Information and Communication Technologies as Agricultural Extension Tools: A Survey among Farmers in West Macedonia, Greece

Michailidis, Anastasios; Koutsouris, Alex; Mattas, Konstadinos

doi:10.1080/1389224x.2010.489767

Cited by 46 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…With reference to ICT innovations and their introduction in the agricultural industry, contributions in literature (Gelb and Voet 2009;Rota et al 2013, in Anastasios et al 2010) identified some relevant drivers that can affect the process of ICTs adoption in farms. Age, level of education, farm size, type of production, income, along with software features, ease of use, perceived benefits, and training, were described as critical in adopting ICTs at the farm level.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

What really matters? A qualitative analysis on the adoption of innovations in agriculture

Pignatti¹,

Carli²,

Canavari³

2015

JAI

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A B S T R A C TThe agricultural industry is confronted with the need of increasing the production to feed a growing population, and contemporarily to manage the decreased availability of natural resources. This major challenge boosts agriculture sector to adopt new approaches and technical innovations; anyway, the adoption of innovations in agriculture is not immediate, due to the interaction of many drivers that impact on individuals and enterprises' decisions. This paper aims at providing a list of drivers for the adoption of technological innovations in agriculture, on the basis of the outcomes of in-depth interviews and focus groups performed in three European countries (Italy, Greece, Turkey). With specific reference to innovations, ease of use, effectiveness, usefulness, resource savings, and compatibility were mentioned as relevant features for an innovation to be adopted. Trials, demonstrations, experience and knowledge sharing, and support from qualified third parties were included among the facilitating factors for conveying and promoting innovations. Finally, public funding, agricultural policies and market conditions were identified as factors that may tip the balance in the process of innovations' adoption.

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Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

What really matters? A qualitative analysis on the adoption of innovations in agriculture

Pignatti¹,

Carli²,

Canavari³

2015

JAI

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“…Interestingly, Anastasios et al [4], in their study of ICTs as agricultural extension tools in Greece, found that ICTs supplement rather than replace traditional extension methods. A study exploring the use of ICTs by extension agents in the Caribbean found that they use ICTs for personal benefits and increased professional productivity, but also continue to use traditional interaction methods with farmers [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Factors That Influence Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension in Southern Africa

Tata

McNamara

2016

Agriculture

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Farmbook is a novel information communication technology (ICT) tool for agricultural extension that is currently being field tested by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Southern and East Africa. Farmbook enables extension agents to assess productivity and profitability of farming enterprises in a faster and more reliable manner, so as to increase farmer incomes and achieve food security. This study looked at the relationship between challenges faced by extension agents testing the Farmbook application and select socio-economic indicators influencing their work. Specific objectives were to identify and categorize the challenges facing extension agents in the field as they used Farmbook, assess gender differences in the use of Farmbook by extension agents, understand the relationship between socio-economic status of extension agents and the challenges faced in using Farmbook. Data were collected through document reviews, administration of a structured questionnaire and focus group meetings with field agents. Descriptive statistics and multivariate techniques were used to analyze data. The results show that personal and wider socio-economic conditions do have an impact on the proficiency of extension agents using Farmbook. The study goes on to recommend measures to improve the training and ICT proficiency of extension agents adopting Farmbook.

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“…There are two important ways that ICTs can improve agriculture. First, ICTs can improve farmers' access to extension advice in crucial aspects like market information, weather, and nutritional information, thereby increasing farm productivity and welfare outcomes (Aker, 2011;Anastasios et al, 2010;Barakabitze et al, 2015;Tata and McNamara, 2018). Second, ICTs can serve as a hub for agricultural and farmer records such as farm surveys and other critical information through the concept of digital agriculture (Shepherd et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Information Communication Technologies in Agricultural Extension Delivery

Amadu

McNamara²

2019

AJFAND

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Agriculture is the backbone of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, lack of efficient extension systems to support agricultural development is widely seen as a missing link in agricultural transformation in the region. International development agencies have in the past four decades invested heavily in various extension models such as the Training and Visit and Farmer Field School systems in order to enhance the performance of extension workers. Despite such investments, the performance of extension agents does remain suboptimal in many contexts. Studies in other sectors show that incentivizing worker performance through nudges such as incentive realignment schemes that tie worker performance to a pay/bonus system could enhance worker productivity. However, there is a lack of incentive realignment studies that estimate the performance of extension agents in sub-Saharan Africa. A potential hindrance to the application of such scheme to extension is the absence of monitoring mechanisms to track the performance of extension agents who often work across diverse local contexts to reach smallholder farmers with extension advice. This study empirically estimates the effect of an information communication technology (ICT)-based payment incentive system that tracks the performance of extension workers in rural Uganda. It undertakes a quasi-experimental ex-post impact assessment of a payment incentive realignment as an exogenous shift in the price of labor for extension services by Ugandan Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs) in 2011. This study applies a difference-indifference with propensity score matching technique to estimate the effect of an ICT-based incentive realignment scheme in 2011, on the performance of 461 CKWs in rural Uganda. The study shows that CKWs in rural Uganda respond positively to an ICT-based performance incentive scheme that affects the price of labor. Results suggest that such performance systems can enhance the productivity of CKWs-an exemplar of rural extension agents in Uganda and elsewhere in developing countries. It also finds that younger CKWs respond more productively to higher incentives than their older counterparts. Therefore, the study suggests that extension policies that tie extension agents' performance to ICT-based payment incentives could enhance their performance and contribute towards the sustainable developments goals on food security, among others, through multiplier effects.

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Information and Communication Technologies as Agricultural Extension Tools: A Survey among Farmers in West Macedonia, Greece

Cited by 46 publications

References 27 publications

What really matters? A qualitative analysis on the adoption of innovations in agriculture

What really matters? A qualitative analysis on the adoption of innovations in agriculture

Social Factors That Influence Use of ICT in Agricultural Extension in Southern Africa

The Role of Information Communication Technologies in Agricultural Extension Delivery

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