The study examined

To provide solutions to the issues of climate change, food insecurities, environmental degradation, food safety and sustainability in production, organic farming was developed as opposed to the conventional method of farming which involved the use of synthetic fertilizers and other agro-chemicals. The objectives of the study was to determine the level of awareness of organic farming practices and to determine the use and level of use of organic farming practices among livestock and fish farmers in the study area. Multistage sampling techniques were employed. Primary data was collected through structured questionnaire. Sample size comprised of 115 fish farmers and 99 livestock farmers which made a total of 214 rural farmers. Results showed that fish farmers were more aware of organic farming practices relative to livestock farmers. Also, fish farmers used more of organic farming methods for fishing activities than livestock farmers. However, the level of awareness and level of use of organic farming practices was low for both farmers. Therefore, it was recommended that extension campaign on organic farming sensitization should be increased.

In this century alone our world is faced with an increasingly complex challenge of feeding its growing population, while assuring an equitable and sustainable development. Scientific and technological progress is generating the knowledge and tools to make this possible. The more recent scientific revolution that is taking place at the turn of the century, based on the emergence of the new areas of science, namely in molecular biology (Biotechnology), in agroecology and sustainable agricultural production, and in information and communication technology, is leading to the growing importance of knowledge in present day agriculture and natural resource management. Knowledge has become the most important factor of production, and it plays a critical role in our capacity to respond to the challenges of food security, poverty eradication and sustainable development. The emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the last decade has opened new avenues in knowledge management that could play important roles in meeting the prevailing challenges related to sharing, exchanging, and disseminating knowledge and technologies. ICT allows capitalizing to a great extent on the wealth of information and knowledge available for agricultural knowledge. The ultimate objectives of agriculture knowledge activities are to come up with results that can advance research more in certain areas, and engender technologies that stakeholders can use to increase production, conserve the environment. The paper thus discusses the valuable contribution of ICT to Agriculture Knowledge Management, gathering storing, retrieving, adapting localizing and disseminating innovations needed by rural farm families and linkages between research and extension systems. We reviewed the situation in Nigeria, lessons for Nigeria and the strategies to be adopted for improvement as well as the challenges related to sharing, exchanging and disseminating agricultural, knowledge.

One of the basic principles of agricultural extension is that extension is for all persons irrespective of age, gender, status, race and so on. Among the individuals here are both female agents and women farmers who also need and disseminate proven agricultural information and advice. This study was carried out to examine the factors influencing job-performance of female extension agents in Owerri-West and North Areas of Imo State, Nigeria. Data were obtained from 80 female extension personnel, made up of 50 female agents and 30 women in agriculture participants who serve as contact farmers due to the limited number of female agents. Data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage and mean presented in tabular form. Majority (31.3%) are within the prime age of 36-41 years, with 27.5% having Bsc degree. They specialized in crop, animals, agric. extension and economics as well as home economics. They are involved in regular and systematic visits to villages and farms, developing rapport with farmers, solving farmers agric/farm problems, providing advisory services, monitoring/evaluating extension programs, keeping records and providing feed back to both farmers and research stations. In performance of the job as agents they are constrained by lack of education on the part of clientele, time, cash/income, beliefs and customs, slowness in adoption, social structure, farming system, lack of ability to take risk on the part of the clients among other factors. The female agents are constrained by family problems, health condition, social barriers, inadequate training and so on. Institutional factors as inadequate methodology, poor transportation network, non-payment of salaries, delays in promotion and payments, evaluation problems, corruption, lack of working materials among others hinder female agents job performance. To improve upon the above, farmers be sensitized regularly on programs and packages, salaries of agents increased, methodology be adjusted, and regular training and retraining be carried out for staff in form of seminars and workshops.