Factors Influencing Self-Efficacy and Adoption of ICT Dissemination Tools by New Extension Officers

Abstract

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer Extension systems opportunities to expand participation and provide information faster to stakeholders. The study included fiftyseven new extension officers drawn from the public, private and state assisted extension organizations in Trinidad. Participants were surveyed to assess their level of confidence in the use of ICTs and the factors that impacted their use of these dissemination tools. The survey, which was conducted during March to May 2015 on the mandatory office days of the agents, consisted of five sections which captured socio demographic variables, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and self-efficacy in the use of ICTs. Percentages and means were used to describe the data set and multiple regression analysis was used to explore relationships with ICT use. Results showed that: use of ICTs was moderate; the professional level of officers, their education level, perceptions of ICTs as useful and easy to use and social influence significantly impacted their use of ICTs in their job functions. There are implications for the provision of quality and timely delivery of information to clients. It is recommended that the entry level requirements for new officers should be raised by employers, in-service training in ICTs and other modern communication methods and tools be provided to those already in the system, and the curricula at the main tertiary training institution be reviewed to include ICTs for extension work.

Evaluating impacts from natural weather-related disasters on farmers mental health worldwide

“…Societal issues and current demands underscore the necessity for extension systems agility to meet individual and community needs as a trusted source of information (Harder et al, 2013). Extension agents who are prepared and possess professional competencies have the potential to make positive impacts on food security (Ganpat et al, 2016;Strong & Harder, 2011b). Extension agents need to develop the following competencies: communication skills, interpersonal skills, self-management, technical/subject matter expertise, program development process, and teaching abilities (Benge et al, 2011;Harder et al, 2009).…”

Extension Officers’ Adoption of Modern Information Communication Technologies to Interact with Farmers of Trinidad

“…Strong et al (2014) stated extension officers in the Caribbean regularly used ICTs for personal reasons, chief of which was for personal communication. Extension officers had adequate literacy to use ICTs for interacting with others, but Ganpat, Ramjattan, and Strong (2016) found officers perceived a low level of institutional support from superiors and a lack of enabling policies to use modern extension methods. As such, Caribbean extension officers' intentions to use the technology to contact farmers was ranked lowest compared to other uses of ICTs (Strong et al, 2014).…”

“…The Telecommunication Development Sector [ITU-D] 2018indicated ICT infrastructure is welldeveloped and active mobile users in Trinidad increased by 21% from 2016 to 2017. Further, Extension officers have adequate levels of ICT literacy, and national policies support ICT use in agriculture (Ganpat et al, 2016;Strong et al, 2017). However, factors influencing Ministry Extension officers' decisions of whether to adopt SMS to communicate with farmers were unclear.…”

Enhancing ICT Adoption and Use through Change Leadership: Technology Stewardship Training for Caribbean Agricultural Communities of Practice

“…In As part of its overall strategy to encourage ICT adoption among agricultural practitioners and rural communities, the FFA is now taking steps to develop a graduate diploma program in ICTs that will include technology stewardship training. The target population of the program is agriculture and rural development professionals, such as extension workers, community development agents, and field officers of private and nonprofit sectors who need to expand their knowledge and skills of new techniques and tools for community engagement and knowledge mobilization (Ganpat, et. al., 2016;Ganpat, et.…”