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Adoption: a relevant concept for agricultural land management in the 21 century?
Citation
Allan, C and Cooke, P and Higgins, V and Leith, PB and Bryant, M and Cockfield, G, Adoption: a relevant concept for agricultural land management in the 21 century?, Outlook on Agriculture, 51, (4) pp. 375-383. ISSN 0030-7270 (2022) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2022.
DOI: doi:10.1177/00307270221126540
Abstract
This review seeks to understand the implications of using "adoption" to evaluate agricultural soil management outreach in the twenty-first century. The act of changing from one practice to another practice is referred to as "adoption". The concept of adoption is closely associated with the design and evaluation of agricultural extension programs. Although focusing on adoption is deeply entrenched in agricultural extension, some scholars question the usefulness of the concept in light of the complexity and uncertainty that characterises farming in the twenty-first century. We present a purposeful review of literature that considers adoption in relation to three general approaches to agricultural extension; top-down, bottom-up and co-constructionist, with an emphasis on land management in Australia. The conceptual fit of adoption as a measure of success for each extension approach is explored. We conclude that the usefulness of adoption of individual practices or tools as a measure of success needs to be considered in context. Failing to reflect on what adoption means in any particular program or activity risks ignoring or misunderstanding real change and impacts and /or shaping activities to fit a simple, linear adoption expectation. We suggest that adoption remains a useful concept, but could be best considered as a gateway to increased reflection and reflexivity when projects and activities are being developed.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | agricultural extension, innovation, knowledge co-construction, agricultural land management, adoption |
| Research Division: | Human Society |
| Research Group: | Sociology |
| Research Field: | Rural sociology |
| Objective Division: | Expanding Knowledge |
| Objective Group: | Expanding knowledge |
| Objective Field: | Expanding knowledge in human society |
| UTAS Author: | Higgins, V (Professor Vaughan Higgins) |
| UTAS Author: | Leith, PB (Dr Peat Leith) |
| UTAS Author: | Bryant, M (Professor Melanie Bryant) |
| ID Code: | 153848 |
| Year Published: | 2022 |
| Deposited By: | Office of the School of Social Sciences |
| Deposited On: | 2022-10-11 |
| Last Modified: | 2022-12-16 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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