Constraints Perceived by Farmers’ Community Organizations Affecting Roles of Extension Agents in Okigwe Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria
Keywords:
Constraints, Roles, Extension Agents, Farmers, NigeriaAbstract
This study assesses the constraints perceived by farmers’ community organizations affecting roles of extension agents in the Okigwe Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it examines the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, identifies major sources of agricultural information available to the farmers, ascertains the roles of extension agents, determines the perceived level of satisfaction with the roles and identified the perceived constraints to the effectiveness of extension agents in the study area. Multistage sampling technique is used to select a sample of 120 farmers. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and were analyzed using mean, frequency counts and percentages. Results show among others that the farmers were satisfied with the creation of awareness on agricultural innovations and helping farmers obtain loans. Shortage of well-trained extension agents, inadequate extension visits and low involvement of farmers in programme planning were some constraints militating against the effectiveness of extension service delivery in the Zone. It is recommended among others that more extension agents should be recruited and deployed to the rural areas to improve extension service coverage.
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