Mushroom production is a small-scale business unit in rural areas. The Life Long Learning for Farmers (L3F) Programme aims to enhance the socio-economic conditions for them, increasing their access to and use of knowledge and technology. This study evaluates the outcomes of the L3F Programme at the community level. Data were collected through a…

With the digital age in full swing, helping rural communities transition to, plan for, and prosper in digitally minded ways is critical. This article describes an innovative outreach process that relies on asset-based community development and the intelligent community concept. More importantly, the process relies heavily on Extension personnel…

We conducted a cross-sectional study grounded in job demands--resources theory to examine the relationship between job characteristics and burnout across Extension disciplines. Job demands predicted burnout regardless of discipline; however, job resources predicted burnout for only three of the five disciplines studied--agriculture, family and…

Purpose: Farmer-to-farmer extension offers a potentially low-cost and wide-reach alternative in supporting agricultural innovation. Various approaches are being promoted but information on their impact and sustainability is sparse. This study examines experiences of Self Help Africa and partners in Ghana, Uganda and Malawi. It asks: What is good…

Communities benefit from meaningful involvement by individuals of all ages, but adults don't always perceive youth as legitimate, crucial contributors to community decision-making processes. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine if adults who participated with youth in the Horizons program changed their attitudes, opinions, and…

Managing the competing interests of productivity growth, environmental concerns, landscape change and societal expectations presents challenges for agricultural industries. Innovation projects supporting knowledge development to address these challenges often involve partnerships with commercial farms, a methodology which promises much but has…

This paper is an interpretation by researchers of oral and written accounts of ten development agents who have participated in various seminars and discussions since 2001, organized by researchers of INRA and of the University of Toulouse. According to the transcripts of lectures, discussions and articles written by development agents, it seems…

Community clusters allow small towns to combine their efforts to enhance economic development, promote tourism, or share public services. Two successful clusters of communities in Iowa are the Area Community Commonwealth and the North Iowa Rural Area Development. Both clusters participated in Iowa State University's Cooperative Extension Service…

One of the Millennium Development Goals declared by the United Nations in 2000 was to reduce by half the population of people living in extreme poverty, by 2015. Adult education can and should contribute significantly to this development goal. Nevertheless it has hardly been explored so far in the national Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers. In…

This paper focuses on intensified information transfer activities in rural areas of Nigeria: community development work, agricultural extension service, mass media (newspapers, television, radio, problems of communication), and the role of the library (reinforcing messages, repackaging information, acquiring specialized materials, coordinating…

Describes 1999 federal funding to large general-assistance programs affecting small towns and rural areas (including Housing and Urban Development, federal disaster relief, rural extension activities, and Bureau of Indian Affairs assistance programs); increased funding for Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities; reauthorization of the Economic…

In the 1940s, the Montana Study focused on engaging the University of Montana in outreach efforts in small towns, developing mechanisms to stabilize the family and small communities and improve the quality of small-town life. Its most popular activity was the creation of over a dozen community study groups aimed at community cultural renewal. (SV)

A switchover by any government to a more integrated, community-based approach to rural development will inevitably require the recruitment, training, and effective "backstopping" of large numbers of front-line workers. (SSH)

A Missouri study conducted to determine agricultural extension usage patterns found that heavy users of extension publications tended to be younger farmers, those with a relatively large amount of land, and pork producers. Extension meetings were a less frequent source of information than either publications or county extension office visits. (LRA)

Describes general development assistance available to rural areas through federal programs that fund housing, extension education and research, rural community development, rural business development, resource conservation, and development activities in American Indian reservations and disadvantaged rural areas. (SV)