Factors Influencing Access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management Information and Knowledge and Its Uptake among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

Autor/inn/en	Gwandu, T.; Mtambanengwe, F.; Mapfumo, P.; Mashavave, T. C.; Chikowo, R.; Nezomba, H.
Titel	Factors Influencing Access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management Information and Knowledge and Its Uptake among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe
Quelle	In: Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 20 (2014) 1, S.79-93 (15 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1389-224X
DOI	10.1080/1389224X.2012.757245
Schlagwörter	Socioeconomic Influences; Agricultural Occupations; Agribusiness; Foreign Countries; Agricultural Production; Soil Science; Participatory Research; Extension Agents; Access to Information; Interaction; Peer Teaching; Nongovernmental Organizations; Printed Materials; Knowledge Management; Rural Extension; Information Dissemination; Regression (Statistics); Extension Education; Structured Interviews; Questionnaires; Zimbabwe + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Agriculture; Occupation; Landwirtschaft; Beruf; Landwirtschaftlicher Beruf; Agrarindustrie; Ausland; Production; Produktion; Agrarproduktion; Landwirtschaftliche Produktion; Bodenkunde; Forschungstätigkeit; Interaktion; Peer group teaching; Peer Group Teaching; Wissensmanagement; Informationsverbreitung; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Erweitertes Bildungsangebot; Fragebogen; Simbabwe
Abstract	Purpose: The study evaluated how farmer acquisition, sharing and use patterns of information and knowledge interact with different socioeconomic factors to influence integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technology uptake. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted as part of an evaluation of field-based farmer learning approaches introduced by SOFECSA in Zimbabwe. Building on emerging farmer interactive platforms, data were collected using farmer participatory research approaches. Findings: Over 90% of the farmers identified the national extension agents as the farmers' most preferred and reliable sources of information on ISFM, with farmer-to-farmer interactions ranking second. Non-governmental organisations and the print media emerged as the least trusted sources of agricultural technical information. Field-based learning centres, which enabled interactive evaluation of different ISFM options, constituted 50%, indicating that they were major platforms for information and knowledge sharing. Uptake of ISFM was influenced by farmer resource group and farmers' visits to learning centres. Farmer experience and access to extension services were, in turn, the major factors influencing farmers' use of ISFM information. Approaches that support farmer-to-farmer interactions are required and learning centres are a suitable platform for such interactions to occur. Practical implications: The article brings to attention the role of learning centres in fostering adoption of ISFM technologies. Insights on the need to support and strengthen agricultural extension in rural smallholder communities are provided. Originality/value: This is a unique study exploring the role of farmer-oriented information and knowledge management in promoting complex technologies such as ISFM. A new dimension on the demands of new approaches for information dissemination to enhance knowledge sharing is presented. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10