International Journal of Agricultural Science Research and Technology in Extension and Education Systems
Volume:3 Issue: 2, Jul 2013

While promoting rural economic enterprises and businesses can contribute to create and strengthen entrepreneurship, this as a crucial strategy will accelerate rural development process. Through extending these businesses and strengthening entrepreneurship among rural people proper solutions can be found to combine resources both inside and outside the village. It can also assist to provide both prerequisites to improve quality of rural personal and social life as well as necessary tools for sustainable economy and environment for rural people. This study was an attempt to explore some solutions for creating, strengthening and promoting rural small businesses in Hamedan's rural areas. To achieve this, a qualitative methodology through interviewing with 25 experts in the area of rural development was used. A summarized content analysis technique also was used to analyze the qualitative data. The results showed the solutions to develop rural small businesses include implementation of training programs for improving rural skills and abilities especially in technical and economic activities, creation and enforcement the marketing networks, preparation of facilities and necessary possibilities such as banking, insurance and transporting facilities.

Present study was conducted in the three provinces of Pakistan with the objectives to study the curricula relevancy with the participatory extension, supervision and administration and its practical applicability at the field level. For this extension agents of the selected provinces were selected purposively. Mail questionnaire were used as instruments for data collection form 227 respondents and were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. Findings of the study revealed that the respondent either strongly agreed or agreed with the statements that the curricula in an extension education program helped them to win farmers trust for effective agriculture extension (93%), organize farmers into participatory learning groups (75%) and answer the questions raised by farmers (89%) and to use audio visual aids respectively (92%). This implies for the acceptance of null hypothesis that the curricula improve the extension agent’s skills in different field levels programs. Respondent were also either strongly agreed or agreed that the curricula in an extension education program helped them to supervise and guide official duties of field staff (87%), monitor the work of junior field staff (85%), maintain office morale (82%) and to develop leadership potential (86%) of the staff at the field. This implies for the acceptance of alternative hypothesis. Furthermore the respondents also reported rated the curricula contents and structure with respect to scope and topics as excellent (14%), good (61%), fair (21%) and poor (4%). The study as a whole concludes that the extension agents perceived the existing curricula as effective and result oriented. The study recommends that to make the curricula more effective for sustainable agriculture development there is a need for looking into the farmer’s needs and expressions, learning and instructional technologies and giving importance to the views of the extension field staff for revision and development of the curricula.

This study was conducted based on primary data collected using a questionnaire. A total of 90 respondents among farmers associations were interviewed in Kano state of Nigeria. Therefore, double stage stratified and purposive simple random sampling technique was used to select 30 respondents in each of three (3) farmers associations, one from each of the three (3) agricultural zones of the state. The data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive statistics. The result revealed that 67% of the farmers were 45years old and below and 79% were literate. Furthermore, 47% joined the association with an aim of contributing to community development while 46% joined for receiving an assistance for farming. Additionally, 57% and 60% required and received agricultural marketing information on production aspect respectively. 71% described extension agents as a source of information. Long distance from source and poor access to communication network was the major problems limiting access to agricultural marketing information

There is limited literature on how to engage the rural women in agriculture and improve their contributions to household food security and income. This study aimed to contribute to literature on women engagement in agriculture through vegetable production using good agricultural practices. The empirical data used were drawn from technology demonstrations and experimentation, learning fields, and training. Field work ran from May 2010 to November 2010. Participant observation, focus group discussion, individual interviews and survey were used in data collection. The potentials of vegetable production using good agricultural practices in improving women’s household food security and income were investigated. But how gender-responsive is this technology to women farmers? The study was started with 68 women farmers from Barangays Dalaguisen, Pawa and Nagtupacan in Lagangilang, Abra, Philippines. The same technologies and training were given to all women however the volume of vegetables produced and the benefits derived varied among women partners. The major challenge lies in making the women’s vegetable production practices attain maximum potential gain for women, their household and the community. Strategies to determine the champions and profiling the champions is a very important research move to mobilize them.

About half of the population in Pakistan is food insecure. The study focused the food secure population and the strategies for reducing poverty in district Rawalpindi. The study was carried out in district Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Simple random sampling technique was used for this research study in district Rawalpindi. A sample of 120 respondents was selected. Then the data was analyzed through SPSS. It was concluded that majority people have low income, high food expenditures, low educational level affecting food security and government policies were not satisfactory to ensure food security. Moreover significant associations were found between education and food security and food security with the government policies. It was experienced that the more the people were educated were food secure.

A diverse range of foods has been shown to increase energy and micronutrients intake in the developing countries. It is widely asserted in the literature and development circles that farm household access to irrigation dam can provide a significant improvement of household’s dietary diversity. This study set out to assess the role of Kampe irrigation dam on farm household dietary diversity in Kogi State, Nigeria. A total of 140 respondents were interviewed using structured questionnaire. A two stage sampling technique was utilized for the study. The respondents were divided into two stratum, namely irrigation beneficiary and irrigation non-beneficiary. A simple random sampling technique was used to draw respondents from the two strata and the collected data were analyzed with frequency counts, percentages, and Poisson regression analysis was used to identify the factors influencing farm household’s dietary diversity score. A structured questionnaire with in-built 24-hour diet recall was use for data collection. A 12-food group model was used to evaluate diet diversity (DD). The results show that majority of the respondents (94.3 %) were married and mostly farmers (100 %). Overall, mean dietary diversity score (DDS) was 6.5, irrigation beneficiaries dietary diversity score was 7 on average and non-beneficiaries score was 6. Age of household head, household size, farm size, and income were all identified to contribute significantly to household dietary diversity score (DDS). In conclusion dietary diversity is fairly good for irrigation beneficiary compared to the overall average in the study area and efforts to improve nutritional status must address the issue of dietary diversity.

The purpose of this research was identifying factors affecting the development of processing andcomplementary industries of date palm in Khouzestan province. The method of research was causal comparative. The population of this research was managers in processing and complementary industries of date palm products of Khouzestan province (N=100). The return rate was 94% (N=94). By census method all of managers were selected for participation in the study. A questionnaire was developed to gather information regarding factors affecting on development of processing and complementary industries of date palm products. The questionnaire was pilot tested and reliability was estimated by calculating Cronbach’s alpha. Reliability was favorable (Cronbach's alpha=0.85). Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Based on the results most important items for human development of processing and complementary industries of date palm farms were: development of information management (M= 3.45, SD= 1.18), knowledge and information up-to-date (M= 2.92, SD= 1.09), scientific behavior development (M= 2.92, SD= 1.24), social participation development (M= 2.69, SD= 1.22). Also to categorize factors affecting development in processing and complementary industries of date palm products, and to determine the variance explained by each factor, an exploratory factor analysis approach was followed. These factors include: economic characters, managerial skills, infrastructure, expansion of monitoring and eliminating the inflexible procedures and customer oriented. Based on the results, it is recommended that these factors should be considered.

The main asset of farmers is their labour and the utilization of healthcare services will help to improve their health and thus productivity. Some of the problems inhibiting proper utilization of healthcare services in Nigeria include non-availability, inaccessibility and high cost of medical care. The aim of this paper is to examine the determinants of the Utilization of Healthcare Services among farmers in Oyo State. A multistage random sampling technique was used to solicit responses from 140 farmers across two agro-ecological zones of Oyo State. The distance to healthcare services, the quality of treatment, cost of treatment, the availability of healthcare services, type of healthcare services and the method of financing healthcare services were found to significantly influence the utilization of healthcare services among farmers in Oyo State. The study therefore recommends that efforts should be made to provide accessible primary healthcare service centres such that the farmers do not have to walk long distances to access healthcare services. Also, improved healthcare facilities and competent medical personnel should be provided for the farmers at little or no cost so as to improve the utilization rate by farmers who cannot afford medical care