Agricultural Knowledge and Information System - Case Study Example

Unit Agricultural knowledge and information system Discuss the influence of attitudes and value orientations on the effectiveness of extension programs. Use one or more examples from the literature or elsewhere of extension programs to illustrate your answer? Discuss what were effective means of changing attitudes (and to a lesser extent values) in these programs?  Author Second Author For: Lecturer Day Month Year Executive summary Agriculture is a significant industrial sector having a major role the development of local and national economy in each country globally. In order for this sector to retain its strength facing effectively the challenges set by the international financial crisis (which is expressed by extreme and unexpected turbulences in the financial markets around the world) it needs to be restructured taking the appropriate measures of change. However, the readiness of farmers globally to participate in such an effort could be strongly doubted. In many cases schemes of change throughout the agricultural sector have been proposed however their application usually faces delays either because of the lack of the appropriate knowledge to follow these initiatives or because of the existence of personal interests that impose a different behaviour. In this case the role of the personal values and attitudes becomes major influencing the behaviour of farmers towards the suggested plans of change and innovation either in the short or the long term. Current study focuses on the examination of the response of farmers to extension programs and generally to plans for change as proposed by the government and in relation with a particular community. The role of the community in the success of these programs is also examined taking into account that the willingness of farmers to participate in such initiatives can be strongly influenced by the local ethics and values but also by the personal attitudes which can be differentiated at a high level even within the same community. The measures taken by the government for the success of these attempts should be therefore ‘customized’ in order to meet the needs of each particular community having in mind that the response of farmers to a plan proposed can change after an initial – trial – period. All issues developed above will be examined throughout this paper by reference to specific examples, i.e. cases where extension programs or plans for change were proposed to farmers operating within a particular community. Contents Executive summary i Contents ii 1. Agriculture and Information 1 1.1 Attitudes of farmers towards knowledge 1 2. Application of extension programs in agriculture 3 3. Extension programs in practice 5 4. Conclusion and recommendations 7 2. Self assessment form for paper 10 References Self assessment form for paper Introduction The rapid growth of technology around the world has led to the development of a series of innovative plans and techniques in all industrial sectors in order to meet the increased demands of customers in all markets internationally. However, it seems that people participated in the production process are not quite positive regarding the introduction and the application of plans of change especially when these plans are related with a radical transformation/ alteration of existed practices. In the area of agriculture, the participation of farmers in the extension programs proposed by the governments globally has been found to be limited even if the relevant plans are supported by the states. On the other hand, the role of the community in the success of these programs has been often doubted. In many cases, community engagement has helped towards the realization of these projects; however extension programs and plans of change in the agricultural sector do not always have the support of the community. On the contrary, community often reacts to the introduction and the application of change particularly because there are many issues that need to be taken into account for such an initiative. The support offered by the government can be considered to be helpful towards the application of change plans in various fields within the community but the interest of the community as part of the society is always considered to be of higher importance regardless the possible positive effects on local economy. 1. Agriculture and Information 1.1 Attitudes of farmers towards knowledge Generally, it could be stated that farmers tend to reject innovative schemes and plans of change related with their activities. Instead, traditional forms of agriculture seem to be preferred by the majority of farmers globally. In order to examine the above issue, Beedell et al. (1999) used the theory of Planned Behaviour as a basis for the evaluation of behaviour of Bedfordshire farmers. Their study which focused specifically on the issue ‘how and more crucially why farmers manage the existing wildlife and landscape features on their holdings’ (1999, 165) led to the conclusion that ‘the more ‘conservation minded’ farmers regarded the conservation benefits of hedge management more likely to be true and value them more highly than other farmers do; such farmers also felt under greater social pressure to manage their hedges’ (Beedell et al., 1999, 165). In other words, the behaviour of farmers can be explained using the views stated in the area of Psychology under the terms that the appropriate customization will be made on the relevant rules in order to meet the rules related with the particular part of the population. The above study can be used in order to explain the behaviour of farmers around the world regarding the adoption of innovative schemes especially in cases where radical changes are required. At this point it should be noticed that farmers could possibly participate in the application of plans of change only under the influence of the Community, i.e. in cases where the engagement towards the Community ‘imposes’ to the farmers the participation in initiatives and activities that are differentiated from the traditional modes of agricultural production. 1.2 Community Engagement In order to understand the role of community in the effectiveness of plans of change applied in rural areas we should primarily explain the context of community engagement as it is related with the issue under examination. Community engagement refers ‘to engagement processes and practices in which a wide range of people work together to achieve a shared goal guided by a commitment to a common set of values, principles and criteria. It doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone in the community can or should be involved, but that we are making efforts to be as inclusive as possible and to offer everyone a chance to be engaged if they wish to be’ (Aslin et al., 2004, 3). Under these terms in order for community engagement to have a role in the application and development of schemes applied in rural areas, it is necessary that different techniques and tools are used throughout the activities taken place within the community. The application of a standard practice in all community activities cannot help towards the success of the changes proposed in the particular aspects of commuters’ daily life. 2. Application of extension programs in agriculture 2.1 The need for change and the resistance involved The participation of farmers in extension programs and other plans that refer to change in essential daily agricultural activities could be evaluated using the relevant principles applied in the organizational framework. In fact, agricultural units could be characterized as small organizations that have a unique role within the local and the national economy. In this context, farmers should accept innovation and should use knowledge in order to improve the performance of their farms. The role of knowledge in production has been highlighted by Bendler et al. (2001, 8) who mentioned that ‘knowledge has become the pre-eminent production factor, and it needs as much careful, conscious management as its traditional counterparts’. Towards the same direction, Chatzkel (2003, 3) supported that ‘knowledge is not detached from the people, processes, or infrastructure of an organization and its network’. In accordance with the above, in order for firms ‘to develop truly sustainable competitive advantage in the knowledge economy, they need to capture, catalog, transfer, and institutionalize knowledge that precludes peoples daily actions’ (Wright, 2001, 15). However, the incorporation of knowledge should be followed by the appropriate plans of change on the existed organizational framework – such a requirement could be interpreted as the need for extended changes in existed technology, employment relations and production methods when referring to farms around the world. Regarding the above, Greve (1998, 59) noticed that change could be characterized as ‘an outcome jointly determined by motivation to change, opportunity to change, and capability to change’ while Huy (2002, 31) supported that ‘fundamental change in personnel, strategy, organizational identity, or established work roles and interests often triggers intense emotions’. In other words, change within every organizational environment (including farms – if regarded as small organizations as explained above) is necessary in order to improve the productivity in all organizational sectors. However, because of the implications involved (especially the insistence to the traditional methods of production) this change should be appropriately prepared and gradually applied in order to achieve the targets set in the long term. 2.2 The role of attitudes and value orientations Within the agricultural sector, the behaviour of farmers to plans of change even if these are imposed by the local community could be evaluated using similar criteria with the one applied in the organizational sector – for the reasons already explained above. In fact, agriculture is one of the most significant sectors of economy both at a national and a global level. Regarding the above, it could be stated that farmers’ attitudes and value orientations can have a significant role on the development of a positive behaviour towards plans of change and all programs related with agricultural activities worldwide. Towards this direction, it is supported by Poole (1998, 45) that ‘when change is needed in an organization it is likely the culture or identity of the organization will be targeted for change; the transformed organization, whether it be minor (first-order change) or major (second-order change), will not be the same as its predecessor’. On the other hand, Eoyang et al. (2001, 5) mentioned that ‘many organization change initiatives start at the top and deal strongly with any resistance from system agents that blocks progress; common ways of responding to resistance include downsizing, restructuring, and re-engineering’. In other words, the success of any plan of change in the agricultural sector is depended on farmers’ attitudes and willingness to accept and apply the plan proposed. This behaviour can be differentiated furthermore across the countries in the international community in accordance with the cultural values and the ethics applied and the differences observed among specific parts of the population (e.g. participation of younger people or women in a particular agricultural sector). 3. Extension programs in practice The response of farmers to the application of innovative programs has been extensively studied in the empirical research. In a study made in U.K. related with the project ‘Cambrian Mountains ESA’, the factors that influence the farmers’ participation in such schemes were analytically examined. In the above study the factors that influence the farmers’ behaviour were divided into ‘scheme factors’ and ‘farmer factors’. In the first category an indicative example could be the payments made to the farmers while the second category could include the age of the farmers involved. The study described above led to the following results: ‘Age, education and length of residency were important for explaining differential entering of specific habitats (especially broadleaved woodlands) into the ESA scheme, while scheme duration, dependence on the farm for income, tenure and the general information environment of the farmer did not influence overall participation’ (Wilson, 1997, 67). In other words, the motivation of farmers to participate on a specific plan of change could be based on different criteria than the one expected; however the final decision of the farmers participated in a specific plan is rather based on the local culture and personal attitudes than general accepted conditions (like the level of profit achieved in the long term). The above findings are also confirmed by other studies made in the agricultural sector regarding the application of plans of change. In order to evaluate the behaviour of the farmers, Lensink et al. (2000) conducted a research across fifty farms within the veal production industry. Within this research, farmers were asked ‘to fill in questionnaires designed to measure their attitude towards calves, and to obtain information about their background (e.g. age, gender, level of education)’ (Lensink et al., 2000, 13). The results of the above study can help in order to understand the willingness of farmers to incorporate innovative methods and plans of change within their daily activities. Indeed, in accordance with the above research ‘female farmers showed a more positive behaviour towards the calves, had more positive beliefs about the importance of contacts with calves, and made a more positive description of their own behaviour while positive behaviour was associated with better productivity; for veal farmers, a positive attitude towards calves, a positive behaviour towards them, and good production results are linked’ (Lensink et al., 2000, 313). In accordance with another study conducted in Australia where the trends of farmers towards the application of public extension programs was measured the existence of the following 12 elements – related with the State Departments of Agriculture and the local community – was revealed: ‘decreased public funding for extension programs; clear separations between applied research and extension functions; adoption of purchaser/provider funding models; poor communication or collaboration between extension and universities; an emphasis on group facilitation programming; difficulties related to extension staff recruitment or retention; diminished clientele support for public extension programs; an emphasis on the sociological aspects of agricultural enterprises; the development of audio-visual educational materials; a movement to assist inefficient producers exit agriculture and; trends toward the privatization of, or cost recovery for, public extension programs’ (Murray, 1999, 440). Taking into account the farmers’ behaviour as described through the studies presented above, we could notice that the measurement and the evaluation of this behaviour cannot be ‘standardized’ because there is always the issue of cultural differences, gender differentiations and financial inequalities that may influence the results revealed through the studies conducted in the agricultural sector. 4. Conclusion and recommendations Generally, it could be stated that the success of any plan of change or extension program applied in the agricultural industry requires the active involvement of the farmers in all parts of the relevant procedure. Government also can have a primary role in providing farmers with all the necessary information in order to respond to the needs of the attempted change. Towards this direction, the study of Murray regarding the privatization of British and Scottish public extension programs showed that ‘the government is one of the largest customers in both systems, funding major "public good" natural resource projects, rural revitalization projects, and agricultural sector job re-training programs’ (Murray, 2000, 387). Indeed, the support of the Government could be characterized as significant towards the success of any extension program within rural communities. The participation of farmers in these programs could be also enhanced by highlighting the advantages gained for the whole community and for the farm as an independent unit – taking into account in each case the cultural trends and the ethics of the particular society. References Aslin, H., Brown, V. (2004) Towards Whole of Community Engagement: a practical Toolkit. Australian Government, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Bureau of Rural Sciences Beedell, J.D., Rehman, T. (1999) Explaining farmers’ conservation behaviour: Why do farmers behave the way they do? Journal of Environmental Management, 57(3): 165-176 Bendler, A., Elzenheimer, J., Hauschild, S., Heckert, U., Kluge, J., Kronig, J., Licht, T., Stein, W., Stoffels, A. (2001). Knowledge Unplugged: The Mckinsey & Company Global Survey on Knowledge Management. New York: Palgrave Chatzkel, J. (2003). Knowledge Capital: How Knowledge-Based Enterprises Really Get Built. New York: Oxford University Press Eoyang, G., Olson, E. (2001). Facilitating Organization Change: Lessons from Complexity Science. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Greve, H. (1998). Performance, Aspirations and Risky Organizational Change. Administrative Science Quarterly, 43(1): 58-63 Huy, O. (2002). Emotional Balancing of Organizational Continuity and Radical Change: The Contribution of Middle Managers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1): 31-66 Lensink, J., Boissy, A., Veissier, I. (2000) The relationship between farmers attitude and behaviour towards calves, and productivity of veal units. Annual Zootechnology, 49: 313-327 Murray, M. (2000) The Effects of Privatization of British and Scottish Public Extension Programs on Agricultural Information Delivery and Technology Transfer. HortScience, 35: 387-519 Murray, M. (1999) Commonalities of Australian Public Extension Programs. HortScience, 34: 440-565 Poole, P. (1998). Words and Deeds of Organizational Change. Journal of Managerial Issues, 10(1): 45-47 Vogel, S. (1996) Farmers’ Environmental Attitudes and Behaviour. Environment and Behaviour, 28(5): 591-613 Wilson, G. (1997) Factors Influencing Farmer Participation in the Environmentally Sensitive Areas Scheme. Journal of Environmental Management, 50(1): 67-93 Wright, D. (2001). Using technology to derive value from knowledge communities. KnowledgeNets, May 15-17: 1-5 2. Self assessment form for paper What is the principal argument of this paper? This paper explores the effectiveness of extension programs in agriculture arguing that attitudes and personal values can influence the performance of these programs especially in the long term. What do you think is a fair score for the work you submitted based on the feedback guidelines? Taking into account the work done, I would suggest that this paper should be graded as ‘promising’ having covered all potential aspects of the issue under examination using appropriate theories and examples in accordance with the target set and the main objective of the study. What was the thing you did best in this assignment? I think that the best element of this assignment is the extensive analysis of the material used. What was the thing you did least well in this assignment? This assignment could be possibly developed furthermore using additional resources possibly referring to other issues apart from the ones presented in current paper. What was the hardest part of this assignment? The hardest part of this assignment was the choice of the material. The appropriateness of the resources has been a challenging criterion when choosing the material used in this paper. What was the most important thing you learned in doing this assignment? In some cases, the theory developed in a particular social or industrial sector is not applicable in real terms because of the conditions related with a particular society or team. For this reason it is necessary in any study to refer to the practical implications of the theoretical framework involved using the appropriate examples from real life. Which references were the most helpful in completing this paper? Journals have been proved the most valuable resources throughout this study. Read More