Improving agricultural extension services in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State in 2012 by administering structured questionnaire to 30 farmers each from 5 villages in the Local Government. The aim was to determine the quality of extension service in Moro Local Government Area with a view to improving it. Results show that most of the farmers (28.2%) are in the age group of 21 to 30 years. A greater percentage of the farmers (53.3%) are subsistence farmers cultivating between 1 to 2 hectares (ha) of land. Although, extension services were provided long time ago (71.1%), mainly by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and needs assessment were not conducted first before transferring innovations (63.9%), the quality of extension service was good (51.2%) and has resulted in improved skills (89.3%) and productivity of the farmers. However, it was recommended that there is need to further improve extension service in the Local Government to ensure the achievement of the desired objectives.