Using ICT to Strengthen Agricultural Extension Systems for Plant Health

Wright, Holly Jane; Ochilo, Willis; Pearson, Aislinn J.; Finegold, Cambria; Oronje, MaryLucy; Wanjohi, James; Kamau, Rose; Holmes, Tim; Rumsey, Abigail

doi:10.1080/10496505.2015.1120214

Cited by 29 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There were several reasons for the inaccuracies and inconsistencies between POMS and logbook data: the prescription form is not filled for every query if several farmers present the same problem; the filling of the form is perceived as time consuming and therefore not always done; POMS and logbook data are reported to the programme coordination on different dates; there is a lag period from when the prescription form is filled in to when the data are uploaded to POMS; some prescription forms are rejected due to incorrect filling; and sometimes the plant doctors forget to fill the logbook. In Kenya, the change from paper prescription forms to tablets has greatly improved data accuracy and completeness (Wright et al 2016). It was beyond the scope of this study to assess this aspect.…”

Section: Plant Clinic Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Here we give advice for free”: the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

Majuga

Uzayisenga

Kalisa

et al. 2018

Development in Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although plant clinics are considered an important mechanism in the service delivery to farmers, not much is known about their functioning in the daily reality of plant doctors and farmer-clients. This article reports on an exploratory study describing the functioning of eight plant clinics in Rwanda. Personal and organisational commitment, publicity, and proactive communication with farmers and local leaders are key factors explaining higher attendance of some clinics. Farmer attendance is under-reported by 40-50%. Data management needs improvement to make clinic records reliable tools for decision-makers. This type of assessment can help improve operations and realise the plant clinics' potential.

show abstract

Section: Plant Clinic Recordsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Here we give advice for free”: the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

Majuga

Uzayisenga

Kalisa

et al. 2018

Development in Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They bring together individuals and institutions who are experts in plant disease diagnosis within and outside countries, therefore increasing surveillance at local and regional levels. The tablet computer also facilitates access to the knowledge bank which has information tools such as factsheets to assist in diagnosis (Wright et al, 2016). These services are however only accessible to plant doctors who have the devices.…”

Section: Plant Doctors Suggestions On Strengthening Diagnostic Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Details of the farmer name, gender, crop grown, symptoms observed and the recommendations given by the plant doctor are recorded. Currently, data capture methods include paper and electronic using mobile tablet computers (Wright et al, 2016). Data recorded by paper are digitised, cleaned and uploaded to the Plantwise online management system (POMS) data base.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diagnostic support to plantwise plant doctors in Kenya

Mugambi¹,

Williams²,

Muthomi³

et al. 2016

J. Agric. Ext. Rural Dev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Effective extension services are essential to provide farmers with skills and knowledge to manage pests and diseases. These services are provided by government agencies, non-governmental organisations, community based organisations as well as various actors in the private sector. Plantwise aims to help farmers lose less of their crops to pests and diseases, through among other strategies, the establishment of networks of plant clinics. Farmers visit these clinics and explain their plant health problems to plant doctors, who are mostly extension agents trained to provide diagnosis and give recommendations for pest management. However, plant doctors need diagnostic support in order to provide accurate diagnosis especially when faced with new pests. This study was carried out in Kenya to establish the diagnostic support available to plant doctors in the country and provide suggestions for improvement. A total of 133 plant doctors were interviewed and plant clinic data in the Plantwise online management system (POMS) database reviewed to find out how often plant doctors indicated the intention to send samples to a diagnostic lab as a follow up action. Plant doctors interviewed were aware of diagnostic services, and 65% indicated an intention to send samples for diagnosis. Thirty per cent of those interviewed had sent samples to a diagnostic centre, and feedback generally took several days with feedback not received in 27% of the cases, suggesting a need to improve coordination between research and extension. Plant doctors using tablet computers had better access to diagnostic support from their peers through their social online network.

show abstract

“…ICTs include traditional devices such as radio, and modern technologies such as satellite imaging and smartphones. Wright et al (2016) found extension officers' adoption of Short Messaging Service (SMS) in Kenya resulted in an increase of service quality and timeliness. According to the World Bank (2017), adoption of ICTs can reduce the overall cost of extension service delivery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extension Officers’ Adoption of Modern Information Communication Technologies to Interact with Farmers of Trinidad

Narine

Harder

Roberts

2019

JIAEE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Ministry Extension struggled to provide adequate services to Trinidadian farmers because of a reliance on top-down methods. Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been touted as an effective and efficient way to serve farmers in the Caribbean. This study sought to describe the factors affecting Ministry Extension officers’ decisions to adopt text messaging via Short Messaging Service (SMS) to communicate with farmers. The Diffusion of Innovation theory guided this study, and data were collected from a census of Extension officers in the Ministry Extension service. Results showed most Extension officers used voice calls and SMS to communicate with farmers. Many Extension officers who did not use ICTs were willing to use multimedia messaging, SMS, electronic mail (email), voice calls, and social media to interact with farmers. Extension officers were accustomed to using text messaging, saw the benefit of using SMS to communicate with farmers, and were confident in their ability to use SMS for farmer interactions. However, results indicated a lacking policy environment for SMS use, and limited support existed from peers and supervisors to use SMS to interact with farmers. Findings showed most Extension officers perceived farmers can use mobile telephones to make calls, send text messages, and use multimedia messaging. This implies Extension officers were aware of the potential for using a variety of ICTs to engage with farmers. However, internal policies and administrative support are critical to their adoption of ICTs for farmer interactions in Extension.

show abstract

Using ICT to Strengthen Agricultural Extension Systems for Plant Health

Cited by 29 publications

References 5 publications

“Here we give advice for free”: the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

“Here we give advice for free”: the functioning of plant clinics in Rwanda

Diagnostic support to plantwise plant doctors in Kenya

Extension Officers’ Adoption of Modern Information Communication Technologies to Interact with Farmers of Trinidad

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About