Assessment of Agricultural Advisory Messages from Farmer-to Farmer in Making a Case for Scaling Up Production: A Qualitative Study
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Qualitative Report
Abstract
Inadequate access to agricultural extension services often results in poor farm
practices, affecting yields and subsequently the income and well-being of
smallholder farmers. Given the high demand for agricultural information and
the limited capacity of extension services, a farmer-to-farmer extension
approach has been explored by many underserved farmers. In this study, we use
a qualitative case study approach to explore how cassava farmers who had limited
access to agricultural advisory services from public extension agents managed
to up-scale their farming business. Our research question was: what lessons
can be learned from the lived experience of these farmers to address the current
challenges of cassava farming? The results of our study revealed diversity in
advisory messages from farmer to farmer and agricultural extension agents.
Farmers’ messages focused on encouraging farmers’ commitment and
motivation towards farming business, availability of needed financial resources
for the entire production season, willingness to reinvest profits, and access to
farmland for future expansion. In contrast, the traditional messages from
agricultural extension agents focused on encouraging group formation to
address marketing challenges, diversification of farm operations, and good
agricultural practices. These results show the need for pluralistic extension
approaches to ensure farmers get access to necessary information. Keywords:
Agricultural Extension, Case Study, Farmer to Farmer Extension, Social
Learning
Description
Research Article
Keywords
smallholder farmers, agricultural practices, Advisory Messages
Citation
Kwapong, N. A., Ankrah, D. A., Boateng-Gyambiby, D., Asenso-Agyemang, J., & Fening, L. O. (2020). Assessment of agricultural advisory messages from farmer-to-farmer in making a case for scaling up production: A qualitative study. The Qualitative Report, 25(8), 2011-2025. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol25/iss8/1