Knowledge and Competence of Agricultural Extension Field Workers in Farmer-Group Facilitation in Kwara State, Nigeria
The weakness of most farmer-groups in Nigeria has been linked to poor group facilitation by field agricultural extension workers. The study assessed the knowledge and competence of extension officers in group facilitation. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select 174 farmers on which...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Mendel University Press
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://acta.mendelu.cz/artkey/acu-202102-0006_knowledge-and-competence-of-agricultural-extension-field-workers-in-farmer-group-facilitation-in-kwara-state-n.php |
| Summary: | The weakness of most farmer-groups in Nigeria has been linked to poor group facilitation by field agricultural extension workers. The study assessed the knowledge and competence of extension officers in group facilitation. A two-stage random sampling technique was used to select 174 farmers on which a structured interview schedule was administered. A questionnaire was administered on all 69 field extension workers in the study area. Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, Pearson's Product Moment Correlation and t-test were used for data analyses. Results reveal that 65.2% of extension workers had good knowledge of group facilitation. Farmers rated extension workers lower (mean = 2.36) than the workers rated themselves in group facilitation (means = 3.12). Work experience of extension workers and their access to training in group dynamics significantly influenced workers' competence at P < 0.05. There was a significant relationship between the knowledge and competence of extension workers at p < 0.05 (r = 0.843). The study assessed extension workers' competence in group facilitation using both self and farmers' assessments, identifying specific areas of deficiencies in knowledge and competence. |
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| ISSN: | 1211-8516 2464-8310 |