of Thailand and conclusions are drawn for that country. To the extent that Thailand is representative of Southeast Asia, then conclusions can be generalized for the region. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

This thesis is a study of the roles of agricultural extension workers in Nova Scotia based on the workers views of their particular jobs. An attempt is made to identify the various activities of the workers, find out who determines their program and if they are doing the things they think they should be doing. The data for the study was obtained from responses to a questionnaire by three types of workers -Agricultural Representatives, Home Economics Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists who are permanently employed by the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing. The three types of workers agree that they are conforming to their expected roles but there are certain areas within the general scope of their work where they would like to change emphasis. The guidelines set up when the agricultural extension service was established in 1926 still apply today although there have been changes in methods and additions to staff. All workers agreed that they had not received adequate training in their formal education to do the specific tasks required by their job but they felt competent on the basis of the training they have and the experience gained. They feel programs in in-service training can best help them overcome deficiencies in past training. Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists base their programs on needs identified by themselves and organized groups of farmers while Home Economics Representatives tend to determine their own program with some indication that farm women should have more effect on their program plans. While the Agricultural Representative wants to plan programs based on needs in his area, the Subject Matter Specialist would tolerate province-wide programs designed to increase the overall agricultural production. Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists work mainly with those farmers having relatively high gross incomes since these are generally the ones who are most able to follow recommended practices. Home Economics Representatives work mainly with farm families where there is a low gross income and with non-farm groups. All workers generally agree that 'job security', 'freedom' in program planning, the 'satisfying experience' of doing extension work, the 'recognition' they get for their work, their 'office facilities' and the 'prestige' of their position are important reasons why they like their job. They do not like administering policies, the many night meetings and the fact that they have little chance to 'specialize'. The workers believe they have a very good relationship with farm people and organizations but they feel they can do their best job by being better acquainted with individuals and getting their support for programs. There is a fair degree of role concensus among the three types of workers but because of differences in their jobs they differ in some areas of role perception. There is general agreement of the importance of their roles as applied to functions of the extension service. Their present performance is based on tradition as well as direction from above and, except for a few instances, they want to change their role performance. This is indicated most strongly as they perform the roles of 'student', 'administrator', 'organizer of events', 'organizer of groups', 'consultant', 'program planner', 'program evaluator', 'public relations officer', 'trainer of leaders' and 'service agent'. They would especially increase the time they spend on 'public relations', 'program evaluation' and 'program planning'. The Agricultural Representative would spend less time in his role as a 'source of information' while the other workers would spend more time on this role. 'Farm visits' by extension workers and 'demonstrations' are the best methods of communicating new ideas to farmers according to Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists. Least effective are 'commercial sources', 'newspapers', 'telephone calls' and 'circular letters'. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

This thesis is a study of the roles of certain agricultural extension agents in British Columbia, as viewed by the agents themselves. An attempt is made to identify the different activities the agents perform and to enquire into how well the agents are adapting themselves to the changing definitions of extension work. The data for the study is based on responses given to a questionnaire by three types of agents,—District Agriculturists, District Horticulturists and Other Agents who have been on the staff of the British Columbia Extension Service for two or more years. The three types of agents are in general agreement with respect to the functions of the Extension Service on which most time and effort have been devoted in the past but differed as to the relative importance of the different functions. The indication is however, that the Extension service concentrates on work of a service nature such as providing information on specific farm practices and teaching the underlying principles of farming, rather than on community development processes. Distinct differences appear in the roles of each type of agent as defined by the activities they perform. Most of them identify 'consultant', 'source of information and ideas' and 'student' the three most important out of a total of nine types of activities. However, District Agriculturists perform a wider range of activities than do the other two types of agents. The majority of each type of agent indicates that they do not feel very proficient in performing any one role. Though in general, the roles which they consider important form a pattern which is similar to the ones they actually perform, it appears that they are least qualified to perform the roles which they consider to be important. This is particularly so among District Agriculturists. Of the three agent groups, District Horticulturists achieve the highest level of role fulfillment and least amount of role stress, with Other Agents next and District Agriculturists last. This may be due to the wider area of responsibility of the District Agriculturists compared to the other two groups. The evidence suggests that the agents do not conform to the 'changing definition of extension work' since the roles which rank high both in importance and performance, are those with major emphasis on work of a service nature and on agricultural production. 'The opportunity to help other people', 'personal contact' with people and 'freedom in planning and doing my work' appear to be the strong motivating forces in extension work. For these agents 'the lack of a well defined program' is chief among the less desirable aspects of the job. In general, the agents have favourable opinions of the prestige of their positions and both status consciousness and satisfaction in the job are also high. The agents perceive of their alter groups as having differential expectations with respect to the roles the agents should perform; each type of agent views these expectations in line with their own self image of the job, and the vested interests of each group. District Agriculturists are most responsive to their local clientele rather than to those people above them. Other Agents show a greater orientation to their directors than to the farmers'(local interests). District Horticulturists seem to be influenced by their local clientele and their directors to an equal extent. The agents have significant relationships with farm organizations, while non-farm organizations and university extension play very minor roles in their work. 'Inadequate communications' prevents the agents from fulfilling the expectations of their alter groups, and this suggests that the Extension Service is not a well integrated social system. Groups other than the agents themselves participate very little in the determination of the extension program. Though, the agents feel that the extension program in the main should be their responsibility; they indicate a desire for more participation by other groups. District Agriculturists want to make greater use of program planning committees, District Horticulturists stress individual farmers, while Other Agents want to see their directors be more involved. It appears that the agents try to use their time and resources more efficiently by concentrating their attention on farmers with higher incomes as they are in a better position to follow the extension recommendations. Thus, there is a positive relationship between the amount of time the agents devote to farmers and the income level of the farmers. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

This research study examined African American farmer participation in Virginia Cooperative Extension as a step toward fully understanding the role participation plays in supporting African American farmers as legitimate learners within the Cooperative Extension system.  This study, therefore, focused on exploring participation in African American farmer programs through the single case of Virginia Cooperative Extension\'s Small Farm Outreach and Technical Assistance Program.  This program, which is housed at Virginia State University, aims to support minority farmers who have limited access to benefits from USDA programs.  Historically, limited resource farmers have been challenged to gain full access to programs offered by Cooperative Extension. Using a qualitative case study design, individual interviews were conducted with African American farmers, extension specialists, small farm agents, and the program administrators.  Two focus groups were conducted with the Small Farm Program agents and another with African American farmers that participated in the program.  A review of the findings indicated that the Small Farm Outreach and Technical Assistance at Virginia State University provide various educational opportunities to African American farmers. The program provides one-on-one technical assistance, distribution of information, USDA loan application assistance, workshops and conferences, and networking.  Participants stated that agents being "hands on" was a great way to talk and effectively provide assistance to them.  The findings for the study characterized barriers relaying from challenges in the program to communication between program and farmers. Family motivation, technology, and the USDA were other unknown barriers that were revealed in the study. The data suggest improvements for the program; first, the involvement of more farmers in the program planning of educational opportunities at Virginia State University would increase participation. Second, the current evaluation of strategies should be continued as a method of usage.  However, a pre and post survey should be conducted to analyze and discover farmer's usage in modern to traditional communication systems. Third, providing additional technological advancement training to agents, specialists, and director to be more advance in the new age, and lastly at conferences and/or workshops, construct more engaging informative discussions on adult learning and farm family motivation factors. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Conservation Agriculture (CA) involves the practice of three interlinked principles of minimum soil disturbance, a permanent soil cover and crop rotation. CA has been promoted in Africa to address food security and environmental challenges. However, adoption of the technology has been slow. Although several studies have been done to understand the factors that affect CA adoption, only a few have investigated the role played by social systems in adoption. Further to this, these adoption studies have methodological limitations, which fail to evaluate farmers’ attitudes to the technology and their perceived effects of social and institutional factors on CA adoption. This study investigated the effects of the social system (represented by attitudes, by-laws, customs and social influence) in the decision to adopt the three CA principles. It also further sought to determine the influence institutional factors (access to markets, implements, credit and extension services) on adoption. The effects of the same predictor variables on the area under CA were also explored. The study applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour. Further, the study also compared the adoption of CA principles between female and male farmers and between the rich and the poor. The study targeted CA adopters in Nkayi, Zimbabwe and Choma, Zambia. The study found differences in attitudes to CA benefits between the two districts, suggesting that the farmers’ perceptions of CA depend on the perceived performance of the CA options promoted in a particular context. The effects of the social system factors and institutional factors on CA adoption and on the area under CA had mixed results. By-laws had a significant positive relationship with the practice of minimum soil disturbance but negative relationship with the practice of soil cover and crop rotation. Social influence and customs had significant positive correlation with the area under CA but no significant effects on the adoption of CA principles. Institutional factors had a significantly negative relationship with practice of minimum soil disturbance but a positive relationship with the practice of crop rotation and the area under CA, which suggests that more institutional support is required for the practise of minimum soil disturbance than for crop rotation and area allocated to CA. The study found no significant difference in adoption of CA principles between male and female farmers, although female farmers adopted two or more CA principles than male farmers. Despite this, female adopters had significantly lower yields from their CA fields than male farmers. The study also found that a significantly higher number of poor farmers adopted two principles (which involved the practice of minimum soil disturbance with either soil cover or crop rotation) than rich farmers. No significant difference between the rich and the poor were found in the adoption of the principle of minimum soil disturbance and adoption of all three CA principles. However, more poor households adopted the minimum soil disturbance principle, while more rich farmers adopted all three CA principles. The conclusions drawn for these findings are that the effects of the social system components and institutional factors on the uptake of CA depend on how the particular CA principle fits into the social and institutional environment and if the CA principle can be adapted to the local environment. The lack of significant effect of social influence on adoption of CA principles suggested that other factors within the social system, such as alternative sources of information, trust, technology complexity or community values may prohibit social learning. The study recommends agriculture extension services and policymakers to pay more attention to these issues in the promotion of CA by addressing the barriers and adapting CA to local contexts. The study also concluded that the deliberate targeting of the poor and women can help them adopt CA principles. However, there is still need to address challenges that may limit poor farmers from adopting the full CA package; and women from achieving high CA yields. / Thesis (PhD (Rural Development))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / PhD (Rural Development) / Unrestricted

Due to the production costs associated with beef cattle production, it is important to equip beef cattle producers with sound, research-driven information to aid in the decision making process regarding their operation. Extension personnel as well as other organizations involved with beef cattle producers should be knowledgeable of the audience that they are disseminating information to and how this audience prefers to receive information. Knowing the demographics and educational and informational needs of the audience helps shape programming endeavors to meet the needs of the audience. The beef cattle producers surveyed indicated that they preferred to receive information from farm and feed supply dealers, other cattle producers, farm demonstrations, and cattle and farm magazines. The average producer was 53.6 years of age, had been involved in beef cattle production for 28.4 years, was a college graduate, and received less than 25% of their total income from their beef cattle operation.