Assessment of Agricultural Extension Students’ Interest in Providing Private Extension Services in Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose: Agricultural extension graduates do not get jobs and farmers are not getting agricultural extension services, and therefore, both the farmers and agricultural graduates do not receive benefi ts. The study assessed the interest of agricultural extension students in providing private extension services to farmers, examined their perception towards private extension services and identifi ed extension skills possessed by the students. Research Method: The study comprised all the fi nal year students in the Universities in Osun State. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents. One university was selected from each category of federal, state and private. A total of 68 respondents were selected and interviewed. Data collected were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings: The results show that the mean age, mean years of formal education of the respondents were 23.75 ± 2.02 and 17.40 ± 1.16, respectively. About half (51.5%) of the respondents had positive perception towards the private extension service while 57 percent had high interest in providing private extension services. Majority of them possessed teaching skills (97.1%), innovation dissemination skills (95.5%) and communication skills (88.2%). Also, sources of agricultural information available (χ2=22.448), types of sponsors (χ2=6.102) and marital status (χ2=16.535) had a signifi cant association with respondents' interest in providing private agricultural extension services. Research Limitation: The study focuses on the interest of agricultural extension graduates to provide private extension services; however, these graduates may have an interest in other areas that have not been investigated.

Impact of rural transportation networks on farmers’ income in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria

“…The dependent variable for this study is conceptualised as income realised by farmers which might be affected by the nature of rural transportation networks as perceived by the farmers. The respondents were to indicate their perception based on the impact of transportation through response to ten declarative statements which were rated on a five-point Likert scale and were scored 5 points for Strongly Agree (SA), 4 points for Agree (A), 3 points for Undecided (U), 2 points for Disagree (D) and 1 point for Strongly Disagree (SD) as used by Adesoji et al (2019) and which was modified to suit the research purpose. Fasina (2013), this is not a good sign of enhanced efficiency because farm production is considered to decline as they age, which could negatively affect market involvement and reduce their level of income.…”

Enhancing Work Performance of Extension Agents among Cocoa Farmers in Malaysia: The Influence of Human Resource Development Skills

“…It also contained 8 statement items. The respondents were to indicate their perceptions based on the positive impact made on farmers by utilizing those skills through responses to all declarative statement items, which were rated on a 6-point scale and were scored with 6 points for Strongly Agree (SA), 5 points for Agree (A), 4 points for Somewhat Agree (SWA), 3 points for Somewhat Disagree (SWD), 2 point for Disagree (D), and 1 point for Strongly Disagree, as used by [16] and [57], and which were modified to suit the research purpose.…”

Prospects and challenges of agricultural financing in Nigeria: A review

“…These partnerships enhance the resilience of the agricultural value chain and promote sustainable practices. Another noteworthy initiative is the Agricultural Cooperative Societies (ACS), which mobilize farmers to pool resources, share risks, and access credit and markets collectively (Adesoji & Adegboye, 2020). By promoting cooperative ownership and democratic decision-making, ACS empower farmers to negotiate better prices for their produce and adopt modern farming techniques (Adesoji & Adegboye, 2020).…”

“…Another noteworthy initiative is the Agricultural Cooperative Societies (ACS), which mobilize farmers to pool resources, share risks, and access credit and markets collectively (Adesoji & Adegboye, 2020). By promoting cooperative ownership and democratic decision-making, ACS empower farmers to negotiate better prices for their produce and adopt modern farming techniques (Adesoji & Adegboye, 2020). Community-based financing programs also promote financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills among rural populations, thereby enhancing their ability to manage finances and invest in productive ventures (Olawoye & Owoeye, 2017).…”