Influence of infrastructures on agricultural extension service visitations in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the influence of infrastructures on agricultural extension service visitations in Niger State, Nigeria. To achieve the study objectives, multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 152 respondents for the study, using validated interview schedule with reliability coefficient of 0.79. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression model. Result showed that the mean age of the respondents was 58years, while the mean household size of the respondents was 6 persons. Findings indicated that radio signals (100.0%), schools (63.8%) and motorable roads (53.3%) were the common infrastructural facilities available in the study area. The result further revealed that infrastructural facilities such as motorable roads (p<0.01), research institutes (p<0.01), telecommunication networks (p<0.01), electricity supplies (p<0.01), television signals (p<0.10), schools (p<0.10) and health centres (p<0.10) had significant influence on extension service visitations in the study area. The study concludes that extension service visitations were determined by the availability of infrastructures like motorable roads, research institutes, telecommunication networks and electricity supplies. Therefore, it was recommended that agencies like National Fadama Development Project and Rural Access and Mobility Project should provide more feeder roads to open-up rural areas and ease transportation or movements of village essential service providers.