Agricultural Administration and Extension最新文献

The images the farmer holds about himself/herself significantly affect behaviour and the decisions made about the farm business. Details are given on the nature and measurement of these images and their relevance in understanding farmer behaviour. The importance of the Self-Concept from the viewpoint of extension and training is outlined by the use of three research projects; one from Syria and two from the United Kingdom. The need for marketing extension and training in a form that recognises the different Self-Concepts of different farmers and in a manner avoiding conflict with these images is emphasised.

In designing extension systems, answers to the question ‘How many extension agents are needed?’ are always given. The question is, in practice, answered intuitively and this paper enquires whether economically optimal answers are conceivable. It appears that, so long as farmers vary in their propensity to innovate, there probably are least-cost solutions to the question in respect of specific projects. The underlying theory is complex and the treatment presented here is simplified, perhaps oversimplified. In discussion, the importance of diffusion processes as an agent of innovative change is emphasised.

This paper examines the problems faced by subsistence farmers in the small-scale communal farming areas of Zimbabwe. During field surveys in two of these areas south of Harare, in 1983 and 1984, samples of farming households were asked to indicate what they considered to be the major obstacles hindering them from increasing their crop production. Five of the most frequently cited constraints are discussed in this paper. These are: (1) the lack of money with which to purchase seasonal agricultural inputs, particularly fertilizers; (2) the lack of basic farming implements, notably the ox-drawn single furrow plough; (3) the lack of draught cattle; (4) inadequate arable land; and (5) inadequate family labour for agricultural work. The magnitude of each of these constraints in terms of the proportions of households affected is discussed using survey data from the two samples of 430 and 371 households in Mhondoro and Save North communal areas respectively.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) faces a major threat to its coffee production, a major source of its export income, due to the accidental introduction of the fungus Hemileia vastatrix which causes rust in coffee. Both government administrators and coffee growers were unprepared for this event. Both short-term and long-term strategies to meet this threat are outlined. Short-term measures include improved coffee husbandry by growers and use of fungicides with government assistance. Long-term measures suggested include the introduction of rust-resistant varieties, crop diversification, intercropping and mixed cropping. The successful implementation of such strategies is likely to require reforms in the government's administration of the coffee industry in PNG. Some shortcomings of the existing administrative system are indicated and an alternative structure is proposed. It is suggested that many LDCs dependent on perennial crops could face similar biological threats to their crops, so that PNG's case may be of wider interest.

The use of biological computer-based simulation models is considered with reference to Farming Systems Research. Such models have a role to play in the design of appropriate technology packages for poor farmers. The potential benefits for speeding the design process are such as to encourage the finding of solutions to, or the minimisation of the impact of, the severe conceptual problems that exist. Certain characteristics in the design of biological models can be enumerated, which may be expected to facilitate their use in such a process.

Canal irrigation systems in Southeast Asia are being examined with a view to improving their performances. Some systems of medium size may, with their drainage water, be supporting small irrigation systems unknown to officials of water and land development agencies. With a decision to modify the water flow pattern of a medium-size system, the administrators who plan the modifications should learn whether such dependent systems occur. This paper suggests that dependent systems are more likely to have been created on gently sloping land cut by gullies and small, locally deep valleys than on land without such valleys. It also suggests that aerial photographs, satellite images, maps, and government records may not provide information on the locations of the systems, and that such information be sought instead from farmers.