The limited effectiveness and fiscal unsustainability of professional-led public sector extension systems in developing countries have aroused considerable interest in Farmer-led Extension (FLE) approaches in the recent decades. A key challenge facing these initiatives is a lack of sustainability of the farmer groups developed through project or…

Purpose: Why do farmers not take better care of their soils? This article aims to give insight into how farmers look at soil quality management. Design/methodology/approach: It analyses diverse land management practices and visions on soils and soil quality of ten agroecological and 14 conventional smallholder farmers in Araponga, Minas Gerais,…

The report contains information based on the country presentation papers submitted by the 31 countries for the 1981 United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). It is intended as a background document for the Unesco meeting of experts from the LDCs on "needs and priorities in regard to education" to be held at…

Four papers consider the growth of telecommunications in developing countries: (1) "Telecommunications Investment in Developing Countries and the Generation of Foreign Exchange: The Impact of Electronic Funds Transfer" (Heather E. Hudson and Lynn C. York); (2) "The Effect of Information Sector Growth on Telecommunications…

This paper reviews various studies of media development patterns, all pointing to mass media growth's association with urbanization. The development and use of mass media differs greatly among urban, suburban, and rural areas. However, media development patterns are similar among countries, differing in the stage but not the pattern of media…

Nonformal education is compared to formal and informal education and viewed in relation to two explanatory frameworks assessing underdevelopment in Latin America. The frameworks--dependency liberation and deprivation development--also provide direction to nonformal efforts, described as generally weak and ineffective as a primary means of…

A random sample of 150 farmers (75 participants and 75 non-participants in radio forums) from Lahore and Gujrat districts in West Pakistan were surveyed via personal interview in 1971 to determine whether there was a relationship between: certain socioeconomic variables and farmer forum participation; radio forums and agricultural change,…

Concerned with the application of science and technology to agriculture, this book is intended to be used as a reference for rural education groups and as a guide for teachers in an attempt to formulate a new approach to teaching rural economics by integrating it into the overall analysis of social and economic development. The book is divided…

Arguing that consultative and authoritative frameworks for rural development programs allow those in a superior position to define development priorities and to determine when and to what extent those in subordinate positions can participate, this paper outlines the need for participative-group management of such projects. The paper notes that…

A 10-day seminar for senior government officials concerned with making rural development policies in selected Asian countries focused on programs adopted by various Asian governments to tackle rural development problems. To compare various approaches, seven indicators of rural development were used: agricultural productivity; rural employment;…

Despite rising sentiment, the decision to "de-school" society seems premature unless it derives from a comparative empirical assessment of school and nonschool educational programs' relative contributions to national goals. One of many new alternative systems, Kenya's village polytechnics (low-cost primary training centers in rural…

One in a series of studies of lifelong learning, this paper discusses the cultural and educational needs of selected urban and rural communities in Senegal and Ghana, emphasizing grassroots initiative and the community's analysis of its own needs. Information is drawn in part from surveys, public meetings, and interviews in three communities:…