Socio- Economic Characteristics of Urban Extension Workers Influencing Empowerment of Farmers in Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

The study examined the influence of socio-economic characteristics of urban extension workers on farmers’ empowerment. Purposive and simple random sampling methods were used to select 64 extension workers by utilizing the Yamane formula. Data were collected by the use of questionnaires. Frequencies, percentiles and multiple linear regressions were utilised to analyse the data. The extension workers’ socio - economic characteristics were found to positively influence the choice of extension methods. The findings revealed that 37.2% of farmer empowerment could be explained by the choice of extension methods influenced by the characteristics of extension workers. However, 49.9% of the extension workers were not aware of the adult learning principles (ALPs) that are employed in the appropriate choice of extension methods. The study recommends that extension workers in Nairobi County be trained in competencies to consider ALPs and information communication and technology (ICT) techniques in choices of extension methods. These competencies can ultimately lead to an extension system design transformation that will assist the few extension workers to serve more farmers efficiently and effectively leading to farmer empowerment.
 Key words: Extension worker characteristics, farmer empowerment, Nairobi, urban and peri-urban agriculture.

Reconsidering home or farm visits extension method for improving impact of agricultural extension in Tanzania

“…Extension agents employ home or farm visits whose objectives are to (i) get acquainted with and gain the confidence of farmers, (ii) obtain and/or give first-hand information on matters relating to farms, (iii) advise and assist farmers in solving specific problems, and teach skills, and (iv) sustain the interest of farmers (FAO, 2019). Home or farm visit is frequently used by extension agents (Yekinni & Afolabi, 2019;Mwaura et al 2020) and preferred by farmers to other extension methods (Yekinni & Afolabi, 2019). Employing home or farm visits in extension work has many advantages.…”