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This study aimed to develop and test the impact of a social media-based intervention for improving the business skills and income of young smallholder farmers.

First, the researchers used an exploratory approach to develop a social media-based intervention for acquiring business skills and improving income. Second, the researchers tested the effectiveness of the developed programme on a sample of 506 young smallholder farmers. Finally, the intervention and data collection took place over five years (2017–2021).

The result showed steady improvements in business skills and income from 2017 to 2021 for the treatment group, unlike the control group. Also, improvements in business skills led to a reduction in expenses and an increase in profit from 2017 to 2021. A further evaluation of the result showed that an addition of 5.1 mean scores in business skills led to the addition of $91 income between 2017 and 2018; for 2018–2019, 2.6 improvements in business skills increased income by $123. For 2019–2020, a 2.7 improvement increased income by $209, whilst for 2020–2021, a 1.6 improvement increased income by $320.

The results of this study could help explore ways of using social media to change behaviour aimed at improving income amongst young smallholder farmers.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of oral communication in improving the marketing and financial management skills of sweet potato farmers.

The study used a quasi-experimental design with a pre- and post-test approach. The sample was 540 sweet potato farmers that were randomly assigned to training (n = 270) and no-training groups (n = 270) with analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) as the method of data analysis. While the training group received oral training sessions for three farming seasons beginning in 2019, 2020 and 2021, the no-training group did not receive any intervention.

Before the training sessions, all the sweet potato farmers scored low on marketing skills like advertising, sales promotion and sales forecasting. Both groups also scored low on financial management skills like budgeting, investments, saving and controlling expenditures. Their annual income level was also low and both groups did not significantly differ. However, after the training and during the follow-up evaluation, the participants in the training group reported a significant improvement in their marketing skills and financial management skills. There was also an improvement in their income level from $238 (N109,480) at baseline to $523 (N240,580) after the training and $782 (N359,720) after the follow-up evaluation. On the other hand, the no-training group reported a staggered fluctuation in their income of $241 (N110,860) at baseline, $371(N170,660) during post-training evaluation and $214 (N98,440) at follow-up assessment.

The first limitation is that the study examined only one crop. There is a need to pay attention to farmers of other crops for better understanding. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers examined only oral communication. There is a need to compare more than one training to understand which is more effective. Finally, the current study did not consider the moderating effect of other factors like the source of labour and expenses.

This study has shown that oral communication is an effective tool for promoting the acquisition of marketing and financial management skills and enhancing agribusiness.

This study aimed to determine the impact of telemedicine with WhatsApp on adherence to treatment plans amongst patients who have experienced oral and maxillofacial surgeries like implants, wisdom tooth removal, facial trauma and facial reconstruction.

The researchers used a descriptive survey research design and sampled a total of 294 patients in Nigeria who experienced oral and maxillofacial surgeries 6 months before the study and provided responses that were used for analysis. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection.

The researchers found that telemedicine for counselling after oral and maxillofacial surgeries have a significant relationship with adherence to the treatment plan. The analysis revealed a significant interactive effect of telemedicine competence F(3,290) 11.423, p = 001 ? p2 = 0.038. The more skilful patients are at telemedicine, the more likely they are to engage in it and vice versa. The participants also preferred a combination of live and recorded interaction forms. It was also found that a combination of different message forms, like audio, text and video, predicts satisfaction with telemedicine.

This study has shown that social media are now playing important roles in health care delivery to patients, and this may continue to expand as societies evolve.

This study evaluated the use of Internet-mediated platforms for food supply chain among Ukrainian farmers due to the war.

The study was an online survey involving 325 Ukrainian farmers. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire.

The result of the study revealed the main effect of Internet-powered media such as social media, mobile applications and dedicated websites on food supply, F(1,308) 5.745, p = 0.004, p2 = 0.036. The result also revealed the interacting effect of supply intention (p = 0.001) and destination of supply (p = 0.001). Further analysis revealed that farmers with profit and charity intentions are likely to use dedicated websites, while those with trade-by-batter intentions are likely to use mobile applications. Also, the supply destination significantly interacted with the use of Internet-powered technologies (p = 0.001). A breakdown of the result showed that supply destinations in Ukraine are likely to be coordinated through dedicated websites, while those for neighbouring countries are likely to be coordinated through social media. Finally, variables from the unified theory of technology acceptance and use of technology, such as effort expectancy (ß = 0.412), performance expectancy (ß = 0.655) and social influence (ß = 0.182), collectively and individually predict the use of Internet-powered communication technologies for food supply among Ukrainian farmers, F(3,308)16.801, p = 0.001, R2 = 0.142.

This study explains how Internet-based media have contributed to the sustenance of agribusiness and food supply chain in challenging times like war.

Information from this study could be useful in understanding the contributing role of digital media in agribusiness and food supply during uncertainties.

This study aims to assess the impact of visual multimedia in improving entrepreneurial competence and economic self-efficacy among widowed women farmers.

The participants received entrepreneurial training through visual multimedia package. The sample size was made up of 540 widowed women farmers. The entrepreneurship competence and economic self-efficacy scales were used as the instruments for data collection. The purpose of the entrepreneurial competence scale was to measure the mental competence of the participants to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. On the other hand, the economic self-efficacy scale measured the ability of the women to solve their financial problems, thus, meeting their financial needs. Both scales were administered face-to-face to the participants before, and after the training and during follow-up assessment after three years.

The result of the study showed that the women farmers reported low entrepreneurship competence and economic self-efficacy before the training. After the training, the women farmers who received the multimedia training reported an improvement, but those who did not receive the training did not show an improvement. A follow-up assessment after three years revealed stability in the improvement among women farmers who received the training. It was also indicated that interactive visual multimedia was found to be more effective than noninteractive visual multimedia.

This study has provided empirical evidence on how best to empower widowed women farmers by improving their entrepreneurial competence and economic self-efficacy. This information could be useful for policy formulation and advocacy in relation to women’s empowerment.