Undoubtedly, high demands from food from the worldwide growing population are impacting the envir... more Undoubtedly, high demands from food from the worldwide growing population are impacting the environment and putting many pressures on agricultural productivity. As advanced information systems and Internet technologies are adopted in Agriculture, enormous farming data, such as agricultural information, capacity buildings, training, marketing demands, and land uses, can be collected, analyzed, and processed for assisting farmers in making appropriate decisions and obtaining higher profits. e-Learning technologies have clearly emerged as development poles for rural development and food security through growths for access to knowledge and exchange through advance agricultural communication tools. A multistage random sampling technique was used by 300 selected e-Learning users from rural areas with a simple linear regression model via SPSS. A comprehensive analysis is conducted from the aspects of interoperability, scalability, accessibility, usability, etc. Based on the evaluation result, upcoming challenges are detected and summarized, suggesting the development trends and demonstrating potential improvements for future research. One of the main obstacles that farmers were not aware and training of technical information flows in rural development. Therefore, ICTs services and applications have been highly significant for agricultural technical capacity in rural development. Government should establish technology facilitating condition via information hub center to boost up and sustainable rural development.
In Pakistan majority of the population is directly or in directly dependent on agriculture sector... more In Pakistan majority of the population is directly or in directly dependent on agriculture sector, which, has great share in Pakistan economy and also in providing employment but agricultural production fluctuated every year, now a days the major problem in agriculture sector is that resources are being shrinking like land ownership but on the other side population is increasing day by day, there are various reasons behind the low productivity in agriculture sector, first of all, in Pakistan about 85 to 90 percent are the small farmers and they are not able to use the latest agriculture technology due to financial and social constraints. Majority of them are not well aware about the emerging technologies and if some of them have awareness they do not want to adopt recommendations like production technologies because they are still using their ancestral knowledge for the production of crops. The major problem is that the public sector extension department have assumed duty for the dissemination of updated knowledge but they are not working well, they focus only some progressive farmers which are in fewer amount, similarly, after the decentralization of extension system in Pakistan the front line workers (field Assistants) are directed to perform multifarious duties assigned by the District Coordination Officer (DCO) so, they are unable to perform their primary job responsibilities.
Wheat, being staple food occupies a very conspicuous place for ensuring food security in Pakistan... more Wheat, being staple food occupies a very conspicuous place for ensuring food security in Pakistan but the real matter of concern is the gap between its potential and actual yield. The present study has attempted to identify the factors that have been hampering its required production. There has certainly been many production hindering factors. The aim of the research was to analyze those obstacles and present useful suggestions so that state of food security in the country can be improved. A cross-sectional survey research was conducted through an interview schedule after selecting the sample of 120 respondents randomly. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this research. The results of the study indicate that high prices of fertilizers and pesticides coupled with their adulteration are the most prominent barriers of wheat production. Likewise, unavailability of irrigation water and good quality low priced seed are also exacerbating the problem. Farmers are also being exploited by marketer in terms of inappropriate payments and dealings in the presence of price fluctuations and non-availability of credits to them. Last but not the least there remains a big gap between latest information regarding wheat and its growers due to which the former was not easily accessible and relied upon. The arguments in this paper could act as a food for thought for all the concerned stakeholders for an in-depth understanding of the issue. In this way they may be able to control to the barriers before it is too late by giving due attention to the factors identified in this paper. Otherwise the state of food insecurity may worsen in the years to come. Government level check and balance and mass media campaigns can play a potential role for reducing the problems of production.
The forests of the N orth-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan are vanishing at a high rate ... more The forests of the N orth-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan are vanishing at a high rate in spite of more than two decades of donor led interventions and extensive forest governance systems led by the state. Failure of most of the forest related projects and policies in meeting their intended objectives calls for searching out the underlying causes of the ineffectiveness of such interventions. Many development researchers have stressed the importance of stakeholder analysis. A holistic analysis of stakeholders, conflicts and power relations is an essential step to ensure the sustainability of development interventions and active participation of local actors. A wide range of actors can influence or be influenced by any forest related intervention in the NWFP. This paper, therefore, presents an exploratory analysis of the stakeholders' characteristics, power relations and conflicts in the context of interventions in the forestry sector of the NWFP. Various groups of stakeholders, for example, local communities, civil society organizations, religious and traditional institutions, state agencies, global actors, etc., are trying to operate within the contested political arena of the NWFP. This paper shows that on the one hand, the state as well as donor led interventions do not really engage in a meaningful dialogue with local stakeholders and institutions, and on the other hand, these entities themselves are not in a position to initiate a change in the local resource use. Thus, a way forward is seen in fostering a dialogue among key stakeholders.
Raw cotton contains various type of trash and most of the impurities are removed during the spinn... more Raw cotton contains various type of trash and most of the impurities are removed during the spinning process but still the cotton fabric coming from the weaving or knitting process always contains some impurities. Some time cotton fabric gets the oil, stains and coloured materials which affect the quality of dyed fabric. Bleaching is a process that eliminates unwanted coloured matters from the fibres, yarn and fabrics. A bleaching agent is a material that lightens or whitens a substrate through chemical action. Hydrogen peroxide is by far the most commonly used oxidative bleaching agent for cotton and its blends, accounting for more than 90 percent of all the bleaching agents. The use of activators to enhance the bleaching performance of hydrogen peroxide for cellulosic materials has gained popularity now a day. In this context the main objectives of this paper are to study the influence of different bleaching activators on cotton fabric and to give implications for textile extension. The results indicate that the activators with different concentrations, along with different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) have significant influence on the bleaching performance of cotton fabric.
Food insecurity is turning out to be one of the worst crises of world in future. Developing count... more Food insecurity is turning out to be one of the worst crises of world in future. Developing countries are especially considered vulnerable to be hit most severely by this impending danger. Resource scarce regions of Pakistan are also included in the list of marginalized areas where population is not able to manage its food by herself. The present study was designed to analyze the state of household food security concerns and identify managing strategies for dealing with shortage of food patterns in Northern Pakistan. The research was based upon a survey of randomly selected two districts. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for data collection. The results indicated that prices of food items were very high. It also delineated that lack of irrigational water; limited market access, and high cost of fertilizers were leading production related constraints. As a resort to these constraints and due to low output from the food crops there was found a shift from subsistence to cash seeking cropping patterns of the growers. This increase in income was perceived as a mean to ensure household food security. Furthermore, at household level the respondents expressed to reduce their expenses on the agricultural inputs in future.
is a long term programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is based on a network of p... more is a long term programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is based on a network of partnerships with research institutions in the South and East, focusing on the analysis and mitigation of negative consequences of global change and globalization. The Pakistan Research Group of NCCR focuses on the analysis of livelihood constraints and options of people living in the highlands and adjoining lowlands of NorthWest Pakistan, with special attention to the institutional context that supports or hinders people in securing and improving their lives. For details see http://www.nccr-pakistan.org.
Many, many persons have contributed to the realization and content of this publication, which had... more Many, many persons have contributed to the realization and content of this publication, which had a long path of evolution. This may in part be traced to the UNFF Country-led Initiative on Decentralization, Federal Systems in Forestry and National Forest Programmes, in which Switzerland has been involved since 2002. One event within this initiative was the workshop on Decentralization in Forestry that was held in Interlaken in 2004 (the proceedings being published as a book in 2005). This was one catalyst for Forest Governance being proposed as the 2008 annual working theme of the Swiss Working Group on Forests and Trees in Development. Another was a survey questionnaire that was sent out to forestry and related practitioners in projects and programmes supported through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the results of which were analysed by Patrick Robinson. The 28 persons who took the time to respond to the survey verified governance as a key issue in forestry. The idea then took shape in discussions between
Shahbaz,Babar;Luqman,Muhammad;Cho,Gyoung-Rae.2014.Analysis of rural development timeline in Korea... more Shahbaz,Babar;Luqman,Muhammad;Cho,Gyoung-Rae.2014.Analysis of rural development timeline in Korean and Pakistan,Articles,Seoul,South KoreaThe Korean Society of International Agriculture,13
Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and... more Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and Sindh on livelihoods of cotton growers were studied at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2014. Four districts Vehari, Lodhran, D.G Khan and Bahawalpur were selected through purposeful sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was used for the selection of respondents with sample size of 392 (232 from treatment group (58 from each district), 80 from exposed group (20 from each district) as well as 80 from control group (20 from each district). Data were collected through structured interview schedule and analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that in the treatment group majority of the farmers (24.6%) had primary education. Similar trend was also found in exposed group where majority (23.8%) of the farmers had primary educational level. But in the control group majority (27.5%) of the farmers had matriculation (ten years of schooling). This showed that educational status of control was better than the other two groups. Majority (>50.0%) of the respondents had land upto 20 acres in all the three categories. It was also concluded that majority of the respondents (about 50.0%) grow cotton on their fields but difference was recorded in the agronomic practices adopted by them. This showed that FFS approach had impact on the knowledge of the cotton growers in variety of cotton cultivation practices. The results of t-test statistics showed that there is significant difference in pre and post mean of the respondents regarding different agronomic practices of cotton crop.
Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and... more Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and Sindh on livelihoods of cotton growers were studied at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2014. Four districts Vehari, Lodhran, D.G Khan and Bahawalpur were selected through purposeful sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was used for the selection of respondents with sample size of 392 (232 from treatment group (58 from each district), 80 from exposed group (20 from each district) as well as 80 from control group (20 from each district). Data were collected through structured interview schedule and analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that in the treatment group majority of the farmers (24.6%) had primary education. Similar trend was also found in exposed group where majority (23.8%) of the farmers had primary educational level. But in the control group majority (27.5%) of the farmers had matriculation (ten years of scho...
Purpose of the study: The current study has explored the effect of different dimensions of organi... more Purpose of the study: The current study has explored the effect of different dimensions of organizational culture on the job satisfaction of nurses working in the rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan. Methodology: Present study used a cross-sectional, face-to-face approach. The researcher collected data from 452 nurses working at tehsil headquarter hospitals and rural health centres across Punjab with the help of an interview schedule. The effect of culture on the job satisfaction level of nurses Investigated with the help of Multiple regression techniques. Main Findings: The analysis showed a 52% variation in job satisfaction because of the culture. Values and belief systems, feedback systems, innovation, growth and development opportunities, relationship patterns, autonomy, work environment were the significant determinants of job satisfaction. Whereas the facilities, communication, and vision were the nonsignificant determinants of job satisfaction in the present study. Application of...
Undoubtedly, high demands from food from the worldwide growing population are impacting the envir... more Undoubtedly, high demands from food from the worldwide growing population are impacting the environment and putting many pressures on agricultural productivity. As advanced information systems and Internet technologies are adopted in Agriculture, enormous farming data, such as agricultural information, capacity buildings, training, marketing demands, and land uses, can be collected, analyzed, and processed for assisting farmers in making appropriate decisions and obtaining higher profits. e-Learning technologies have clearly emerged as development poles for rural development and food security through growths for access to knowledge and exchange through advance agricultural communication tools. A multistage random sampling technique was used by 300 selected e-Learning users from rural areas with a simple linear regression model via SPSS. A comprehensive analysis is conducted from the aspects of interoperability, scalability, accessibility, usability, etc. Based on the evaluation result, upcoming challenges are detected and summarized, suggesting the development trends and demonstrating potential improvements for future research. One of the main obstacles that farmers were not aware and training of technical information flows in rural development. Therefore, ICTs services and applications have been highly significant for agricultural technical capacity in rural development. Government should establish technology facilitating condition via information hub center to boost up and sustainable rural development.
In Pakistan majority of the population is directly or in directly dependent on agriculture sector... more In Pakistan majority of the population is directly or in directly dependent on agriculture sector, which, has great share in Pakistan economy and also in providing employment but agricultural production fluctuated every year, now a days the major problem in agriculture sector is that resources are being shrinking like land ownership but on the other side population is increasing day by day, there are various reasons behind the low productivity in agriculture sector, first of all, in Pakistan about 85 to 90 percent are the small farmers and they are not able to use the latest agriculture technology due to financial and social constraints. Majority of them are not well aware about the emerging technologies and if some of them have awareness they do not want to adopt recommendations like production technologies because they are still using their ancestral knowledge for the production of crops. The major problem is that the public sector extension department have assumed duty for the dissemination of updated knowledge but they are not working well, they focus only some progressive farmers which are in fewer amount, similarly, after the decentralization of extension system in Pakistan the front line workers (field Assistants) are directed to perform multifarious duties assigned by the District Coordination Officer (DCO) so, they are unable to perform their primary job responsibilities.
Wheat, being staple food occupies a very conspicuous place for ensuring food security in Pakistan... more Wheat, being staple food occupies a very conspicuous place for ensuring food security in Pakistan but the real matter of concern is the gap between its potential and actual yield. The present study has attempted to identify the factors that have been hampering its required production. There has certainly been many production hindering factors. The aim of the research was to analyze those obstacles and present useful suggestions so that state of food security in the country can be improved. A cross-sectional survey research was conducted through an interview schedule after selecting the sample of 120 respondents randomly. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in this research. The results of the study indicate that high prices of fertilizers and pesticides coupled with their adulteration are the most prominent barriers of wheat production. Likewise, unavailability of irrigation water and good quality low priced seed are also exacerbating the problem. Farmers are also being exploited by marketer in terms of inappropriate payments and dealings in the presence of price fluctuations and non-availability of credits to them. Last but not the least there remains a big gap between latest information regarding wheat and its growers due to which the former was not easily accessible and relied upon. The arguments in this paper could act as a food for thought for all the concerned stakeholders for an in-depth understanding of the issue. In this way they may be able to control to the barriers before it is too late by giving due attention to the factors identified in this paper. Otherwise the state of food insecurity may worsen in the years to come. Government level check and balance and mass media campaigns can play a potential role for reducing the problems of production.
The forests of the N orth-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan are vanishing at a high rate ... more The forests of the N orth-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan are vanishing at a high rate in spite of more than two decades of donor led interventions and extensive forest governance systems led by the state. Failure of most of the forest related projects and policies in meeting their intended objectives calls for searching out the underlying causes of the ineffectiveness of such interventions. Many development researchers have stressed the importance of stakeholder analysis. A holistic analysis of stakeholders, conflicts and power relations is an essential step to ensure the sustainability of development interventions and active participation of local actors. A wide range of actors can influence or be influenced by any forest related intervention in the NWFP. This paper, therefore, presents an exploratory analysis of the stakeholders' characteristics, power relations and conflicts in the context of interventions in the forestry sector of the NWFP. Various groups of stakeholders, for example, local communities, civil society organizations, religious and traditional institutions, state agencies, global actors, etc., are trying to operate within the contested political arena of the NWFP. This paper shows that on the one hand, the state as well as donor led interventions do not really engage in a meaningful dialogue with local stakeholders and institutions, and on the other hand, these entities themselves are not in a position to initiate a change in the local resource use. Thus, a way forward is seen in fostering a dialogue among key stakeholders.
Raw cotton contains various type of trash and most of the impurities are removed during the spinn... more Raw cotton contains various type of trash and most of the impurities are removed during the spinning process but still the cotton fabric coming from the weaving or knitting process always contains some impurities. Some time cotton fabric gets the oil, stains and coloured materials which affect the quality of dyed fabric. Bleaching is a process that eliminates unwanted coloured matters from the fibres, yarn and fabrics. A bleaching agent is a material that lightens or whitens a substrate through chemical action. Hydrogen peroxide is by far the most commonly used oxidative bleaching agent for cotton and its blends, accounting for more than 90 percent of all the bleaching agents. The use of activators to enhance the bleaching performance of hydrogen peroxide for cellulosic materials has gained popularity now a day. In this context the main objectives of this paper are to study the influence of different bleaching activators on cotton fabric and to give implications for textile extension. The results indicate that the activators with different concentrations, along with different concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) have significant influence on the bleaching performance of cotton fabric.
Food insecurity is turning out to be one of the worst crises of world in future. Developing count... more Food insecurity is turning out to be one of the worst crises of world in future. Developing countries are especially considered vulnerable to be hit most severely by this impending danger. Resource scarce regions of Pakistan are also included in the list of marginalized areas where population is not able to manage its food by herself. The present study was designed to analyze the state of household food security concerns and identify managing strategies for dealing with shortage of food patterns in Northern Pakistan. The research was based upon a survey of randomly selected two districts. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used for data collection. The results indicated that prices of food items were very high. It also delineated that lack of irrigational water; limited market access, and high cost of fertilizers were leading production related constraints. As a resort to these constraints and due to low output from the food crops there was found a shift from subsistence to cash seeking cropping patterns of the growers. This increase in income was perceived as a mean to ensure household food security. Furthermore, at household level the respondents expressed to reduce their expenses on the agricultural inputs in future.
is a long term programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is based on a network of p... more is a long term programme of the Swiss National Science Foundation, and is based on a network of partnerships with research institutions in the South and East, focusing on the analysis and mitigation of negative consequences of global change and globalization. The Pakistan Research Group of NCCR focuses on the analysis of livelihood constraints and options of people living in the highlands and adjoining lowlands of NorthWest Pakistan, with special attention to the institutional context that supports or hinders people in securing and improving their lives. For details see http://www.nccr-pakistan.org.
Many, many persons have contributed to the realization and content of this publication, which had... more Many, many persons have contributed to the realization and content of this publication, which had a long path of evolution. This may in part be traced to the UNFF Country-led Initiative on Decentralization, Federal Systems in Forestry and National Forest Programmes, in which Switzerland has been involved since 2002. One event within this initiative was the workshop on Decentralization in Forestry that was held in Interlaken in 2004 (the proceedings being published as a book in 2005). This was one catalyst for Forest Governance being proposed as the 2008 annual working theme of the Swiss Working Group on Forests and Trees in Development. Another was a survey questionnaire that was sent out to forestry and related practitioners in projects and programmes supported through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the results of which were analysed by Patrick Robinson. The 28 persons who took the time to respond to the survey verified governance as a key issue in forestry. The idea then took shape in discussions between
Shahbaz,Babar;Luqman,Muhammad;Cho,Gyoung-Rae.2014.Analysis of rural development timeline in Korea... more Shahbaz,Babar;Luqman,Muhammad;Cho,Gyoung-Rae.2014.Analysis of rural development timeline in Korean and Pakistan,Articles,Seoul,South KoreaThe Korean Society of International Agriculture,13
Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and... more Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and Sindh on livelihoods of cotton growers were studied at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2014. Four districts Vehari, Lodhran, D.G Khan and Bahawalpur were selected through purposeful sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was used for the selection of respondents with sample size of 392 (232 from treatment group (58 from each district), 80 from exposed group (20 from each district) as well as 80 from control group (20 from each district). Data were collected through structured interview schedule and analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that in the treatment group majority of the farmers (24.6%) had primary education. Similar trend was also found in exposed group where majority (23.8%) of the farmers had primary educational level. But in the control group majority (27.5%) of the farmers had matriculation (ten years of schooling). This showed that educational status of control was better than the other two groups. Majority (>50.0%) of the respondents had land upto 20 acres in all the three categories. It was also concluded that majority of the respondents (about 50.0%) grow cotton on their fields but difference was recorded in the agronomic practices adopted by them. This showed that FFS approach had impact on the knowledge of the cotton growers in variety of cotton cultivation practices. The results of t-test statistics showed that there is significant difference in pre and post mean of the respondents regarding different agronomic practices of cotton crop.
Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and... more Impacts of Farmer Field School (FFS) approach on IPM being practiced in cotton zone of Punjab and Sindh on livelihoods of cotton growers were studied at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad during 2014. Four districts Vehari, Lodhran, D.G Khan and Bahawalpur were selected through purposeful sampling technique. Stratified sampling technique was used for the selection of respondents with sample size of 392 (232 from treatment group (58 from each district), 80 from exposed group (20 from each district) as well as 80 from control group (20 from each district). Data were collected through structured interview schedule and analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results showed that in the treatment group majority of the farmers (24.6%) had primary education. Similar trend was also found in exposed group where majority (23.8%) of the farmers had primary educational level. But in the control group majority (27.5%) of the farmers had matriculation (ten years of scho...
Purpose of the study: The current study has explored the effect of different dimensions of organi... more Purpose of the study: The current study has explored the effect of different dimensions of organizational culture on the job satisfaction of nurses working in the rural areas of Punjab, Pakistan. Methodology: Present study used a cross-sectional, face-to-face approach. The researcher collected data from 452 nurses working at tehsil headquarter hospitals and rural health centres across Punjab with the help of an interview schedule. The effect of culture on the job satisfaction level of nurses Investigated with the help of Multiple regression techniques. Main Findings: The analysis showed a 52% variation in job satisfaction because of the culture. Values and belief systems, feedback systems, innovation, growth and development opportunities, relationship patterns, autonomy, work environment were the significant determinants of job satisfaction. Whereas the facilities, communication, and vision were the nonsignificant determinants of job satisfaction in the present study. Application of...
Pakistan’s rural economy is at the crossroads and so are the farmers. Rural economy is largely as... more Pakistan’s rural economy is at the crossroads and so are the farmers. Rural economy is largely associated with agriculture sector (crops, livestock, poultry, farm forestry etc.), however off-farm activities have also become an important component of our rural economy. Overwhelming majority of Pakistani farmers are smallholders with less than five acres of land. During the past two-decades, unprecedented urbanization, population growth, lack of public investment, climate change, natural disasters and poor land-use planning have posed serious challenges to the rural economy of Pakistan.
Uploads
Papers by Babar Shahbaz