Farmers’ learning and diffusion of farmer field school’s knowledge: a comparative analysis

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperResearch

As farmers field school (FFS) increases in use in agricultural extension and rural development, understanding how FFS-introduced knowledge retained and diffused among participants and their community is needed. This study aimed to investigate how farmers’ learning determines their adoption of the FFS-introduced innovations and how these innovations are communicated among farmers. Results show that farmers’ cognitive ability to adjust, test, and adopt FFS-introduced innovations in combination with farmers attitude towards these innovations and linkages to the social system and dynamics of these linkages determine the process of utilizing the obtained knowledge and its outcomes. Adoption-diffusion of FFS-introduced innovations is a context-dependent interrelated process, strongly influenced by farming and cultural background, social coherence, collective tradition and connections with external actors that construct the social system where the process is embedded in. The implications are relevant both within the fields of agricultural extension and rural development and for the diffusion of innovation theory.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date2015
Number of pages24
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Event22ND EUROPEAN SEMINAR ON EXTENSION AND EDUCATION - Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
Duration: 28 Apr 20151 May 2015

Conference

Conference22ND EUROPEAN SEMINAR ON EXTENSION AND EDUCATION
LocationWageningen University
CountryNetherlands
CityWageningen
Period28/04/201501/05/2015

ID: 141675010