Farmers’ Opinions about Lifelong Learning in Animal Production (Published)
Learning is like rowing upstream, not advancing is dropping back. Lifelong learning activities for livestock and poultry farmers play an important role in the industry. This study analyzed animal farmers’ attitudes towards lifelong learning in Taiwan. Data were collected with structured and validated questionnaires from 798 farmers. Data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed using SAS. Results indicated that respondents were mainly employees on animal farms (38.7%); 29.1% were farm owners and owners’ wives. More than half of the respondents’ work experience was above 6 years (57.4%); the majority were male (85%); nearly one third (32%) were 25-34 years old; two thirds (66.7%) had university or graduate degrees. Respondents (92.4%) thought farmers should also have lifelong learning plan. Most respondents (87.2%) thought the future of animal production was positive. This research revealed that farmers had very high motivation about lifelong learning activities. Unexpectedly, employees expressed a higher understanding about lifelong learning than owners and owners’ wives. The higher the educational level respondents had, the more agreeable they were to lifelong learning. Lifelong learning believers expressed higher motivation in non-formal and informal learning activities than non-believers. Positive learners expressed enhanced competency and confidence, in turn motivating them to learn. Policymakers and practitioners should open up access to knowledge for everyone, encourage and promote relevant advanced conferences, hands-on training programs, and non-formal and informal learning activities for farmers.
Keywords: Farmer, Learning, Motivation, animal production, extension education
Impact of Social Media on Agricultural Extension in Kenya: A Case of Kesses District (Published)
The introduction of social media and web 2.0 applications has opened up a platform that agricultural extension officer’s, farmers, agricultural institutions and non-governmental institutions utilize to disseminate and exchange agricultural information. The objective of the study was to assess the use of social media as a source of agricultural information with reference to farmers in Kesses District. The study adopted a descriptive survey and the major data collection tools were interviews from farmers who use social media platforms. The study purposively sampled farmers in Kesses District and data was analyzed both descriptively. From the analysis, it is evident that there is immense need for agricultural information among farmers in Kesses District. The study reveals that farmers in Kesses District have diverse source of agricultural information for example the internet, social media and extension services. Majority of farmers approach the use of social media in agricultural information seeking with a positive attitude, pointing to the assumption that social media is largely beneficial and convenient as a source of agricultural information. Among the most common challenges faced include poor network access, power outages, and costly charges when accessing the internet. This study recommends that information centers can be established in Kesses District whereby farmers can obtain agricultural information online and that social media should be fully utilized to provide; feedback, complement extension programs, access local and international markets and complement communication campaigns whose goal is to bring about agricultural development.
Keywords: Agriculture, Farmer, Information, Kenya, Social media, extension