Effectiveness of extension services delivery on farmers’ socio-economic characteristics in Esan Southeast and Esan Central Local Government Areas of Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The position of extension service(s) delivery in enhancing farmer's knowledge, skills, as well as technology dissemination cannot be overemphasized. This study was carried out in Edo state, Nigeria, with the aim of assessing the effectiveness of extension service(s) delivery on farmers’ socio-economic characteristics. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to arrive at the sample size of 300 farmers for the study. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive (frequency counts, mean, percentages) and inferential (Logit regression analysis) statistics. The descriptive statistics result reveals a sex distribution of 55% males and 45% females.  More than half (53.3%) of the respondents fall within the 41–50 years age group, with a mean age of 43 years. Majority (72.7%) of the respondents were married, with an average farm size of 3 hectares. Additionally, the findings show that more than half of the respondents were indifferent about extension workers discharging their duties with high level of professionalism (59.7%) and the credibility of their information source (62.0%). Based on the regression analysis, age, educational attainment and household size had a significant relationship with effectiveness of extension service delivery (P< 05). This study concludes that age, educational attainment, household size influences the effectiveness of extension service delivery. It is therefore, recommended that extension agents should be trained occasionally in order to stay current with the most recent techniques and approaches for service delivery.