JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND EDUCATION RESEARCH
Year:2009 | Volume:2 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

The major purpose of this study was to examine impact of adopting and producing nano crops on sustainable agriculture from agricultural researcher's perspectives. The Sample population was 76 researchers that are selected from 100 researchers in agricultural research center of the Esfahan province. The data was collected by using questionnaires.The results of study showed that there was relationship between usage and status of nano crops, extension of these crops and economic advantage with sustainable agriculture.Multivariate regression analysis by stepwise model showed that usage and extension of nano crops had positive impact on perception of researchers about sustainable agriculture and they determine in two steps 24 percent of it.

This research is comparative analysis of extension experts and council members’ perception about potential capability of Islamic council’s participation in extension activities. It was an applied type research and descriptive method was used. The total population of the study was 160 members of Islamic rural councils and 60 extension experts in the township of Kohdasht. To determine sample, stratified method was used.Validity of questionnaires was assessed by faculty of university and ministry of agriculture experts. Reliability of questionnaire was obtained by α coefficient 94%.Results of study show that there aren’t significant different between perception of experts and members of councils about encouraging rural people to participate in extension plans, guiding and counseling people about protecting and using water resources, involving to solve ownership and land use problems, persuading people to tabulate lands, guiding farmers to optimum uses of inputs and correct use of facilities and persuading people to use biological pest control. Also there isn’t significant different between perception of experts and members of councils about cooperation in recognizing farmers problems, determining rural education/extension needs, recognizing local leaderships to link them to agricultural organizations, preparing grounds to hold extension courses and attracting people to participate in extension classes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the greenhouse owners’ educational needs based on perception of greenhouse owners and agricultural experts in the Garmsar Township. It was applied type research design and survey method was used. The total population of this study was 400 greenhouse owners and 38 agricultural experts. A random Sample of greenhouse owners were selected (n=95). An examination of the items and their factor loadings was used to understand the nature of the five factors. The five factors identified by greenhouse owners were; appropriate irrigation; planting; cultivating; post harvest using micro nutrient. The six factors identified by agricultural experts were appropriate irrigation; identifying of the pest and diseases; selecting appropriate varieties; biological control; chemical nutrition needs and cultivating methods.

The main purpose of this study was to find out the factors that influence participation of members in decision making process in agricultural cooperative. This study was applied and descriptive, correlative and deductive methods were used. The main instrument which used in this survey was questionnaire. The population in this study consisted of 230 managers and 206 members of agricultural cooperatives in the Tehran province that selected from 3020 members of cooperatives. The results of study shows that there was positive and meaningful relation between age, educational level, number of shares, benefit and members' participation in decision making process in the cooperatives. Result obtained by using Kruskal Wallis shows that decision making method of managers affected amount of participation in decision making and according to (M.W) test, there was meaningful differences between rural and urban members participation in decision making process of cooperatives.

The main purpose of this research was to assess the university curriculum for entrepreneurship extension among graduate students in the college of agriculture and natural resources of Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch. The total population was 1290 master and 456 doctoral students. The sample population was 313 students that were selected randomly. It was applied research and descriptive methods were used. The data was collected by using questionnaire and its reliability was measured by Cronbach Alpha Coefficient. The results of study show that student perception, university curriculum, applied training and educational materials did not promote entrepreneurship. The findings indicated that the most important characteristics of entrepreneurship education in university was to use new methods of teaching; the most important characteristics of instructors was to motivate and create interests among students and the most important dimension of educational materials was to make them adaptable to interests and ability of students.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the Attitude of the students at the Center for Technical & Vocational Education Zanjan toward internet learning. The design of the study was a survey research and utilized a descriptive-correlation method. The target population consisted of 320 students at Technical & Vocational Education Center of Zanjan ministerial branch of agriculture (Jahad e Keshavarzi). Sample size was determined by kerjcie and Morgan sample size table (n=175). Finally, 152 questionnaires with response rate 87% were returned and analyzed. A stratified randomized sampling method was used to select students as sample of the study. A questionnaire was used as an instrument of data gathering. Descriptive findings indicated that approximately half of students had positive attitudes (44%) toward internet learning. Mean of hour’s internet using by students was 5.21 hours per week. Mann Whitney U test analysis showed a statistical significant difference (at 0.05 p level) between attitude of the students that had personal computer and those without computer toward internet learning. Kruskal-wallis H analysis showed educational major and place of accessing to internet by students had no effect on their attitude. Spearman correlation coefficients showed statistically significant and positive correlation (at 0.05 p level) between internet as educational source and their attitude toward internet learning. There was statistically significant and positive correlation (at 0.01 p level) between internet as research and communication tools and attitude of the student toward internet learning.

This study was conducted to study challenges and opportunities of using mobile phones in Phoomanat region. The research population included all the extension agents in rural services centers in Phoomanat region (n=78). A questionnaire was developed based on the previous literature. The questionnaire was revised with the help of experts with significant experience in ICT-based learning to examine the validity of the research model. A pretest for the reliability of the instrument was conducted with 15 experts randomly chosen from the target population. The Computed Cronbach’s alphas indicated the high reliability of the questionnaire. The results showed that providing information about pest management, price of products and appropriate place to sell products were the most important potentials of using mobile phones. The factor analysis classified the challenges into 4 latent variables named human, telecommunication, technical, and security challenges.

The major purpose of this study was to survey impacts of agricultural crops insurance on economic Situation of damaged wheat farmers in the Qom city. This research from the type is an applied and from the research method viewpoint is survey. The statistical population of research included wheat farmers in the Qom city comprising 2400, that based on Cochran formula, the sample size 140 has been estimated. The Questionnaire was examined by faculty members and specialists and the face validity was confirmed. A pilot test was conducted to determine the reliability of the instrument and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients were estimated 86% for Questionnaire. The results of Multiple regression by stepwise indicated from among independent variables showed the six variables has affected on economic Situation of wheat farmers in the Qom city that included payment time, the average of land under wheat cultivation, age, literacy rate, amount of compensation, and farming experience which explained 90 percent of variance in the dependent variable.