Attitude of farmers to the Training and Visit (T&V) extension management system in Abia and Akwa-Ibom states, Nigeria

Abstract

The main concern of the Agricultural Extension Agent’s contact with farmers is the creation of favourable attitude toward specific production recommendations. Assessment of farmers’ attitude to an extension system will, more likely than not, provide an indication of how effective the system has been or is likely to be. The study investigated attitude of farmers towards the Training and Visit (T&V) extension management system in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States of Nigeria. The sample comprised 244 Representative Contact Farmers (RCFs) and Other Contact Farmers (OCFs) selected through multistage sampling procedure. A 24-item attitude to T&V system of managing extension interview schedule that adopted Likert-type scales was administered to the study sample. Data were subjected to descriptive and t-test statistics. The findings reveal that while 32.3% of sampled farmers exhibit negative attitude to the T&V extension management system, 67.7 % belong to the positive attitude category. This implies that most of farmers in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States still have positive attitude to the T&V system. The mean attitude to T&V ratings by RCFs was significantly higher than those of OCFs. Females exhibit a more negative attitude to T&V system than male farmers. Farmers in Abia State expressed significantly higher level of positive attitude to T&V system than their counterparts in Akwa-Ibom State. It is more likely than not, that these farmers who exhibit positive attitude to the extension system would be potential adopters of extension recommendations. It was recommended that the current status of extension services in Abia and Akwa-Ibom States be sustained and improved upon while putting intervention programmes in place to improve the attitude of the 32% of farmers whose attitude to the extension system is still at low ebbs.

Key Words: Attitude, Training and Visit Extension Management System, Contact Farmers, Extension Agents