Mobile Phone as an extension tool among female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the use of mobile telephone for extension among female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State. The study adopted purposive selection of Epe and Ikorodu Local Government Areas (LGA), while simple random sampling technique was used to select 60 female farmers and 5 female EAs in each of the two LGAs. Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics and chi square. Results showed that female agricultural practitioners in Lagos State cut across different age groups, changing trend of farming business as youths and the younger generation now take active part. The majority (97.69%) of the respondents owned and used mobile phone for accessing market information among others. Also, 90.8% respondents agreed that it’s an efficient and effective facility for extension communication. High cost of subscription, mobile phone and accessories were the major constraints reported. This study provided evidence on the role of mobile phones in reducing information search costs and asymmetries and increasing market efficiencies. It is recommended that an agricultural extension service incorporates/strengthens use of mobile phones for information dissemination by training EAs on opportunities inherent in the use of mobile phones.

Keywords: Female agricultural practitioners, mobile phones, extension tools