Farmers’ perception of the effectiveness of extension agents of Delta State Agricultural Development Programme (DADP)

Abstract

The paper sought to determine farmers’ perception of the effectiveness of extension agents of Delta Agricultural Development Programme (DADP). Structured interview schedule was used in collecting data from one hundred and twenty-eight food crop farmers randomly selected from the area. Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used for statistical analysis. The findings indicated that majority (71.1 %) of the farmers were female and belong to the age bracket of 30-49 years old which accounted for 81.2% percent of the respondents, About 62% had contact with extension agents on a monthly basis. Respondents perceived extension agents to be vast in knowledge of subject matter and they integrated theories with practicals well. However, respondents were not impressed with extension agents in regards to teaching and communication skills. There was a significant association between the effectiveness of extension agents and the adoption of technologies. These findings suggest that for extension to be effective and assist in reducing poverty in Nigeria, there is need for extension agents to be retrained to keep them abreast with model teaching techniques.