Neil Cliffe, Roger Stone, Jeff Coutts, Kathryn Reardon-Smith and Shahbaz Mushtaq did a survey on Australian farmers capacity to understand and apply seasonal climate forecasts through collaborative learning processes. More than 200 stakeholders from several sugar cane production regions participated in thirteen workshops. More than 2/3 of the participants perceived seasonal climate forecasting (SCF) to be beneficial for decision making. Extension workers turned not out to be more aware of the benefits of SCF than other stakeholders. This underlines the need for capacity development for extension workers regarding SCF.
Chaoyun Liang, Wen-Shan Chang, Shu-Nung Yao, Jung-Tai King and Shi-An Chen studied how the imaginative capacities of Taiwanese agricultural extension students could be stimulated. The students in the study group were shown works from three artists: Millet; realism, Picasso; abstract art and Mirὀ; surrealism. several indicators, like for instance: intuition, dialectics, sensibility or concentration were used to let the students describe the ongoing design project while recording discussions with the students. The results of this study show that imaginative capacities can be stimulated by pictorial representations. The need to cultivate students imagination comes from the aspiration to address the dynamic challenges associated with developing a globally sustainable society.
Nina Österle, Alex Koutsouris, Yannis Livieratos and Emmanuil Kabourakis Compared the extension services offered in the field of organic agriculture in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg and in Crete, Greece. The research revealed a significant difference in extensionists capacities and methods in both regions. In Baden-Wurttemberg the extension services function well and in Crete there is room for improvement on practically every aspect. Much importance is given to the structure of extension cervices an to the role of the state as a facilitator. Besides that the interdependency of structure, capacity and the employed methods is underlined by this paper.
Georgios Bellos, Tassos A. Mikropoulos, Stylianos Deligeorgis and Antonis Kominakis compared the learning efficiency of two ICT-based instructional strategies. The strategies were multimedia presentation (MP) and concept mapping. The farmers knowledge was assessed before and after 15 instructional sessions. The two strategies showed comparable learning outcomes. Learning was influenced by factors like prior participation to learning sessions and education level. The research revealed the suitability of simple ICTs to train Greek sheep farmers.
Loretta Singletary, Staci Emm, Fara Ann Brummer, George C. Hill, Steve Lewis and Vicki Hebb did a research on potential barriers to sustainable agriculture in American Indian reservations. The objectives of the study: 1.Identify agricultural and natural resource issues on reservation lands; 2 evaluate access to extension and other programs; 3 evaluate the quality of these programs and their relevance for the tribal producers. The results of the study are three lists of wide varieties of topics of which many can be of value to increase food security of indigenous and tribal peoples worldwide.