Using educational theory and research to refine agricultural extension: affordances and barriers for farmers’ learning and practice change

Sewell, Alison; Hartnett, Maggie; Gray, David; Blair, Hugh T.; Kemp, Peter; Kenyon, P. R.; St, Morris; Wood, Brennon

doi:10.1080/1389224x.2017.1314861

Cited by 59 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…DairyNZ 2017). Although the approach has been promoted, there are concerns about the effectiveness of this current extension design to support farmer learning about complex ideas (Sewell et al 2017). The successful implementation of extension programmes requires an understanding of the initial phases of learning and decision-making that are important to achieve change (Turner et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Barnes et al 2009;Mills et al 2017), which leaves uncertainty around what the most important decision-making factors are in light-touch regulated countries, such as New Zealand. Second, there is only limited work focusing on how knowledge of the factors influencing decision-making and heterogeneity in these factors can be used for the design of effective extension (Brown et al 2016;Burton and Paragahawewa 2011;Sewell et al 2017). Third, there is a lack of inductive studies which identify generalised types or findings from the data without being guided by previous theory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, this paper applies an inductive approach to identify the factors that influence farmer decision-making in relation to the voluntary uptake of unsubsidised diffuse pollution practices in a light-touch regulated country, with the aim of using the identified factors to make recommendations on extension design. We selected the agricultural sector in New Zealand as a case study, because in recent decades, the impact of land use activities on water quality has been of increasing concern for scientists, industries, policy-makers and wider society (Roy 2019), and the New Zealand agricultural sector is characterised by light-touch regulation. Furthermore, change so far has been based on voluntary initiatives, but concerns have been raised regarding the effectiveness of current models and the extent to which these support practice-based innovation and farmer learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Policy and Practice Certainty for Effective Uptake of Diffuse Pollution Practices in A Light-Touch Regulated Country

Knook

Dynes

Pinxterhuis

et al. 2019

Environmental Management

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Although the link between agriculture and diffuse water pollution has been understood for decades, there is still a need to implement effective measures to address this issue. In countries with light-touch regulation, such as New Zealand and Australia, most efforts to promote environmental management practices have relied on voluntary initiatives such as participatory research and extension programmes; the success of which is largely dependent on farmers' willingness and ability to adopt these practices. Increased understanding of the factors influencing farmer decision-making in this area would aid the promotion of effective advisory services. This study provides insights from 52 qualitative interviews with farmers and from observations of nine farmer meetings and field days. We qualitatively identify factors that influence farmer decision-making regarding the voluntary uptake of water quality practices and develop a typology for categorising farmers according to the factors that influence their decision-making. We find that in light-touch regulated countries certainty around policy and also around the effectiveness of practices is essential, particularly for farmers who delay action until compelled to act due to succession or regulation. The contribution of this paper is threefold: (i) it identifies factors influencing decisionmaking around the uptake of water quality practices in a light-touch regulated country; (ii) it develops a typology of different farmer types; and (iii) it provides recommendations on policy approaches for countries with light-touch regulation, which has potential relevance for any countries facing changes regarding their agricultural policy, such as post-Brexit policy in the UK.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Policy and Practice Certainty for Effective Uptake of Diffuse Pollution Practices in A Light-Touch Regulated Country

Knook

Dynes

Pinxterhuis

et al. 2019

Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In considering strategies, not only must the lack of trust in government-originated sources be considered, but also the ability of the scientific community to "sell the science." The lack of communication skills to enable scientists to transfer new knowledge to farmers has been noted, leading to increased recognition of the potential for advisory personnel/extension officers to become the " 'engine for innovation' and (to) 'build capacity' " (Sewell et al, 2017) alongside peer learning and support.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social marketing’s role in improving water quality on the Great Barrier Reef

Hay

Eagle

Saleem

2019

APJML

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Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to focus on the implications of claimed detrimental impacts for the agricultural activity of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem health in Queensland, Australia. The authors discuss the complex interaction of factors that have contributed to the decline in reef ecosystems and the challenges presented by multiple industries operating within the GBR catchment area. The authors then discuss measures employed to address agricultural runoff , claimed to be a significant factor in declining reef water quality. Design/methodology/approach-Surveys of land managers were undertaken in partnership with two of the six natural resource management (NRM) organizations operating in areas adjacent to the GBR identified as having very high risk of natural and anthropogenic runoff. The sample population was obtained from a membership database within the two regions. Participants include land managers from the both regions who engaged in sugar cane production (Region 1 and Region 2, included in this paper) and cattle production (Region 2, to be reported later). Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed including open-ended responses. Findings-A large-scale study of land managers reveals several reasons for the lack of success at reducing agricultural runoff. The authors discuss the rationale for a move to a theory-grounded social marketing approach to encouraging land manager behavior change, highlighting barriers, and potential enablers of sustained behavior change. Originality/value-This study is first of its kind that discusses the behavior of land managers in the GBR catchment area and highlights facilitators and impediments of land managers' behavior change toward GBR protection actions.

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“…Ngoc Chi and Yamada (2002) reported that the weak belief on ensuring a high yield of new technology limited the adoption of technology. Sewell et al (2017) mentioned that barriers to learning and adoption of new technologies included issues of trialability, complexity, compatibility, and risk.…”

Section: Technologies and Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adoption of improved production practices in low land rice through community training

et al. 2019

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Rice (Oryza sativa L.) production technology adoption requires effective farmers’ training for narrowing knowledge gap. This paper assesses the result of community training on the extent of adoption of improved rice production practices in low land rice of south western Bangladesh. A total of 531 farmers were trained through community training approach and 177 farmers were randomly selected for data collection. The extent of adoption of improved rice production practices and reasons for nonadopting technologies were solicited by personal interview with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire. Collected data were analysed using descriptive and inferential techniques. The community training was suited to adopt rice production technologies. The adoption of different rice production technologies was greater by the adopters of Satkhira district compared to Khulna that resulted in significant rice yield difference. The constraints against the adoption of the selected rice production technologies show that a portion of adopters was not convinced to adopt row transplanting, skipped row planting and birds perch for controlling insects, use of appropriate K and S fertilizers due to requirement of higher labour and fertilizer and risk of reduction of rice yield. The integration of other extension methods such as method and result demonstration might enhance the rate of adoption of those rice production technologies. SAARC J. Agri., 17(1): 1-11 (2019)

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Using educational theory and research to refine agricultural extension: affordances and barriers for farmers’ learning and practice change

Cited by 59 publications

References 43 publications

Policy and Practice Certainty for Effective Uptake of Diffuse Pollution Practices in A Light-Touch Regulated Country

Policy and Practice Certainty for Effective Uptake of Diffuse Pollution Practices in A Light-Touch Regulated Country

Social marketing’s role in improving water quality on the Great Barrier Reef

Adoption of improved production practices in low land rice through community training

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