Quality of extension advice: a gendered case study from Ghana and Sri Lanka

Lamontagne‐Godwin, Julien; Williams, Frances; Bandara, W.M.P.; Appiah-Kubi, Z

doi:10.1080/1389224x.2016.1230069

Cited by 31 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…This is contrary to past research that shows that extension services are generally geared towards giving advice to male rather than female farmers. 38 Other results 39 are in line with this study as they report no significant differences in quality of advice given to male and female farmers at plant clinics in a study conducted in Ghana and Sri Lanka. This may be due to the availability of other non-traditional approaches e.g.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Farmer perception of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiderda J.E. Smith) and farm‐level management practices in Zambia

Kansiime

Mugambi

Rwomushana

et al. 2019

Pest Management Science

127

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BACKGROUND This paper documents farmer perceptions and management practices for fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiderda J.E. Smith), providing a baseline for the development of sustainable pest management strategies. RESULTS 91% of farmers correctly identified fall armyworm, and reported it as the most important maize pest during 2016/2017 cropping season, affecting nearly half of cultivated area. Estimated maize yield loss during the season, attributed to fall armyworm was 28%. A majority of farmers (60%) used pesticides for fall armyworm control, along with other cultural/physical practices – hand picking and crushing egg masses/caterpillars (36%), and application of ash/sand in the funnel (19%). Farmers used various pesticide active ingredients, and protective measures were inadequate; >50% of farmers did not use any protective measures while spraying. Significantly more male than female farmers used pesticides (P = 0.05), and the reverse was true for cultural practices. Significant maize yield differences (P = 0.001) were observed by gender, attributed to differences in utilization of production inputs/practices. At least 77% of farmers received and shared agricultural advice, which can be optimized to spread information on fall armyworm management options. CONCLUSION Increased use of pesticides to manage fall armyworm poses health and environmental risks, besides the high cost for farmers and governments. Research into cultural and indigenous practices used by farmers will offer opportunities for alternative and sustainable management practices. Research efforts should pay attention to gender differences in access to resources and inputs. Tackling fall armyworm at the farm level, and averting yield losses will require integrated messaging addressing other production risks. © 2019 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Farmer perception of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiderda J.E. Smith) and farm‐level management practices in Zambia

Kansiime

Mugambi

Rwomushana

et al. 2019

Pest Management Science

127

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“…Lukuyu et al (2012) suggest that farmer trainers would normally disseminate simple technologies such as crop varieties compared to complex ones with higher risks such as crop protection, which alludes to the knowledge they have and their confidence to disseminate such information. Lamontagne-Godwin et al (2017); Ragasa et al (2013) on the other hand suggest differences in cropping patterns, and anticipated farmers' ability to access the various technologies or recommended options as the reason for providing different recommendations by trainers. This implies that even with enhanced knowledge and information dissemination approaches, the type of advice given by trainers is largely conditioned by predicted availability, access, and affordability of recommended practices by farmers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving scale of farmer reach with improved common bean technologies: the role of village-based advisors

Kansiime

Watiti

Mchana

et al. 2018

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

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Purpose:We assessed the effectiveness of Village-based Advisors (VBAs) as a novel approach for scaling up improved common bean technologies in southern highlands of Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach: Data were gathered through focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews with 11 VBAs and 102 farmers (37% female). The effectiveness of VBAs was assessed based on farmer reach, farmer knowledge, and application of new technologies. Findings: VBAs played important roles in reaching a wide audience of farmers, with common bean technologies. There was evidence of uptake of promoted common bean practices by farmers, enhanced by judicious incentives such as higher yields, increased land productivity, and labor-saving. VBAs shared information mainly through farm visits and community meetings. Extension materials facilitated VBA engagement of farmers even in informal settings, enhancing information flow beyond village boundaries. The current success of the VBA approach stems from the fact that VBAs are motivated by the rewards they receive -both cash and non-cash. Practical implications: VBAs are relevant in scaling up improved common bean technologies in rural Tanzania and similar settings, because of farmer understanding and trust. For sustainability, there is need to develop a more systematic incentive structure for VBAs through business development, and knowledge enhancement to keep pace with innovations to address emerging production challenges. Theoretical implications: Access to extension service providers who are knowledgeable of farmers' context enhances learning and uptake of innovations. Originality/value: Results fill information gap on the effectiveness of VBAs as knowledge and input disseminators, achieving scale of farmer reach with agricultural innovations. ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…Firstly, what type of issues did the women bring to the clinics and are they reflective of the roles they have in agriculture (Doss 2002)? Secondly, were the recommendations they were given to deal with the plant health problem gender aware, an issue highlighted in previous studies (Lamontagne-Godwin et al 2017). Finally, are clinics' being held at locations and timings suitable to women's schedules?…”

Section: Perceptions Of Plantwise Institutional Impacts From a Gendermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research shows women are indeed deprived overall in socioeconomic terms as they have less opportunity for education, training, extension services and technology as compared to men (Hassan et al 2007;Lamontagne-Godwin et al 2018). In Pakistan for example, information access between genders is unequal-less than 10% of women access agricultural information from public sources, compared to 25% for men (Lamontagne-Godwin et al 2017, 2018. This situation is exacerbated by, and indeed a result of, historical patriarchal socio-cultural norms in a country (Harari 2014;Rao and Kelleher 2003), which is particularly the case in Pakistan (Tsegaye et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysing Support towards Inclusive and Integrated Rural Advisory Systems

Lamontagne‐Godwin

Dorward

Aslam³

et al. 2019

Social Sciences

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Public Rural Advisory Services (RAS) have adapted to different socio-economic scenarios in politically diverse countries with the help of the third sector supporting dedicated RAS programmes. The Plantwise (PW) programme, led by the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) and designed to increase food security in over 30 countries, is a good example of a public/NGO partnership, although recent evaluations have questioned its impacts on gendered agricultural information access. This study aims to investigate Plantwise’s gender impacts from individual and institutional viewpoints, interviewing smallholder farmers and extension staff involved in and outside of, the Plantwise programme in Bahawalpur and Jhang district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. This serves to highlight the programme’s impacts on systemic processes which ultimately have the potential to contribute to gender-transformative change and a more efficient and sustainable RAS. Results show differences between extension workers in a PW district and a non-PW district and between plant doctors and non-plant doctors in a PW district, though none were significant from a gendered perspective. There were interesting findings highlighting the plant clinic’s capacity as an agent of change but the low turnout of women at clinics did not reinforce the clinics’ capacity for change from a female perspective. Information from systemic, male and female-specific analyses are important to consider for PW from a practical perspective, such as the importance of spiritual locations. This study into the Pakistani PW initiative also offers an opportunity to contribute to the growing body of academic literature on the individual and institutional impacts of international development programmes, helping to understand wider aspects of international development involvement in RAS. From a practical perspective, this study also enables PW and other international development initiatives to better understand and interpret stakeholders’ perceptions, highlighting the importance of design and investment in participatory approaches to enable longer term impacts, especially focused on gender. It will also help the PW programme assess and understand implementation challenges in order to attain impact on the ground and be a driver of positive change in the country.

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Quality of extension advice: a gendered case study from Ghana and Sri Lanka

Cited by 31 publications

References 15 publications

Farmer perception of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiderda J.E. Smith) and farm‐level management practices in Zambia

Farmer perception of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiderda J.E. Smith) and farm‐level management practices in Zambia

Achieving scale of farmer reach with improved common bean technologies: the role of village-based advisors

Analysing Support towards Inclusive and Integrated Rural Advisory Systems

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