Effect of Extension Programs on Adoption of Improved Farm Practices by Farmers in Adana, Southern Turkey

This study was undertaken to ascertain the effect of extension training on adoption of improved farm practices by farmers in Adana, Southern Turkey. It was discovered that most (72.5%) of the farmers were women and were educated. Most of them were also married. Generally, the farmers received training on crops such as wheat, sugar beet, maize, barley, cotton and water melons improved farming practices. The medium of training included farm/home visits, farmers’ meeting, and radio. Others were television, newspapers and agricultural exhibitions. The methods mostly used to train the farmers were individual contact method, group and result demonstrations, audio and film shows. Improved practices adopted by farmers were improved varieties of arable crops, spacing, row planting, tillage practices, and fertilizer application, weed control, and disease and pest control. The trainings on all the arable crops were very timely and apart from yam seeds, other crop inputs were readily available. Adoption of improved crop practices/technologies correlated significantly and positively with timeliness of training (r=0.91) and method of training (r=0.79). Timeliness of training correlated significantly with method of training (r=0.95). Number of media used correlated significantly with adoption of improved crop technologies (r=0.46) also availability of inputs correlated with timeliness of training (r=0.47) at 5% level of significance. It is, therefore, recommended that training of farmers be intensified to enhance adoption of other crops improved farm practices; more extension agents should be employed to increase the use of home visits and demonstration. Keywords: extension training, farmers, adoption, improved farm practice

Cooperative Multiagent Attentional Communication for Large-Scale Task Space

Acknowledgments This work was supported by the Dalian University Research Platform Project Funding: Dalian Wise Information Technology of Med and Health Key Laboratory, the National Natural Science Foundation of China: Research on the stability of multi-surface high-speed unmanned boat formation and the method of cooperative collision avoidance in complex sea conditions, NO.61673084.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

Investigating the Formation Process of Sn-Based Lead-Free Nanoparticles with a Chemical Reduction Method

Nanoparticles of a promising lead-free solder alloy (Sn3.5Ag (wt.%, SnAg) and Sn3.0Ag0.5Cu (wt.%, SAC)) were synthesized through a chemical reduction method by using anhydrous ethanol and 1,10-phenanthroline as the solvent and surfactant, respectively. To illustrate the formation process of Sn-Ag alloy based nanoparticles during the reaction, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the phases of the samples in relation to the reaction time. Different nucleation and growth mechanisms were compared on the formation process of the synthesized nanoparticles. The XRD results revealed different reaction process compared with other researchers. There were many contributing factors to the difference in the examples found in the literature, with the main focus on the formation mechanism of crystal nuclei, the solubility and ionizability of metal salts in the solvent, the solid solubility of Cu in Ag nuclei, and the role of surfactant on the growth process. This study will help define the parameters necessary for the control of both the composition and size of the nanoparticles

Effects of Community-Based Paid Extension on Reducing Vulnerability of Smallholder Dairy Farmers of Southwest Bangladesh

The study investigated the effect of Community-Based Paid Extension (CPE) on vulnerability reduction of smallholder dairy farmers. Randomly sampled 255 farmers were interviewed together with 15 key informants’ interview. Both statistical analysis and thematic approach were employed to achieve triangulation. In about 68 % of cases, CPE reduced vulnerability to a degree experienced as ‘moderate’, whereas 20 % of them experienced a ‘high’ reduction in vulnerability. The CPE has addressed wide ranges of vulnerability of smallholder dairy system. The regression analysis confirmed the importance of sustainable and frequent paid extension service at community level. Other factors such as education level of the farmers, use of different interpersonal and mass extension media, as well as positive change in livelihood assets also significantly influence vulnerability reduction of the smallholder dairy farmers. CPE deserves dissemination throughout the country and seeks special dairy extension policy organized around it for rapid rural development

Microfinance Institutions of Bangladesh: The Effects of Credit Risk Management on Credit Performance

The main aim of this study is to investigate the effects of credit risk management on the credit performance of microfinance institutions in Bangladesh. For this purpose, an econometric model with a cross-sectional dataset has been taken into account. The primary data is collected from125 officers of 35 microfinance institutions in Bangladesh. Multiple variables namely, credit policy, credit terms, credit appraisals process, credit risk control, credit collection procedures and Institutional factor have been adopted as the components of credit risk management. The data has been collected using a structured questionnaire completed by microfinance institutions officers of different levels in Bangladesh. The study reveals that credit policy, credit risk control, credit collection procedures and Institutional factor have positive effects on credit performance, and they are statistically significant at 5%, 10%, 1% and 1% levels respectively; while credit terms and credit appraisals process have positive but insignificant effects on the credit performance of microfinance institutions. The empirical findings will support the policymakers in restructuring their overall credit risk management strategies to improve and sustainable credit performance. Keywords: Competition, Overlapping credit, Institutional factor, Effects, Insolvenc

Service Quality of Public and Private Agricultural Extension Service Providers in Bangladesh

Quality has become a crucial concern for the successful survival of any organization in a competitive environment. With the aim of determining service quality of multiple public and private agricultural extension service providers in Bangladesh this research adopted SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990). A total of 318 randomly selected farmer respondents from nine selected organizations were interviewed on a face to face setting using the structured interview schedule. Probable causes impede service quality were identified using qualitative methods, such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions and informal interviews. According to Z statistics all the selected organizations represented a significant negative breach between perceived and expected ratings on all the service quality dimensions viz. tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Regression analysis confirmed that all the five selected dimensions of service quality can describe 74.6% variation in client satisfaction with the extension service in Bangladesh. Bringing program flexibility, offering rapid service, willingness to help clients, maintaining client records, and keeping the promise are some common areas of service improvement, need consideration for all kinds of service providers. Major impediments of service quality were less logistic support, scarcity of fund for doing practical extension programs, less use of information communication technology, lack of co-ordination among research-extension and extension service providers themselves, political interference, etc

Service Quality of Public and Private Agricultural Extension Service Providers in Bangladesh

Quality has become a crucial concern for the successful survival of any organization in a competitive environment. With the aim of determining service quality of multiple public and private agricultural extension service providers in Bangladesh this research adopted SERVQUAL model proposed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1990). A total of 318 randomly selected farmer respondents from nine selected organizations were interviewed on a face to face setting using the structured interview schedule. Probable causes impede service quality were identified using qualitative methods, such as key informant interviews, focus group discussions and informal interviews. According to Z statistics all the selected organizations represented a significant negative breach between perceived and expected ratings on all the service quality dimensions viz. tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Regression analysis confirmed that all the five selected dimensions of service quality can describe 74.6% variation in client satisfaction with the extension service in Bangladesh. Bringing program flexibility, offering rapid service, willingness to help clients, maintaining client records, and keeping the promise are some common areas of service improvement, need consideration for all kinds of service providers. Major impediments of service quality were less logistic support, scarcity of fund for doing practical extension programs, less use of information communication technology, lack of co-ordination among research-extension and extension service providers themselves, political interference, etc

Development of Dairy Industry in China

The Chinese dairy industry is in transition from a traditional centrally planned to a more market-oriented sector. This paper reviews the development process of dairy industry and the characteristics of different types of dairy farms existing in China. A range of factors affecting the development of dairy farming in China are analysed, which include small scale, poor management, lack of appropriate technology and effective training of dairy farmers, lack of extension and marketing services, lack of marketing incentives due to the traditional consumption pattern etc. The present situation of dairy products consumption and challenges under the market-oriented economy are also discussed. Finally the realistic alternatives in reconstructing dairy industry and relevant policies are recommended

Water-Saving Irrigation Promotion and Food Security: A Study for China

In response to water scarcity and food security, most governments in the world have adopted water-saving irrigation promotion policies by increasing the water-saving irrigation area. Many researches focus on water scarcity, but there is a lack of research on the food security effects of water-saving irrigation policies. A two-way fixed effect model was used to identify the effect of water-saving irrigation area on the production of food crops with panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2019. The study shows: First, water-saving irrigation area not only can save agricultural water use, but also has a significant positive effect on production of food crops; Second, water-saving irrigation area affects production of food crops through agricultural input factors, such as sown area, chemical fertilizer, and mechanized power; Third, there is heterogeneity in the effect of water-saving irrigation area on production of food crops, in which water-saving irrigation area has a greater impact on production of food crops in areas where there is less rainfall, or lower water-saving irrigation rate. Therefore, the water-saving irrigation promotion has a significant role in promoting China’s production of food crops and has made a certain contribution to ensuring food security