"Digital technologies enable small-scale farmers to reduce some constraints to participate in Agriculture Value Chains (AVCs). Small-scale farmers face significant challenges and barriers to adopting digital technology. This study contributes to the literature on digital development in three ways: p
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resent the economic, political, and social factors affecting digital adoption in the AVCs; highlight the implications for governance and institutional challenges;adds knowledge to the analytical value of the Choice Frameworkto study digital technology adoption. This paper after identifying more than 100 papers and articles, uses a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) aligned with Cooper’s [(2010). Research synthesis and meta-analysis: A step-by-step approach (5th ed.). Sage] approach to examine 52 articles published from 2014 to 2019, ultimately selecting the most relevant 36 studies. The study uses the Choice Framework that operationalizes the Capabilities Approach (CA) as a theoretical window for this research. Papers were classified into four different categories: economic; political; social factors; institutional/governance. The findings show: - the role of the state in governance and institutional support is critical to facilitate the collaboration and participation of different actors;-the importance to develop acomprehensive localized developmental implementation framework that can support the adoption of digital solutions to support small-scale farmers. Limitations for this study are highlighted and areas for further research are suggested." (Abstract)
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"Adoption of innovative technologies is central to improving agricultural productivity. Farmers in developing countries rely heavily on social learning in adopting new technologies. Barriers to social learning such as heterogeneity or social fragmentation can therefore limit technology adoption and
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consequently stunt productivity growth. Can mass communication play a role in spurring technology adoption and productivity growth particularly when there are significant barriers to social learning? To answer this question empirically, I examine how the introduction of regional farm radio broadcasts impacted the adoption of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat during the Green Revolution in India. To identify the causal impact of regional farm radio broadcasts, namely, dissemination agro-climate-specific information about HYVs through radio, on the adoption of the HYVs, I exploit the staggered expansion of the regional radio stations across the country. Using an annual district-level administrative dataset from 1966 to 1978, I find that introduction of regional farm radio broadcasts led to a persistent increase in the adoption of HYVs of rice, a spatially heterogeneous technology not amenable to social learning. The impact on adoption, measured as percent of the gross cropped area under HYVs was 2.4 percentage points, which is approximately 25% of the average increase in adoption over the period and close to 0.3 standard deviations. By contrast, there was at most a transient impact on the adoption of HYVs of wheat, a spatially homogeneous technology with a lot of scope for social learning. Importantly, I find that the regional farm radio broadcasts increased rice yields by 15%, a magnitude potentially large enough to justify the investments in the expansion of the regional radio network. Overall, this paper demonstrates that mass communication can indeed play a key role in diffusing profitable agricultural innovations when there are significant barriers to social learning." (Abstract)
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"Shifting attention from the United Nations’ focus on perpetrators of climate change to climate change victims, this qualitative content analysis uses a constructivist paradigmatic approach to examine the participatory video narratives produced by local media producers in rural India. Based on the
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levels of analyses for the impact, findings from twenty primary issue videos are thematically presented: individual, family and community, and spatial. The videos depict an intertwined nature of agriculture and environment, and documents agentative social action, transformative collective potential, and present a starting point to catalyse an iterative process of communication that expands our understanding of climate change impact beyond what is portrayed in globally dominant narratives." (Abstract)
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"Ziel des Buches ist es, ein grundsätzliches Verständnis zu schaffen und methodische Herangehensweisen darüber zu vermitteln, was erfolgreiche Kommunikation in diesem Branchenkontext auszeichnet und welche Wirkungen sich mit Kommunikation erzielen lassen - veranschaulicht an vielen Fallbeispielen
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aus der landwirtschaftlichen Praxis. Auf diese Weise schlägt das Buch eine Brücke zwischen Kommunikationsmanagement und Agrarwirtschaft und damit zwischen allgemeiner Theorie und branchenbezogener Anwendung." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
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"It aims at providing a holistic view of digital transformation in the agriculture sector of 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The region’s digital agriculture landscape is assessed through six key themes, namely: infrastructure, digital penetration, policy and regulation, business environment,
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human capital and agro-innovation. Beyond the analysis of the region against the six focal themes, the report presents both the status-quo and challenges faced by countries in their digital transformation journeys, which can assist policymakers to identify possible areas of intervention to drive the process of agricultural digitalization in the region. It highlights the need to strengthen digital infrastructure for universal connectivity, to connect the unconnected in sub-Saharan Africa and to support the integration of digital technologies to advance digital agricultural transformation." (Foreword)
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"Thailand faces the dual challenge of swiftly navigating the disruptions caused by COVID-19 while also enabling sustainable and inclusive development. To enable inclusive development, Thailand must focus on building resilience and enhancing the productivity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MS
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MEs), which form the backbone of its economy. Mobile, digital and frontier technologies have a key role to play in this process. Supporting the resilience, growth and profitability of MSMEs and rural communities is therefore critical to meeting Thailand's strategic objective of sustainable and inclusive development. This report explores the role of mobile and frontier technologies in supporting the development, success and resilience of rural MSMEs in Thailand's agriculture and tourism sectors. The adoption of digital technologies can help increase efficiency, improve product/service quality and increase business opportunities, leading to greater productivity, competitiveness and wellbeing." (Executive summary, page 4)
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"As part of the process to develop food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for Ghana, this rapid evidence review examined the nature, extent, sources, and medium of food and nutrition information dissemination and promotion in Ghana. PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Open Access Theses Dissertatio
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ns (OATD) databases were searched systematically using keywords to identify relevant peer-reviewed and grey literature. The review included 31 documents, after excluding 1,302 documents for ineligibility (based on irrelevant title, abstract, and duplicates). Limited reporting of undernutrition was found in print and electronic media. Unhealthy foods, including sugar-sweetened beverages, snacks, yogurt, instant noodles, candy/chocolate, and ice cream were frequently advertised through various communication media. Children are highly exposed to food advertisements, which target them. Promotional characters, animation, billboards, and front-of-store displays; product-branded books, and toys are common strategies for food marketing and advertisement in Ghana. The most frequently reported sources of health and nutrition information were television, radio, social media, health professionals, families, and friends. Children and adults experienced changes in food preferences and choices as a result of exposure to food advertised on television. The commonly used traditional media were radio and television; printed newspaper use has declined tremendously in the past decade. Social media use (particularly WhatsApp, Facebook, and YouTube) is highest in urban areas, and is growing rapidly; young adults are the most active users of social media platforms. Experts recommend regulation as a mitigation for nutrition miscommunication and inaccurate promotion. The current review highlights the need for regulation of food marketing, and advertisement to safeguard a healthy food environment in Ghana." (Abstract)
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"Knowledge sharing in rural agricultural communities is vital to the success of farmers and sustaining high yields. A range of actors in the knowledge landscape participate in knowledge sharing, and with this, a variety of complexities are introduced. In this paper, we report on a set of field visit
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s, interviews and focus groups in various settings to understand this complex nature of the knowledge landscape. Our study was set within multiple locations within 20 miles North-East of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. Our findings highlight the high level of interconnectedness of different actors in the agricultural communities and the complexities involved in establishing trust of information. We report on the importance of fostering successful relationships within the communities and the growing strains of climate change." (Abstract)
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"This is the annual report for the Interactive Radio for Ecologically Sustainable Agricultural Practises (IRESAP) among small scale farmers in Northern and Central Tanzania. The reporting period was from January 2021 to December 2022." (commbox)
"The stories in this AFSA Barefoot Guide show that African farmers, long seen as victims, are beginning to implement lasting, sustainable solutions to the climate crisis in Africa. Indeed, they are examples that could well be followed by all farmers. Through agroecology practices, not only can they
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naturally adapt to the inevitable and growing harm of the climate crisis, but they can also make significant contributions to its mitigation. AFSA stands fully behind farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and all who support them in learning and working together, so that not only can they survive the climate emergency, but thrive." (Welcome, page vi)
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"The Government of Kenya recognizes Irish potato as one of the food security and nutrition crops together with maize and rice (GoK, 2017). This study sought to investigate the influence of radio programmes in promoting Irish potato farming as a contributor to food security in Nakuru County. The stud
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y looked at the period between 2012 and 2015 when most radio stations started programmes on agriculture. Purposive sampling method was used to identify four sub-counties in Nakuru County namely: Kuresoi South, Kuresoi North, Molo and Naivasha. A census of forty-eight farmers registered with the National Potato Council of Kenya between 2012 and 2015 were interviewed. Eleven agricultural extension officers from the sampled sub-counties were interviewed as key informants. The study established that Irish potato farmers listened and applied skills acquired from agricultural radio programmes to improve their farming leading to food security in Nakuru County. Information inaccuracy was revealed as one of the challenges during the study. Radio should, therefore, provide accurate information on specific varieties for specific regions so that Irish potato farming flourishes and nourishes Nakuru people." (Abstract)
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"Food security is a global concern, as all international and local agencies are putting various efforts to attain the Sustainable Development Goal number 2 of ending hunger by 2030. Nevertheless, achieving food security in the face of climate change seems to be unachievable in the foreseeable future
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. The study sought to investigate the coverage by newspapers in Zimbabwe on food security issues related to climate-smart agriculture. Quantitative data on food security issues were collected by reviewing newspapers namely The Herald, Newsday, The Standard and The Sunday Mail in 123 days. The main objective was to analyse quantitative coverage of climate-smart agricultural news. The study analysed newspaper coverage of crop production, animal production, fisheries, postharvest management, food safety, value addition, marketing and administration as they relate to climate change. Results of 469 food security articles revealed that 22.6% coverage was related to climate change whilst 77.4% covered food security issues not related to climate change. The study concluded that there was a significant variance in the coverage of various food security issues related to climate change with climate change issues related to postharvest management, food safety and fishery management not being covered during the period of study. It is recommended that stakeholders in the agriculture sector and the media industry should work towards improving the publication of climate change adaptation and mitigation in agriculture." (Abstract)
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"The purpose of this guide is to provide risk managers and communicators with a methodology for developing effective foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) risk communication strategies. The concepts presented can also be adapted to risk communication on other animal health threats. Eight steps help readers a
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pply strategic and empathetic thinking to their own peacetime and crisis scenarios. With practice, readers learn how to better develop new plans or contribute to existing ones.
Background: The document is based on the Emotional, Participatory, Imperfect and Continuous (EPIC) approach to risk communication developed by Cortney Price and adapted to animal health risk management by the author in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization staff.2,3 This guide gives FMDspecific examples, which formed the outcome of two EuFMD Workshops on “Managing a Crisis”, which took place in Budapest, Hungary, from 13 to 16 September 2016 and Kaunas, Lithuania, from 19 to 22 March 2018.
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