Design of Digital Agricultural Extension Tools: Perspectives from Extension Agents in Nigeria
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Oyinbo O
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7508041 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:The ADPs were designed in response to a fall in agricultural productivity and hence a concern to sustain domestic food supplies. The study examined "Financing Agriculture in Nigeria through Agricultural Extension Services of Agricultural Development Programmes." It sought to ascertain the extent to which agricultural extension services of the agricultural development programmes have impacted the financing of agriculture in six selected local government areas in Edo South senatorial district, Nigeria using a sample of 120 respondents. Stratified random sampling was used to select the respondents. Interview schedule served as the research instrument. The research data were analyzed using t-test and Pearson correlation, which served as the inferential statistics. The research findings showed that the extension services of ADP have impacted significantly on crop development in the selected communities but have not had significant impact on employment creation and the development of infrastructural facilities. The study also revealed that there was no significant difference between the implementation of the projects in the selected communities, as revealed by the correlation test. On the basis of the research findings, the need for a complete redesign of the project to ensure that it achieves its stated goals as well as ensure proper monitoring of its implementation were suggested, among others.
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Project description:Aptamers are synthetic single-stranded DNA or RNA sequences selected from combinatorial oligonucleotide libraries through the well-known in vitro selection and iteration process, SELEX. The last three decades have witnessed a sudden boom in aptamer research, owing to their unique characteristics, like high specificity and binding affinity, low immunogenicity and toxicity, and ease in synthesis with negligible batch-to-batch variation. Aptamers can specifically bind to the targets ranging from small molecules to complex structures, making them suitable for a myriad of diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In analytical scenarios, aptamers are used as molecular probes instead of antibodies. They have the potential in the detection of biomarkers, microorganisms, viral agents, environmental pollutants, or pathogens. For therapeutic purposes, aptamers can be further engineered with chemical stabilization and modification techniques, thus expanding their serum half-life and shelf life. A vast number of antagonistic aptamers or aptamer-based conjugates have been discovered so far through the in vitro selection procedure. However, the aptamers face several challenges for its successful clinical translation, and only particular aptamers have reached the marketplace so far. Aptamer research is still in a growing stage, and a deeper understanding of nucleic acid chemistry, target interaction, tissue distribution, and pharmacokinetics is required. In this review, we discussed aptamers in the current diagnostics and theranostics applications, while addressing the challenges associated with them. The report also sheds light on the implementation of aptamer conjugates for diagnostic purposes and, finally, the therapeutic aptamers under clinical investigation, challenges therein, and their future directions.
| S-EPMC7407196 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This study focused on the relationship between job design and behavioural outcomes of employees in Agricultural Research Training, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. The study was quantitative and the items in the questionnaire were adapted from previous studies. A total of 227 respondents were surveyed and statistical regression models were used to examine the relationship between the independent variables (job design) and dependent variables (employee behavioural outcomes). The findings showed that 14.4% of the variance in job design dimensions can explain the variance in employee behavioural outcome. The model revealed that task identity, sense of autonomy and skill variety had more statistical significance in predicting employee behavioural outcome, recording the highest beta value than other variables such as task significance and feedback mechanisms. The model indicates that the strength of regression weights of paths has a strong direction.
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Project description:BackgroundNigeria has the world's largest malaria burden, accounting for 27% of the world's malaria cases and 23% of malaria mortality globally. This formative study describes the operational process of the mass distribution of long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) during a campaign program in Nigeria.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess whether and how digital data collection and management tools can change current practices and help resolve major implementation issues.MethodsQualitative data on the technical features and operational processes of paper-based and information and communication technology (ICT)-based systems in the Edo and Kwara states from June 2 to 30, 2017, were collected on the basis of documented operation manuals, field observations, and informant interviews. During the LLIN campaign in Edo State, we recruited 6 local government area focal persons and monitors and documented daily review meetings during household mobilization (9 days) and net distribution (5 days) to understand the major program implementation issues associated with the following three aspects: logistic issues, technical issues, and demand creation. Each issue was categorized according to the expected degree (low, mid, and high) of change by the ICT system.ResultsThe net campaign started with microplanning and training, followed by a month-long implementation process, which included household mobilization, net movement, net distribution, and end process monitoring. The ICT system can improve management and oversight issues related to data reporting and processes through user-centered interface design, built-in data quality control logic flow or algorithms, and workflow automation. These often require more than 50% of staff time and effort in the current paper-based practice. Compared with the current paper-based system, the real-time system is expected to reduce the time to payment compensation for health workers by about 20 days and produce summary campaign statistics for at least 20 to 30 days.ConclusionsThe ICT system can facilitate the measurement of population coverage beyond program coverage during an LLIN campaign with greater data reliability and timeliness, which are often compromised due to the limited workforce capacity in a paper-based system.
| S-EPMC8538022 | biostudies-literature
Project description:An important hallmark of science is the transparency and reproducibility of scientific results. Over the last few years, internet-based technologies have emerged that allow for a representation of the scientific process that goes far beyond traditional methods and analysis descriptions. Using these often freely available tools requires a suite of skills that is not necessarily part of a curriculum in the life sciences. However, funders, journals, and policy makers increasingly require researchers to ensure complete reproducibility of their methods and analyses. To close this gap, we designed an introductory course that guides students towards a reproducible science workflow. Here, we outline the course content and possible extensions, report encountered challenges, and discuss how to integrate such a course in existing curricula.
| S-EPMC6095603 | biostudies-other
Project description:Can improving access to mobile extension improve agricultural productivity? Recent evidence suggests both significant and insignificant ways in which SMS-based agricultural information could affect farming outcomes. It is unclear if variations in the programs' design or the methodological challenges in evaluating the programs cause wide-ranging impacts. Extension hotline services provide rapid, unambiguous information by agricultural experts over the phone, tailored to time- and crop-specific shocks. Using methods from experimental economics, we randomly distributed the hotline number to generate exogenous variation in the access to farming information. We conducted our study among 300 farmers in the South Indian state of Karnataka. Our results show that eliminating informational inefficiencies increases farmers' average yields for a high-stakes pigeon pea crop that faced adverse aggregate shock. The impact on the yield is through the adoption of cost-effective and improved farming practices. However, we do not observe any effect on the crops that were not affected by the shock. Our findings reveal that advisory recommendations customized to time- and crop-specific shocks are associated with a greater impact on agricultural productivity.
| S-EPMC8238233 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Commercial Agriculture Development is widely seen as a pathway to agriculture commercialization, poverty reduction and pro-poor growth in developing economies. Using a counterfactual approach, this study assessed the impact of the Commercial Agricultural Development Project (CADP) in Nigeria on poverty status of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries; determine its impact on commercialization of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries and ascertain the pro-poor impact of the Project. Data from 1199 households comprising 678 beneficiaries and 521 non-beneficiaries were used for analysis. Propensity score matching was used to select comparable observations which reduced the sample size to 1142 observations: 655 beneficiaries, 487 non-beneficiaries. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, propensity score matching technique, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures, Average Treatment effect on the Treated (ATT) and Poverty equivalent growth rate (PEGR) pro-poor measure. FGT poverty indices were lower for CADP Beneficiaries than the non-beneficiaries. The impact of the CADP on poverty using the income of beneficiaries as proxy showed that those who participated in CADP had their income increased by N446,073.89 ($ 1,239.09) and were better off in terms of their welfare compared to those who did not participate in the program. For the impact on commercialization, the programme led to a statistically significant increase in the commercialization index of beneficiaries. Also the PEGR for non-beneficiaries was higher than the actual growth rate while that of beneficiaries was less than the actual growth rate implying that CADP was not pro-poor. The study concludes that even though the CADP impacted the poverty level of beneficiaries positively, it was not pro-poor hence there is a need to ensure that the poor are effectively targeted in designing development intervention programmes.
| S-EPMC8176321 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAdequate immunization coverage in rural communities remain a challenge in Nigeria. Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) form an integral part of the social, cultural and religious fabric in most rural communities in Nigeria. Despite their limitations in handling the complications of childbirth, TBAs are widely accepted and patronized, especially in rural areas. The objectives of the project were to empower TBAs and assess the use of a culturally adapted audio-visual workshop intervention to change their knowledge, attitude and willingness to promote immunization uptake.MethodsA repeated-measures design that used a convenience sampling technique to select 90 TBAs from the three geopolitical zones of Imo State, Nigeria. The TBAs were engaged through a culturally adapted audio-visual workshop. Data were collected before and immediately after intervention using a pretested questionnaire. Chi square test was done to determine any significant association with the zone of practice and paired sample t-test analysis to determine any significant pre and post intervention change. Level of significance was set at p ≤ ·05.ResultsMore than half of the TBAs had at most, a secondary level of education (54·4%). The average length of time they practiced as TBAs was 16 years with an average of ten birth deliveries per month. After the intervention, all the respondents (100%) reported a willingness to always promote immunization uptake and also, there was a statistically significant increase in Knowledge (p < ·000). Similarly, the level of knowledge in the post intervention period appeared to be significantly associated with the zone of practice (p = ·027).ConclusionThe workshop intervention empowered the TBAs irrespective of their zones of residence by successfully improving their knowledge, though at varying levels; and consequently, their willingness to always promote immunization uptake.
| S-EPMC7863363 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Integrating nutrition communication in agricultural intervention programs aimed at increased food availability and accessibility in resource-poor areas is crucial. To enhance the sustainability and scalability of nutrition communication, the present study piloted the approach of 'nutrition integrated agricultural extension' and tested nutrition-related outcomes with two types of nutrition messages (specific vs. sensitive) and two delivery channels (public sector vs. private sector). The study intervention comprised (i) vegetable seed kit distribution, (ii) ongoing agricultural extension activities by public or private sectors and (iii) nutrition communication with two different messages. The intervention was tested with three treatment arms and reached 454 farmers (>65% female) in rural Kakamega County, Western Kenya. Pre-/post-surveys measured outcome variables focused on farmers' nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes and practices in vegetable production and consumption, and household dietary diversity score. Results showed that all treatments increased nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05). Nutrition-specific communication was more effective than nutrition-sensitive communication. Nutrition communication through either the public or the private agricultural sector was both effective. Before the study intervention, many participants believed that vegetable consumption was beneficial and wanted to increase intake. After the intervention, the number of participants who felt eating more vegetables was challenging decreased slightly. Nutrition communication was found to be especially important in conveying recommended food amounts and promoting increased vegetable consumption. Seasonality affected on-farm crop diversity and vegetable consumption results in this study.
| S-EPMC9053460 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The purpose of the article is to analyze the interaction effect between social network and extension service in farmers' agricultural technology adoption efficiency (TAE). The empirical analysis refers to samples of farmers' water-saving irrigation technology (WSIT) adoption from Minqin, China. The result indicates that social network and extension service can improve farmers' TAE, but they are found to be competitive from the perspective of overall social network. While from the perspective of four dimensions of social network, interaction and trust have positive effects on farmers' TAE, and learning and trust are found to be competitive with extension service. The policy implication describes as follows. First, government should pay attention to farmers' social learning and demonstration effect. And series of measures should be taken to cultivate farmers' social network. Second, extension service should be improved to satisfy farmers' multiple demand on agricultural technology. Third, government should combine the effects of social network and extension service, and make different promotion strategies for different regions. In addition, other influential factors cannot be ignored.
| S-EPMC7351193 | biostudies-literature