Comparison of agricultural education in EC countries, together with a conference report on the relevance of particular issues for the UK - describes the functions, scope and administrative aspects of agricultural institutes, relevant university faculties and other higher education institutions, the possibilities for student exchange, the international comparability of occupational qualifications and degrees, apprenticeship programmes and curriculum, etc. Flow charts and statistical tables. Conference held in london 1977 feb. 9.

While the global marketplace is cluttered with books and products about agriculture and related issues of development, very few speak specifically to agricultural extension and its practices worldwide. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood for a majority of rural people and is often referred to as the mainstay of the economy of the developing world. Agricultural Extension practices or advisory services as per usage in some countries provide a close examination of country-by-country approach. In the book, contributions are drawn from thirteen countries in four regions of the world. Furthermore, the editors list the countries alphabetically. The countries are Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ukraine and the United States of America.The many contributors of the book at the onset explore the historical evolution of agricultural extension in their respective countries. For example, during the colonial era and prior to self-governance in several African countries, agriculture was the sole powerhouse that supplied raw materials to the industries of the now western societies. The effective connection between the 'colonial masters' and the search for rural raw materials was the agricultural extension worker. In one way, this book helps to connect the history of colonial and post-colonial Africa in the sustenance of agricultural development in Europe and America.Canada and the United States of America share a lot but also have many differences in their approach to agricultural extension. While America owes its origins to the land grant cooperative extension service with a mandate to state supported universities for the implementation of its programs, Canada traced its need for agricultural extension services to the adaptation of technologies to individual skills for expanded production for growing population (Hamby, 2019). Additionally, while Canada, at one time with reason, withdrew from public agricultural extension, the USA never followed that path since its inception of extension work in 1785.Formal law organizing the agricultural extension service sector in Ukraine is recent. Extension law of Ukraine was adopted in 2004 allowing for a robust participation of both public and private sector. (Windon and Zaburanna, 2019).The chapter on Ukraine provides insights to the understanding of this effort.The success of India's agricultural revolution could be traced to the resilience of local rural farmers who labored day and night tilling the soil in a sustainable manner. Indian and Pakistani farmers worked alongside extension workers in their respective countries to provide the advice and education that helped the transformation of the agricultural sector. Finally, there are two important points to make here. First, this book, while based on agricultural extension practices, provides a country-by-country comparative assessment. It is easy to read and a good narrative to follow. However, the comparisons are largely limited to the countries examined in the book. Second, the book allows us to review the success and failures of major institutions such as the World Bank, international development agencies and other donor organizations for their participation and recommendation to the efforts of countries involved in the practice of agricultural extension worldwide.

The digital agriculture revolution holds a promise to build an agriculture and food system that is efficient, environmentally sustainable, and equitable, one that can help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. Unlike past technological revolutions in agriculture, which began on farms, the current revolution is being sparked at multiple points along the agrifood value chain. The change is driven by the ability to collect, use, and analyze massive amounts of machine-readable data about practically every aspect of the value chain, and by the emergence of digital platforms disrupting existing business models. All this allows for drastically reduced transaction costs and pervasive information asymmetries that plague the agrifood system. The success of the digital transformation, however, is not guaranteed as the risks it brings are numerous, including those related to data governance and inadequate competition within and between digital platforms. What’s Cooking: Digital Transformation of the Agrifood System investigates how digital technologies can accelerate the transformation of the agrifood system by increasing efficiency on the farm; improving farmers’ access to output, input, and financial markets; strengthening quality control and traceability; and improving the design and delivery of agriculture policies. It also identifies a key role for the public sector in maximizing the benefits of this process while minimizing its risks, through enabling an innovation ecosystem featuring open datasets, digital platforms, digital entrepreneurship, digital payment systems, and digital skills and encouraging equitable technology adoption.

The Million Farmers School (MFS) is an innovative extension program initiated by the Department of Agriculture in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, in 2017. Twice in a year, the department deploys its entire extension machinery to organize nearly 15,000 training programs for about a million farmers across all districts of the state. Unlike traditional extension services, MFS integrates various facets of agricultural knowledge into a packaged product and delivers through village-level trainings where printed material on the topics of training are also distributed among participants. This study presents early findings of a process evaluation, involving assessments of program design, implementation strategies, and estimation of benefits from program participation. In addition to consultation with public officials and community organizations, a state-level representative survey was conducted on a sample of both participating and non-participating households. The early results based on matching and instrumental variable methods—suggest that knowledge outcomes are significantly better among participants vis-à-vis non-participants. The results are robust to different model specifications. The study also qualitatively assesses various aspects of the program’s design and implementation, highlighting the constraints and challenges it faces and offers implementation advice for greater efficacy in its future course.

The Present Book Deals With All The Important Dimensions Of Agricultural Management Management Process In Development Organizations, Development Programmes, Human Resource Planning, Management Techniques And Tools, Management Of Information Systems, To Name A Few. It Helps To Enrich The Managerial And Technical Skills Of Extension Managers, Scientists And Administrators.Well Supplemented With Illustrations, Questions For Discussion And Glossary, The Book Is Comprehensive And Easily Accessible Even To Average Readers For Its Simple Language, Lucid Style And Reader-Friendly Approach To The Subject Matter.While It Serves As A Textbook For Students And Teachers Of Agriculture And Agri-Business Management, It Is A Valuable Reference Source For All Those Concerned With Home Science, Veterinary Science, Rural Development, Social Work, Extension Education And Other Allied Fields.

This important book is the re-titled third edition of the extremely well received and widely used Agricultural Extension (van den Ban & Hawkins, 1988, 1996). Building on the previous editions, Communication for Rural Innovation maintains and adapts the insights and conceptual models of value today, while reflecting many new ideas, angles and modes of thinking concerning how agricultural extension is taught and carried through today. Since the previous edition of the book, the number and type of organisations that apply communicative strategies to foster change and development in agriculture and resource management has become much more varied and this book is aimed at those who use communication to facilitate change in agriculture and resource management. Communication for Rural Innovation is essential reading for process facilitators, communication division personnel, knowledge managers, training officers, consultants, policy makers, extension specialists and managers of agricultural extension or research organisations. The book can also be used as an advanced introduction into issues of communicative intervention at BSc or MSc level.