基于ESI的中国农业大学植物与动物科学学科竞争力分析

基于ESI数据,以计量学理论为基础研究了进入ESI前1%(top1%)的中国农业大学植物与动物科学论文数、总引用量及其排名变化和高被引论文情况,并与国内外部分研究机构进行对比分析。从学科生产力、学科影响力、学科发展力、学科创新力四个方面对中国农业大学植物与动物科学的学科竞争力进行了定量分析与客观评价。结果表明,中国农业大学植物与动物科学的学科生产力、学科影响力水平较高,处于快速提升的阶段;学科发展力、学科创新力处于低水平,还需大幅提升。总体来看,中国农业大学植物与动物科学的学科竞争力已经初步形成并处于继续提升中,有望成为世界一流学科。     

农产品价格传导机制及其主要影响因素分析

农产品价格波动及传导不仅仅关系到农业自身的发展、各环节主体的利益分配,更关系到全社会经济秩序的稳定。农业稳定事关大局,如何确保农产品价格传导的顺畅,稳定市场价格,更是农业政策制定者和宏观经济调控者的重要着眼点。本文针对农产品价格传导相关内涵、影响因素进行探讨,并在此基础上提出稳定市场价格的价格传导促进措施,为早期预测农产品价格,提早做出市场预警,维持市场健康发展提供思路。     

Capacity building for gender‐sensitive agricultural extension planning in Ethiopia

Abstract

This article concerns capacity building for gender‐sensitive agricultural extension planning in a two‐year FAO pilot project at the Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia. The aim of the paper is to review and analyse the capacity‐building process, drawing out the lessons learned, regarding both ‘best practice’ and challenges faced. The author was engaged fully in the project for its two‐years duration and this study is a reflection of that experience. The project involved training extension staff in both participatory rural appraisal and gender analysis to ensure more client‐oriented extension planning. It is concluded that the use of the experiential learning cycle in capacity building, the reliance on participatory management and implementation styles, networking and the mainstreaming of the project within the Extension Department constitute ‘best practice’. Four challenges to the project's success are reviewed. They are, the difficulty of institutionalising the process within the short time‐scale of the project, the necessity of involving policy‐makers at all stages and levels, the need to raise gender awareness amongst rural men and women and the importance of addressing women's lack of decision‐making power.     

Book review

Miteinander Reden: Kommunikationspsychologie für Führungskräfte (Talking with another: Communication psychology for leaders). by F. Schulz von Thun, J. Ruppel and R. Stratmann (2000), Reinbek, RoRoRo Sachbuch 60687, ISBN 3 499 60687 9, DM 16.90.     

Rural Knowledge and Information Systems for Non-Agricultural Rural Needs

Abstract

As developing countries gradually rely less upon agriculture for rural income, rural economies require new solutions to access knowledge and information systems for rural development. Non-agricultural rural knowledge and information systems can play a significant role in developing and disseminating successful strategies to escape rural poverty. This paper discusses the challenges of developing rural knowledge and information systems, practical and vital in facilitating rural development in the 21st century.     

Constraints Affecting ICT Utilization by Agricultural Extension Officers in the Niger Delta,Nigeria

Abstract

The study focused on constraints affecting the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for agricultural extension activities by Agricultural Extension Officers in Nigeria's Niger Delta Region. Data were derived from 160 extension officers affiliated to both public and private extension organizations in four states of the Niger Delta. Findings revealed important specific constraints to include: poor ICT infrastructure development, high cost of broadcast equipment, high charges for radio/television presentations, high cost of access/interconnectivity and electricity power problems. The use of Factor Analysis aided to crystallize identified constraints into three factors of ‘poor enabling environment’, ‘lack of access’ and ‘dissemination of unrelated information’. Against the background of several national government initiatives to develop the infrastructure base of the country, recommendations are proffered to ameliorate ICT use constraints.     

Strengthening Agricultural Education and Training in sub-Saharan Africa from an Innovation Systems Perspective: A Case Study of Mozambique

Abstract

This paper examines how post-secondary agricultural education and training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute to agricultural development by strengthening the capacity to innovate—to introduce new products and processes that are socially or economically relevant to smallholder farmers and other agents. Using the AET system in Mozambique as a case study, this paper examines the role of AET within the context of an agricultural innovation system. This innovation systems perspective offers an analytical framework to examine technological change in agriculture as a complex process of interactions among diverse actors who generate, exchange, and use knowledge, conditioned by complex social and economic institutions. The paper argues that while AET is conventionally viewed as key to the development of human capital, it also has a vital role to play in building the capacity of organizations and individuals to transmit and adapt information, products and processes, and new organizational cultures and behaviors. The paper emphasizes the importance of improving AET systems by strengthening the capabilities of organizations and professionals; changing organizational cultures, behaviors, and incentives; and building innovation networks and linkages. The paper offers several recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of AET for agricultural innovation and development. Key reforms include aligning the mandates of AET organizations with national development aspirations; inducing change in the cultures of AET organizations through the introduction of educational programs and linkages beyond the AET system; and enhancing innovative individual and organizational capacity by improving incentives to forge stronger links between AET and other stakeholders.     

The Role of Agricultural Consultants in New Zealand in Environmental Extension

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the role that agricultural consultants in New Zealand were undertaking in the Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) system—and in particular in relation to environmental extension. New Zealand does not have a public extension service and hence there is a strong reliance on consultants and regional councils for environmental management information and advice. As they are independent of the formal RD&E system there is no guarantee that RD&E outcomes are reaching farmers, nor that effective environmental extension is occurring. The study used a combination of case studies, phone interviews with informed persons and a national web survey to explore the role of the consultant. The study found that agricultural consultants are playing an important role in working with farmers to improve agricultural production. There are, however, indications that gaps have developed over time between agricultural consultants and the agricultural research sector which limit the effectiveness of the RD&E system. Agricultural consultants are playing a minimal role in proactive environmental extension because insufficient market forces are driving this role. The paper suggests that a national database of agricultural consultants could improve the flow of tailored information between research and agricultural consultants and also suggests mechanisms where consultants could be better integrated into the RD&E system and provide feedback to research programs. Market failure in the area of environmental extension could be addressed by publicly funded incentive programs.     

Approaches for Effective Vocationalisation of Secondary School Agriculture in Nigeria: The Views of Agricultural Science Teachers in Delta State,Nigeria

Abstract

This paper describes a random sample of serving agricultural science teachers in Delta State, Nigeria, as a background to understanding their views on four selected approaches for effective vocationalisation of secondary school agriculture. These approaches were used to develop a 23-item questionnaire based on current literature. A five-point Likert-type scale was used to determine how well the views of the respondents corresponded with the items in the questionnaire. Results showed, among others, that the average teaching experience of the 322 sampled teachers was 12.9 years; 50.6 % of the respondents were BSc(Ed) degree holders; 38.8% had Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE), while 10.6% were Higher National Diploma (HND) holders. The respondents agreed that the identified approaches were necessary for effective vocationalisation of secondary school agriculture. The paper therefore recommends that the identified approaches should be pursued by the Nigerian government to ensure that vocational agriculture in secondary schools achieves the goals of the National Policy on Education.     

Factors Influencing Access to Integrated Soil Fertility Management Information and Knowledge and its Uptake among Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Purpose: The study evaluated how farmer acquisition, sharing and use patterns of information and knowledge interact with different socioeconomic factors to influence integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technology uptake.

Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted as part of an evaluation of field-based farmer learning approaches introduced by SOFECSA in Zimbabwe. Building on emerging farmer interactive platforms, data were collected using farmer participatory research approaches.

Findings: Over 90% of the farmers identified the national extension agents as the farmers' most preferred and reliable sources of information on ISFM, with farmer-to-farmer interactions ranking second. Non-governmental organisations and the print media emerged as the least trusted sources of agricultural technical information. Field-based learning centres, which enabled interactive evaluation of different ISFM options, constituted ~50%, indicating that they were major platforms for information and knowledge sharing. Uptake of ISFM was influenced by farmer resource group and farmers' visits to learning centres. Farmer experience and access to extension services were, in turn, the major factors influencing farmers' use of ISFM information. Approaches that support farmer-to-farmer interactions are required and learning centres are a suitable platform for such interactions to occur.

Practical implications: The article brings to attention the role of learning centres in fostering adoption of ISFM technologies. Insights on the need to support and strengthen agricultural extension in rural smallholder communities are provided.

Originality/value: This is a unique study exploring the role of farmer-oriented information and knowledge management in promoting complex technologies such as ISFM. A new dimension on the demands of new approaches for information dissemination to enhance knowledge sharing is presented.