Browsing by Subject "Landwirtschaftliche Beratung"

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Media supported communication in agricultural extension and participatory rural development in Northern Thailand
(2004) Fischer, Isabel
The inhabitants of Northern Thailand, Thais as well as the members of the different ethnic groups, the so-called hill tribes, face a variety of very complex problems that range from natural resources conflicts via human rights issues to health problems. All in all, those issues constitute the initial point of departure for every extension, development and research activity, regardless of whether carried out by governmental, non-governmental organizations and/or other agencies. In order to analyze the current extension situation in Northern Thailand, field research was carried out in collaboration with different governmental and non-governmental organizations. Insights were gained into major areas of operation as well as currently used extension methods and media (especially picture supported communication tools) that are used in extension and rural development work, particularly when the target group is illiterate. Three organizations were observed in more detail and will serve as case studies. The paper presents Methods and Media Used by Different Organizations as well as major Criteria for Using Media in Extension and Development Work. Furthermore, the Application of Criteria for Different Methods and Media will provide the basis for the discussion of major potentials and limitations of currently used media in comparison to the Flannelgraph method, which was chosen as a major methodological tool of reference. In summary, it appears that the extension situation in Northern Thailand is too heterogeneous to identify the one ?right? extension approach. The use of media and the choice of extension methods depend on specific financial, logistic, methodological and cultural criteria as well as further issues, such as infrastructure, target group and the costs of the respective tool. In order to increase the potential and decrease the limitations of the currently used methods, the organizations have to concentrate on a better use of the already existing means as well as the improvement of those factors that are not fully used at the moment.
Privatization of agricultural advisory services and innovation systems : the case of Brandenburg, Germany
(2021) Knuth, Ulrike; Knierim, Andrea
The European regulations on Rural Development of the last two decades brought Agricultural Advisory Systems back onto the political agenda. Along with the introduction of Cross Compliance (CC), Member states were obliged to review their Farm Advisory System or to build up new infrastructure. The importance of innovation generation, knowledge dissemination and on-going learning in rural areas has been emphasized, and Agricultural Advisory Systems are regarded one important partner. A further development over the last 30 years has been a wave of privatization of Agricultural Advisory Systems (AAS) in Europe due to the pressure of decreasing public budgets. This cumulative dissertation examines the dialectic of increased and changing demands on Farm Advisory Systems on the one hand and the effects of privatization on the other hand. Privatization of agricultural advisory services in European Member States has been a process for decades. Both within Europe and Germany, the German federal state of Brandenburg has an Agricultural Advisory System with a comparatively high level of privatization and commercialization. It was therefore selected as an excellent case to address the development and the impacts of privatization. The goal of this dissertation is to answer the following leading research questions i) What were the consequences of privatization specifically for the situation of advisors, their capacities and competences?, ii) What are the responsibilities of public authorities to steer a (privatized) advisory system and innovation networks within pluralistic Agricultural Knowledge and Innovations Systems (AKIS)?, iii) How was the EU’s obligation to establish Farm Advisory Systems (FAS) implemented and thus, how is advice on Cross Compliance with Farm Management Systems (FMS) as a policy-induced innovation implemented and adopted in Brandenburg and Germany?, iv) How successful are innovation networks as an instrument to fill the interaction gap of the AAS in Brandenburg?. This dissertation contributes to the empirical evidence on the functioning of AKIS and Advisory Systems and provides public authorities in Brandenburg with longitudinal information to be used for future farm advice- and innovation-related policies. The cumulative thesis builds on 4 articles published from 2013 till 2018. The articles analyze qualitatively and discuss the view of agricultural advisors and farmers through a series of semi-structured interviews, analyze applied Farm Management Tools and assess new cooperation forms like innovation networks. Chapter 2 describes the development of the situation of private farm advisors in Brandenburg over a longer period of more than 15 years, from before until complete commercialization of the service in 2000. It shows which topics advisors (can) address and which they cannot, which clients they work with and which they do not, and it provides data on their basic work situation. It also gives insights on their networking activities. The following chapter 3 provides recommendations for public authorities regarding their responsibilities in pluralistic AKIS in Europe, which can also be applied to Brandenburg. Chapter 4 provides an analysis of Cross Compliance advice to farmers with Farm Management Systems (FMS) as one public responsibility in AKIS. A special focus is pointed to farmers’ usage of FMS in Brandenburg and qualitative comparison of FMS in Germany. In chapter 5 the cooperation of various actors from science and practice in Brandenburg is examined using the example of the innovation network for climate change adaptation. Innovation networks can be considered as one important instrument to cope with the challenges of AKIS privatization in Brandenburg by filling the interaction gap. This chapter presents an analysis of collaboration success factors and shows how crucial repeated participation, appropriate information management, and inclusive as well as responsive network practices are. Chapter 6 discusses the results regarding the development of Brandenburg’s AKIS and its Agricultural Advisory System (AAS) during the period of complete privatization (2002 until 2017), in which the research of chapter 2 thru 5 was conducted. Chapter 7 gives an update of Brandenburg’s AKIS and advisory system development from 2017 on, when AKIS and advisory services returned on the political agenda, and new policies emerged, which support innovation networks and advisory services. Chapter 8 concludes policy and research recommendations.
Verhaltensökonomische Aspekte in der strategischen Entwicklung von Mitgliederbeziehungen in ländlichen Genossenschaften
(2020) Jensen-Auvermann, Tessa Katharina; Doluschitz, Reiner
Due to ongoing processes of change, the frame conditions for rural cooperatives (coop) and their members are constantly changing. Change processes are of interest because they influence, among other things, the needs of people and, accordingly, business areas. The complexity of agricultural production is increasing in the course of these processes of change and, as a result, farmers have an increased need for knowledge and information in order to further develop their business. One form of organisation that supports its members, e.g. in the form of advice, is the registered association. Additionally, the competitive pressure on rural registered associations is increasing. In order to adapt to the changes in the agricultural economy, rural cooperatives make structural changes. In the course of the consolidation process in the cooperative sector, the heterogeneity of employees and members increases on the one hand and on the other hand, there can be a loss of trust between the organ company and the cooperative member. As a consequence, the commitment and loyalty of the member with regard to his or her coop may decrease. Against the background of the described transformations (pressure of adaptation and innovation from German farmers and the consolidation process in the cooperative sector) and their strategic importance for the agricultural and food sector as well as the view, that cooperative research is an application-oriented science, the present dissertation aims to answer rural coop practice-relevant questions within the framework of their membership management. Thus, a transfer of knowledge from research to practice can be enabled and a sustainable development of rural cooperatives can be promoted. Consequently, the following research questions (rq) were addressed on the basis of New Institutional Economics, behavioural economic approaches and with the help of analytical tests, such as the Mann and Whitney U-test, and regression analyses: rqi: What do members of rural cooperatives understand by the quality of service provided by their cooperative? rqii: How can relationships of trust between members and employees in rural cooperatives be shaped successfully? rqiii: What member value can cooperatives provide for the development of rural regions? The studies listed in this cumulative dissertation are increasingly based on data sets that were collected in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg using quantitative survey instruments such as written questionnaires in the period 2016 to 2017. Among others, the MemberValue model is applied. Here, the effectiveness of the specific funding mandate of the respective coop is analysed by applying it. The different samples of the studies accompanying this dissertation are composed of employees, members and leading members of community oriented and a rural coop. Employees represent a necessary factor for the fulfilment of member satisfaction and loyalty. According to the current knowledge of the author, the member-employee relationship in the latter rural coop was therefore examined in more detail for the first time. This cumulative dissertation provides new insights for the inner-organizational understanding of coop in the German-speaking area - especially with regard to soft factors such as participation, trust and satisfaction.