Download Agriculture Extension Tools

Agriculture Extension Tools
Computers and
Community Radio
Outline
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SimCorn: A Software Designed to Support
Site-Specific Nutrient Management for
Farmers of Small Parcels in the Tropics
Rural Radio in Agricultural Extension: The
Example of vernacular Radio Programmes
on Soil and Water Conservation in N. Ghana.
Discussion
SimCorn – the problem
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Farmers receiving incorrect information about how
much fertilizer to use
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Bandwagon effect
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Times of Crisis
High Demand
Farmers prosper or fail as a group
‘Blanket Fertilization’
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Many types of soil, but everybody uses the same
amounts/types
SimCorn – the goals
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Precision Agriculture
Empower farmers
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Field identification of soils (software/farmer)
Test kit that farmers could use to test soil for
nutrients (farmer)
Decision-aid (this paper) (software)
Help farmers determine proper amounts of
different fertilizers to use
SimCorn – how decision-aid works
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Soil property table
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Soil test kit information table
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Allows users to enter information obtained from soil test kits
Results
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Allows users to identify soil series based on observations taken in
the field
Provides a color photograph to verify soil series
Provides the most economical blend of available fertilizer materials
Tables hard coded into software
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Ensures maximum speed (important?)
Difficult to update
SimCorn
SimCorn
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Implemented on both handheld and desktop
computers
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Desktop more useful because more extension
workers have access to a computer
Handheld more ‘handy’
Software is used by extension officers
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Not farmers?
SimCorn - results
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Higher standard of living for the farmers
Reduction of their indebtedness
Survey of 338 farmers
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Yields higher in most cases
Generally, amount recommended by software was different
(higher or lower) than current application rates.
Farmers who used site-specific management had a
reduction in profit
Farmers who did not use site-specific management
had a loss
SimCorn - results
SimCorn – problem solved?
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Empowering Farmers?
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Making them rely on Extension workers?
Literacy?
Centrally located Computers vs. Handhelds
Distributed System vs. Hard Coding
Computers right tool?