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We investigate the influence of an agricultural TV edutainment programme on farmers’ decisions to implement changes of agricultural practices. We use data obtained from a survey conducted to 1,572 households in Kenya across the target areas of a TV edutainment programme, Shamba-Shape-Up (SSU). A conceptual framework is developed to account for the interaction between farmers watching SSU internal factors including farmer’s and household’s characteristics, farmer’s views on farming and farmer’s trust on sources of influence and farmer’s decision to change their agricultural practices. Structural equations and probit models are used to understand how watching edutainment TV programme Shamba Shape-Up (SSU) along with farmers and household’s characteristics, famer’s views on farming and farmer’s trust on sources of information affect maize and dairy farmer’s probability to make changes to agricultural practices shown in SSU. We find that SSU has an influence on maize and dairy farmers’ decisions to implement changes of agricultural practices. Farmers who watch SSU have a higher probability to implement a greater number of agricultural practices. However, SSU influence varies depending on the agricultural practice recommended as well as on the reasons that farmers have for watching the programme. The probability of implementing agricultural practices shown on SSU was dependent the associated difficulty of making such changes. Edutainment TV can be a viable channel to nudge farmers to implement practices that contribute to face local and global challenges such as adapting and mitigating climate change, poverty reduction, increasing productivity and income of smallholders in developing countries.

Edutainment, the combination of education with entertainment through various media such as television, radio, mobile phone applications and games, is increasingly being used as an approach to stimulate innovation and increase agricultural productivity amongst smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Shamba Shape Up, a widely publicised makeover reality TV programme, is an example of edutainment that has received considerable attention, and airs in three countries in East Africa where it is estimated to be watched by millions of viewers.\ud There is no published academic research on the influence of makeover television formats on innovation systems and processes in smallholder agriculture. Using an Agricultural Innovation Systems approach, this paper explores how makeover edutainment is influencing smallholder farmer innovation systems together with the effect this is having on smallholder farms. In the absence of previous research, it articulates a Theory of Change which draws on research traditions from mass communication, agricultural extension and innovation systems. \ud Data came from two large scale quantitative (n=9,885 and n=1,572) surveys and in-depth participatory qualitative research comprising focus group discussions, participatory budgets, agricultural timelines, case studies and key information interviews in Kenya. An estimated 430,000 farmers in the study area were benefiting from their interaction with the programme through increased income and / or a range of related social benefits including food security, improving household health, diversification of livelihood choices, paying school fees for children and increasing their community standing / social capital. \ud Participatory research showed SSU enhanced an already rich communication environment and strengthened existing processes of innovation. It helped set the agenda for discussions within farming communities about opportunities for improving smallholder farms, while also giving specific ideas, information and knowledge, all in the context of featured farm families carefully selected so that a wide range of viewers would identify with them and their challenges.\ud Broadcasts motivated and inspired farmers to improve their own farms through a range of influences including entertainment, strong empathy with the featured host farm families, the way ideas emerged through interaction with credible experts, and importantly through stimulating widespread discussion and interaction amongst and between farmers and communities of experts on agricultural problems, solutions and opportunities. The fact that local extension workers also watched the programmes further enhanced the influence on local innovation systems. \ud The findings indicate that well designed makeover edutainment can strongly influence agricultural innovation processes and systems resulting in impact on the agricultural production and behaviours of large numbers of smallholder farmers.

This article explores how conflict-induced displacement influences agricultural innovation processes and systems, and its implications after the return home or permanent resettlement of smallholder farmers. Results show that high rates of agricultural innovation occurred during displacement in the Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005), many of which were maintained afterwards. Respondents cited the need for adaptation to new social and physical circumstances, changed gender roles, and enhanced inter-household communication as contributing to increased opportunities for knowledge exchange, trade, and importantly, the development of new networks, modes of organisation and social norms. Furthermore, returnees to South Sudan have embodied these changes together with new values, habits and expectations. New linkages continued across borders between returnees and non-returnees, facilitating knowledge exchange and access to resources, markets and sources of ideas. A high degree of autonomous innovation capacity was also evident. Further research is required on the dynamics and processes associated with innovation in conflict-induced displacement. It is important for policy makers to encourage approaches that seek to actively tap into and build on the institutional, human and social capital built during displacement.

The study examined research participants’ perception of social power in intervention programmes in Malawi. Two districts and four villages with active participation in the intervention programmes were purposively selected. Focus group participants were purposively identified, while the snow balling procedure was employed to select key informants. A total of 375 participants consisting of 219 men and 156 women (to better explore the viewpoints of men from those of women) were drawn from the two study locations. Data were analysed by content analysis. The results showed that >98% of participants stated that power meant the ‘capacity of a social actor to influence decisions and secure compliance of other social actors. Less than 98% also perceived ‘power’ as the leadership ability of a social actor but few participants with high level of power shared this construct. Further analysis informed that power was perceived as the act of guiding fellow social actors to plan and implement activities serving common interest while another 50% of respondents perceived power as a mere potential ability to influence. Statistics however showed only 3.7% of relatively powerful social actors from agricultural extension workers and 1.3 % of sexual and reproductive health interventionists shared power as potential ability to influence way of thinking and doing. Therefore, stakeholders of development intervention should recognize experienced social actors and traditions as power indicators since these will enhance effective extension policy process aimed at development intervention among rural populace. Keywords: Participants, village level, intervention, influence, leadership

Food safety, alongside food quality, remains a primary concern of both consumers and those along the whole food supply chain, leading to regulation by government alongside private third party certification. Much has been written about the value of these systems primarily from the perception of the consumer. This paper reports on a study that examined industry perceptions on the regulatory and assurance systems within the dairy sector of England and Wales. It found that the primary producer found value in both systems, although from a food hygiene focus regulation was seen to be more rigorous. Other stakeholders along the dairy food supply chain saw the assurance scheme as more rigorous. All stakeholders recognised the need to reduce duplication in delivering food safety through combining key elements of both systems with the added potential for better communication of both food safety and quality to the final consumer.

This paper critically examines the impact of the ‘Guidelines for Hariyali’ – a rural watershed development policy launched in Rajasthan, Western India which has been implemented through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) – for local communities. In 2003, the Government of India launched the ‘Guidelines’ (a comprehensive Integrated Wastelands Development Programme and Drought Prone Areas Programme and Desert Development Programme), the purpose of which is to restore ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing natural resources in drought-prone and arid rural areas for the benefit of villages. In the particular case-study area, the policy has been implemented through institutional linkages between a corporation and the government with the aim of sharing responsibilities for finances, planning, implementation and monitoring, the end goal being to enhance the livelihoods of rural households. The analysis focuses specifically on how the ‘Guidelines’ have affected the livelihoods of Rajasthani women, drawing upon findings from focus groups with men and women in the project catchment area, as well as interviews with key actors at public and private sector institutions. Findings reveal that there are significant gaps between policy objectives and the realities on the ground, particularly in the context of women's accessibilities and entitlements. The paper also broadens understanding of how PPPs, if implemented properly, could empower women in the area of watershed management across rural South Asia.

The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) identified practices to reduce the risk of animal disease outbreaks. We report on the response of sheep and pig farmers in England to promotion of these practices. A conceptual framework was established from research on factors influencing adoption of animal health practices, linking knowledge, attitudes, social influences and perceived constraints to the implementation of specific practices. Qualitative data were collected from nine sheep and six pig enterprises in 2011. Thematic analysis explored attitudes and responses to the proposed practices, and factors influencing the likelihood of implementation. Most feel they are doing all they can reasonably do to minimise disease risk and that practices not being implemented are either not relevant or ineffective. There is little awareness and concern about risk from unseen threats. Pig farmers place more emphasis than sheep farmers on controlling wildlife, staff and visitor management and staff training. The main factors that influence livestock farmers' decision on whether or not to implement a specific disease risk measure are: attitudes to, and perceptions of, disease risk; attitudes towards the specific measure and its efficacy; characteristics of the enterprise which they perceive as making a measure impractical; previous experience of a disease or of the measure; and the credibility of information and advice. Great importance is placed on access to authoritative information with most seeing vets as the prime source to interpret generic advice from national bodies in the local context. Uptake of disease risk measures could be increased by: improved risk communication through the farming press and vets to encourage farmers to recognise hidden threats; dissemination of credible early warning information to sharpen farmers' assessment of risk; and targeted information through training events, farming press, vets and other advisers, and farmer groups, tailored to the different categories of livestock farmer.

Within development communication, gaps remain in theory and practice: communication innovations are taking place which either do not incorporate theory or fail to challenge the assumptions of development communication and HIV/AIDS theory. This can lead to the implementation of unsuccessful interventions that lack theoretical frameworks or to uninformed practice, making it difficult to replicate. Further, research has demonstrated that entertainment education (EE) interventions have a measurable impact on behaviour in areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention. Given the transitions in EE practice and evidence of its impact, EE theory and practice can contribute insight into these challenges. A pilot study investigated these dilemmas within the context of the monitoring and evaluation of development communication. Framing this discussion is the concept of south–north dialogue, using comparative analysis of EE interventions to distil lessons through contrasting experiences in two diverse settings. It holds ...

Purpose: Malawi’s current extension policy supports pluralism and advocates responsiveness to farmer demand. We investigate whether smallholder farmers’ experience supports the assumption that access to multiple service providers leads to extension and advisory services that respond to the needs of farmers.\ud Design/methodology/approach: Within a case study approach, two villages were purposively selected for in-depth qualitative analysis of available services and farmers’ experiences. Focus group discussions were held separately with male and female farmers in each village, followed by semi-structured interviews with 12 key informants selected through snowball sampling. Transcripts were analysed by themes and summaries of themes were made from cross case analysis.\ud Findings: Farmers appreciate having access to a variety of sources of technical advice and enterprise specific technology. However, most service providers continue to dominate and dictate what they will offer. Market access remains a challenge, as providers still emphasize pushing a\ud particular technology to increase farm productivity rather than addressing farmers’ expressed needs. Although farmers work in groups, providers do not seek to strengthen these to enable active interaction and to link them to input and produce markets. This limits farmers’ capacity to continue with innovations after service providers pull out. Poor coordination between providers limits exploitation of potential synergies amongst actors.\ud Practical implications: Services providers can adapt their approach to engage farmers in discussion of their needs\ud and work collaboratively to address them. At a system level, institutions that have a coordination function can play a more dynamic role in brokering interaction between\ud providers and farmers to ensure coverage and responsiveness.\ud Originality/value: The study provides a new farmer perspective on the implementation of extension reforms.

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is replacing smallholder farming as the principal income source in parts of rural Ghana. Structural adjustment policies have removed support for the country's smallholders, devalued their produce substantially and stiffened competition with large-scale counterparts. Over one million people nationwide are now engaged in ASM. Findings from qualitative research in Ghana's Eastern Region are drawn upon to improve understanding of the factors driving this pattern of rural livelihood diversification. The ASM sector and farming are shown to be complementary, contrary to common depictions in policy and academic literature.

Climate change is inevitable and will continue into the next century. Since the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka is one of the most vulnerable to climate change, a thorough understanding of climate transition is critical for formulating effective adaptation strategies. This article provides an overview of the status of climate change and adaptation in the agricultural sector in Sri Lanka. The review clearly indicates that climate change is taking place in Sri Lanka in terms of rainfall variability and an increase in climate extremes and warming. A number of planned and reactive adaptation responses stemming from policy and farm-level decisions are reported. These adaptation efforts were fragmented and lacked a coherent connection to the national development policies and strategies. Research efforts are needed to develop and identify adaptation approaches and practices that are feasible for smallholder farmers, particularly in the dry zone where paddy and other food crops are predominately cultivated. To a...

The vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change and variability is increasingly rising. As agriculture is the only source of income for most of them, agricultural adaptation with respect to climate change is vital for their sustenance and to ensure food security. In order to develop appropriate strategies and institutional responses, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the farmers’ perception of climate change, actual adaptations at farm-level and what factors drive and constrain their decision to adapt. Thus, this study investigates the farm-level adaptation to climate change based on the case of a farming community in Sri Lanka. The findings revealed that farmers’ perceived the ongoing climate change based on their experiences. Majority of them adopted measures to address climate change and variability. These adaptation measures can be categorised into five groups, such as crop management, land management, irrigation management, income diversification, and rituals. The results showed that management of non-climatic factors was an important strategy to enhance farmers’ adaptation, particularly in a resource-constrained smallholder farming context. The results of regression analysis indicated that human cognition was an important determinant of climate change adaptation. Social networks were also found to significantly influence adaptation. The study also revealed that social barriers, such as cognitive and normative factors, are equally important as other economic barriers to adaptation. While formulating and implementing the adaptation strategies, this study underscored the importance of understanding socio-economic, cognitive and normative aspects of the local communities.

Why do people engage in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM)—labour-intensive mineral extraction and processing activity—across sub-Saharan Africa? This paper argues that ‘agricultural poverty’, or hardship induced by an over-dependency on farming for survival, has fuelled the recent rapid expansion of ASM operations throughout the region. The diminished viability of smallholder farming in an era of globalization and overreliance on rain-fed crop production restricted by seasonality has led hundreds of thousands of rural African families to ‘branch out’ into ASM, a move made to secure supplementary incomes. Experiences from Komana West in Southwest Mali and East Akim District in Southeast Ghana are drawn upon to illustrate how a movement into the ASM economy has impacted farm families, economically, in many rural stretches of sub-Saharan Africa.

The study was undertaken to investigate how willing would farmers be to pay for agricultural extension service in Nigeria. A multistage random sampling technique was used to select 268 respondents. Results showed that most farmers (95.1 per cent) were willing to pay for improved extension service as long as the service remained relevant to their needs. Farmers were willing to pay N1000 annually as their own share of the service cost. The most important factors that influenced farmers’ willingness to pay were states of origin, items originally paid for, major occupation, minor occupation, number of years in school and sale of farm produce.

Trees outside forests (TOF) in Nepal’s Terai have significantly increased over the past decade. The Chitwan District was one of the focus districts in the Terai Community Forestry Development Project that promoted a tree seedling distribution program. This paper examines the current position of tree integration on farmland and its contribution to livelihoods of rural households in this district. Interviews with local key informants, government and non-government agencies and wood-based industries, as well as an in-depth study of 32 households were used to describe the constraints faced by the households in management of trees on farmland. Most households cited disease, poor growth, lack of preferred tree species, lack of technical support, an uncertain tree market, and lack of financial support as constraints. Despite the important role of trees in subsistence and market-based rural livelihood diversification, and the consequent reduction in pressure on national forests from on-farm trees, current government policies and practices fail to recognise the value of these trees. It is argued that there is substantial potential for improving on-farm trees to enhance rural livelihoods. A responsive service mechanism centred on tree growing households would help the management of tree resources on the farmland.

Season-long monitoring of on-farm rice (Oryza sativa, L.) plots in Nepal explored farmers' decision-making process on the deployment of varieties to agroecosystems, application of production inputs to varieties, agronomic practices and relationship between economic return and area planted per variety. Farmers deploy varieties [landraces (LRs) and modern varieties (MVs)] to agroecosystems based on their understanding of characteristics of varieties and agroecosystems, and the interaction between them. In marginal growing conditions, LRs can compete with MVs. Within an agroecosystem, economic return and area planted to varieties have positive relationship, but this is not so between agroecosystems. LRs are very diverse on agronomic and economic traits; therefore, they cannot be rejecteda priorias inferior materials without proper evaluation. LRs have to be evaluated for useful traits and utilized in breeding programmes to generate farmer-preferred materials for marginal environments and for their conservation on-farm.

Whilst much is known of new technology adopters, little research has addressed the role of their attitudes in adoption decisions; particularly, for technologies with evident economic potential that have not been taken up by farmers. This paper presents recent research that has used a new approach which examines the role that adopters’ attitudes play in identifying the drivers of and barriers to adoption. The study was concerned with technologies for livestock farming systems in SW England, specifically oestrus detection, nitrogen supply management, and, inclusion of white clover. The adoption behaviour is analysed using the social–psychology theory of reasoned action to identify factors that affect the adoption of technologies, which are confirmed using principal components analysis. The results presented here relate to the specific adoption behaviour regarding the Milk Development Council’s recommended observation times for heat detection. The factors that affect the adoption of this technology are: cost effectiveness, improved detection and conception rates as the main drivers, whilst the threat to demean the personal knowledge and skills of a farmer in ‘knowing’ their cows is a barrier. This research shows clearly that promotion of a technology and transfer of knowledge for a farming system need to take account of the beliefs and attitudes of potential adopters.

Africa is thought to be the region most vulnerable to the impacts of climate variability and change. Agriculture plays a dominant role in supporting rural livelihoods and economic growth over most of Africa. Three aspects of the vulnerability of food crop systems to climate change in Africa are discussed: the assessment of the sensitivity of crops to variability in climate, the adaptive capacity of farmers, and the role of institutions in adapting to climate change. The magnitude of projected impacts of climate change on food crops in Africa varies widely among different studies. These differences arise from the variety of climate and crop models used, and the different techniques used to match the scale of climate model output to that needed by crop models. Most studies show a negative impact of climate change on crop productivity in Africa. Farmers have proved highly adaptable in the past to short- and long-term variations in climate and in their environment. Key to the ability of farmers to adapt to climate variability and change will be access to relevant knowledge and information. It is important that governments put in place institutional and macro-economic conditions that support and facilitate adaptation and resilience to climate change at local, national and transnational level.

This paper describes and analyses the experience of designing, installing and evaluating a farmer-usable touch screen information kiosk on cattle health in a veterinary institution in Pondicherry. The contents of the kiosk were prepared based on identified demands for information on cattle health, arrived at through various stakeholders meetings. Information on these cattle diseases and conditions affecting the livelihoods of the poor was provided through graphics, text and audio back-up, keeping in mind the needs of landless and illiterate poor cattle owners. A methodology for kiosk evaluation based on the feedback obtained from kiosk facilitator, critical group reflection and individual users was formulated. The formative evaluation reveals the potential strength this ICT has in transferring information to the cattle owners in a service delivery centre. Such information is vital in preventing diseases and helps cattle owners to present and treat their animals at an early stage of disease condit...

Cost-sharing, which involves government–farmer partnership in the funding of agricultural extension service, is one of the reforms aimed at achieving sustainable funding for extension systems. This study examined the perceptions of farmers and extension professionals on this reform agenda in Nigeria. The study was carried out in six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. A multi-stage random sampling technique was applied in the selection of respondents. A sample size of 268 farmers and 272 Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) extension professionals participated in the study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analysing the data generated from this research. The results show that majority of farmers (80.6%) and extension professionals (85.7%) had favourable perceptions towards cost-sharing. Furthermore, the overall difference in their perceptions was not significant (t =0.03). The study concludes that the strong favourable perception held by the respondents is a pointer towards...

The private sector, after shifting fortunes in development theory and practice over the years, is now widely recognised as the key to economic growth, which itself is indispensable for poverty reduction. The Development Studies Association (DSA) Annual Conference in 2006 brought together academics, private sector actors, NGOs and policy makers to share insights and experiences on how this vital contribution to growth, development and poverty reduction can be realised. This paper summarises the main themes and discussions of the conference and introduces the papers selected for inclusion in this conference issue. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Unidentified heats contribute to declining fertility rates in English dairy herds. Several techniques have been advocated to improve heat detection rates. Despite demonstrable technical efficacy and cost-effectiveness, uptake is low. A study in South West England used the Theory of Reasoned Action (TORA) to explore dairy farmers' attitudes and beliefs towards heat detection techniques. Few farmers were convinced that following prescribed observation times, milk progesterone testing and using pedometers would fit their system or improve on their current heat detection practices. Perceived difficulty of using a technique was not a constraint on adoption. Without promotion that addresses identified barriers and drivers to adoption, little change in current practice can be expected.

The low proportion of forested land and continuing degradation of existing forest cover are serious threats to the sustainability of forestry in Pakistan. Farm forestry has been identified as a feasible solution, particularly in the plain areas. Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour in a survey of 124 farmers in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province showed that farmers’ willingness to grow trees on their farms is a function of their attitudes towards the advantages and disadvantages of growing trees, their perception of the opinions of salient referents and factors that encourage and discourage farm level tree planting. Farmers viewed farm forestry as economically beneficial and environmentally friendly. Tree planting was perceived as increasing income, providing wood for fuel and furniture, controlling erosion and pollution and providing shade for humans and animals. Farmers saw hindrance in agricultural operations and the harbouring of insects, pests and diseases as negative impacts of tree planting; however, these were outweighed by their perceptions of positive impacts. Tree growing decisions of farmers were influenced by the opinions of family members, owners/tenants, fellow farmers and village elders. The factors that significantly predicted farm level tree planting were availability of barren land, lack of markets, lack of nurseries and damage caused by animals and humans. Farm forestry programmes are more likely to be successful if they acknowledge and address the factors which underlie farmers’ reasons for planting or not planting trees.

Rural land managers need access to sound advice and information to respond to pressures from environmental regulations, declining farm incomes, changing patterns in international trade and new institutional arrangements within the domestic food chain. Governments have cut back their provision of advisory services but need more than ever to influence land managers’ decisions to achieve a growing array of policy objectives. The paper develops a conceptual framework for analysing advisory services and concludes, through a review of sixteen case studies, that the needs of both governments and land managers can be met by a diverse mixture of private and public sector provision.

Using a case study approach to determine whether any particular resource rights regime and|or the level of security of land tenure are responsible for renewable natural resources (RNR) degradation, this paper argues that the continued use of irrelevant 'Western' concepts to describe the dynamic traditional land tenure system among the Dagaaba inhabitants of the region obscures important RNR management problems associated with the dynamic ecology of semi-arid environments. Degradation has more to do with the fragile environment with which the resource users have to cope. Institutional recognition and support for the traditional land tenure system is advocated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analysis of the pathways by which research outputs come to the attention of potential users, and of factors which influence uptake, requires selection of an appropriate analytical framework and set of indicators. The main factor influencing uptake by users, is the relevance to them of the research output itself. Relevance is not inherent in the research output, but a function of specific contextual factors. In addition the features of the research process and the ‘target’ have a bearing on uptake by intermediate users. Six analytical frameworks are briefly presented and compared. Models of the technology development process suggest questions about the nature and efficiency of linkages between the different elements of the process. Models of information processes focus on the fact that information is not simply passed on but is continually being transformed and adapted through communication. Models of the research management process suggest that the main determinant of relevance is the care and collaboration with which research goals are determined and research implementation is monitored and managed. Systems models allow us to move away from unilinear conceptions of technology development, and can deal more effectively with the diversity of information sources and channels available to potential users. This is also true of the multiple source of innovations and ‘farmer first’ models. Each framework has its uses and limitations: for any particular study, it is important to select one that is most suited to the type of research output and the particular issues under consideration. A wide range of socio-economic research methods have been used to explore promotion and uptake issues. Standard sample survey methods have limitations and alternatives are suggested. Publication, face-to-face interaction and electronic communication are the main pathways for promotion to fellow scientists. Long term relationships between collaborating institutions, and stability in research team composition, are factors in effective promotion at this level. Access to scientific publications in developing country research institutions is seen as a major constraint. Much is already known about the effectiveness of extension and communication methods among end users. There is undoubtedly a lot of untapped potential in the emerging communication technologies for low cost, effective access to agricultural information. The paper ends by suggesting a number of areas for future research on promotion and uptake.

Farming freshwater prawns with fish in rice fields is widespread in the coastal region of southwest Bangladesh because of favourable resources and ecological conditions. This article provides an overview of an ecosystem-based approach to integrated prawn–fish–rice farming in southwest Bangladesh. The practice of prawn and fish farming in rice fields is a form of integrated aquaculture–agriculture, which provides a wide range of social, economic and environmental benefits. Integrated prawn–fish–rice farming plays an important role in the economy of Bangladesh, earning foreign exchange and increasing food production. However, this unique farming system in coastal Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change. We suggest that community-based adaptation strategies must be developed to cope with the challenges. We propose that integrated prawn–fish–rice farming could be relocated from the coastal region to less vulnerable inland areas, but caution that this will require appropriate adaptation strategies and an enabling institutional environment. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Recent developments in agricultural extension policy in Thailand emphasise the importance of working with and through local organisations of rural people (RPOs). The paper describes these developments and explores four sets of arguments commonly used to support them: that they will increase the efficiency of extension by reducing the unit cost of “contact” between farmers and extension staff; that they provide a more effective means of enabling farmers, both individually and collectively, to take action in the interests of local agricultural development; that they promote equity in the provision of extension services; and that they can lead to the empowering of rural people to take greater initiative in their own development. Northern Thailand has a long history of the active involvement of local organisations in agricultural development, most notably the independent “muang fai” irrigation associations. The present century has seen a number of government sponsored efforts to promote the formation of new types of RPOs, efforts which have met with mixed success. Research conducted by the Universities of Reading and Chiang Mai in the nine provinces of the upper north identified the varied processes by which RPOs come into being and investigated the relationships between RPOs and extension agencies in the government and voluntary sectors. A series of case studies in different parts of the region provides evidence in support of the above four sets of arguments. These studies also show, however, that current approaches can lead to new patterns of exclusion among the rural population and may lead to a debilitating dependence of newly created RPOs on government or voluntary agencies. The limitations of current approaches are identified and suggestions made for increasing the benefits of RPO-based agricultural extension.

An online survey was conducted to establish horse owners' beliefs, attitudes and practices relating to the use of anthelmintic drugs. Out of a total of 574 respondents, 89 per cent described themselves as ‘leisure riders’, most of whom took part in a variety of activities including eventing, show jumping, dressage, hunter trials, hunting, driving, endurance and showing. Overall, respondents were generally aware and concerned about the issue of anthelmintic resistance. Less than 60 per cent of all respondents were comfortable with their existing anthelmintic programme, and 25 per cent would like to reduce the use of anthelmintics in their horses. Of all the respondents, 47 per cent used livery, and 49 per cent of those reported that the livery imposed a common anthelmintic programme for horses kept on the premises; 45 per cent of these respondents were not entirely happy with the livery yard's programme. Less than 50 per cent of all respondents included ‘veterinary surgeon’ among their sources of advice on worming.

Improved udder health requires consistent application of appropriate management practices\ud by those involved in managing dairy herds and the milking process. Designing effective\ud communication requires that we understand why dairy herd managers behave in the way they\ud do and also how the means of communication can be used both to inform and to influence.\ud Social sciences- ranging from economics to anthropology - have been used to shed light on\ud the behaviour of those who manage farm animals. Communication science tells us that\ud influencing behaviour is not simply a question of „getting the message across‟ but of\ud addressing the complex of factors that influence an individual‟s behavioural decisions. A\ud review of recent studies in the animal health literature shows that different social science\ud frameworks and methodologies offer complementary insights into livestock managers‟\ud behaviour but that the diversity of conceptual and methodological frameworks presents a\ud challenge for animal health practitioners and policy makers who seek to make sense of the\ud findings – and for researchers looking for helpful starting points. Data from a recent study in\ud England illustrate the potential of „home-made‟ conceptual frameworks to help unravel the\ud complexity of farmer behaviour. At the same time, though, the data indicate the difficulties\ud facing those designing communication strategies in a context where farmers believe strongly\ud that they are already doing all they can reasonably be expected to do to minimise animal\ud health risks.

Development-oriented religious organizations could benefit local communities by providing social services particularly in agricultural extension. U.S. President George Bush’s “faith-based initiative” policy, aimed at allowing churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious bodies in the United States to seek government funding for social services recognizes this fact. Though governments will always have responsibility for poverty alleviation, religious organizations seem most suited to working with the poor. They know these people better and are likely to be easily accepted by them when introducing improved agricultural technologies. President Bush’s policy has relevance for all countries, especially a developing country like Kenya. The advocacy for a faith-based approach to rural development in Kenya is particularly timely in view of Kenya’s ongoing retrenchment of extension agents, her limited financial and logistical support for extension, and the high incidence of corruption in public and business sectors. This paper describes a pilot project, the Bahati African Inland Church leaders’ initiative to make extension responsive to community needs and aspirations through a Christian Life Promotion Program. The project was quite successful, indicating that religious organizations could enhance the delivery of extension services. Introduction Religious beliefs partly determine people’s attitudes, values and way of life and sometimes motivate them to serve humanity or give them justification to treat other human beings unfairly. This paper describes the Bahati African Inland Church leaders’ initiative aimed at enhancing / improving agricultural extension delivery services in their community by working closely with local extension service providers. Using specific examples, the paper starts by narrating how people in various parts of the world have used their religious faith (beliefs) to justify acts of injustice against other individuals and groups. Additionally, it shows how religious faith has motivated many people to fight all forms of injustice and to run and manage community-based, social and economic development programs that alleviate human suffering with special reference to Kenya. Religious motivation to serve humanity: Since the world began, some people, in different places, have used their religious faith to support acts of injustice against humanity. How women in Afghanistan suffered under the Taliban fundamentalist leaders as their strict interpretation of Islamic law, is a case in point. Under the Taliban rule, Afghan women had virtually no access to medical care because female doctors could not practice and male doctors were not allowed to see or touch the bodies of female patients (Bowman, 2001). Also, slavery and other forms of racial injustices further reveal the dark side of religion. In general, religious fanatics have fought, maimed, and killed people of other faiths. Examples abound, such as the wars in Sudan, Chechnya and Ireland. Despite the gross misuse of religious faith and beliefs, history is full of good deeds that were wrought and are still being done by people of good will who are motivated mainly by their religious beliefs. For instance, Christian missionaries who currently number approximately 400,000 worldwide have written down hundreds of languages which had never been written before and introduced Western styles of education, medicine, bureaucracy, and humanitarian thought (Pettifer & Brandley, 1990).