Learning Agriculture in Rural Areas: The Drivers of Knowledge Acquisition and Farming Practices by Rice Farmers in West Africa

Autor/inn/en	Zossou, Espérance; Arouna, Aminou; Diagne, Aliou; Agboh-Noameshie, Rita Afiavi
Titel	Learning Agriculture in Rural Areas: The Drivers of Knowledge Acquisition and Farming Practices by Rice Farmers in West Africa
Quelle	In: Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 26 (2020) 3, S.291-306 (16 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1389-224X
DOI	10.1080/1389224X.2019.1702066
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Agricultural Occupations; Agricultural Production; Knowledge Level; Family Structure; Training; Access to Information; Socioeconomic Status; Experience; Technology Integration; Attitudes; Gender Differences; Nongovernmental Organizations; Africa; Benin; Cote d'Ivoire; Niger; Nigeria; Togo + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Agriculture; Occupation; Landwirtschaft; Beruf; Landwirtschaftlicher Beruf; Production; Produktion; Agrarproduktion; Landwirtschaftliche Produktion; Wissensbasis; Familienkonstellation; Familiensystem; Ausbildung; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Erfahrung; Attitude; Einstellung; Verhalten; Geschlechterkonflikt; Afrika
Abstract	Purpose: This paper explores the main factors that influence farmers in acquiring agricultural knowledge and adopting technologies with the aim of better understanding the agricultural innovation systems in West Africa. Design/Methodology/Approach: We use data collected between 2013 and 2014 across rice hubs in five West African countries: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. In total, 499 household heads were surveyed using a stratified random sampling technique. Data are analyzed with the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test and the Poisson regression. Findings: The findings show that farmers' knowledge is influenced by a range of factors, including household size, training, access to formal and informal knowledge sources and community socioeconomic status. Farmers rely heavily on personal experiences and fellow farmers to adopt technologies. Practical implications: The study suggests that key policies for strengthening the innovation systems are those that help farmers access both formal and informal knowledge sources, credit services, better welfare and information and communication tools. Theoretical implications: The study shows the need to consider both extrinsic factors (e.g. characteristics of the technology and attributes of the external environment) and intrinsic factors (e.g. knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of the potential adopter towards the innovation) when analyzing the decision process toward technology adoption in West Africa. Originality/Value: This initiative is to identify the conditions that will enable a more inclusive technology development and diffusion process. This is important because agricultural extension is currently undergoing a deep restructuring focused on privatizing the agricultural services in developing countries characterized by a low literacy rate. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01