ABSTRACT
The study analyzed the agricultural extension workers communication knowledge needs with the view to unravelling the gaps that exist in their use of Information and Communication Technologies for extension delivery. Specifically, the study examined the personal characteristics of the extension workers in Edo State; identified respondents’ perceived communication knowledge needs; examined the perceived importance of ICTs communication in extension work; and identified the constraints faced by respondents in the communication in extension. Total enumeration was used to sample all the 64 agricultural extension workers in the State with the use of structured and validated questionnaire while frequency, percentages, mean and standard deviation and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) were used to describe and analyze data.
Results showed majority (71.9%) of the respondents were between 30 and 49 years of age. Most (92.2%) the respondents were male and married with 21.9% having Master’s degrees. For working experience, 82.8% had between 11 and 15 years of experience in working. They had communication knowledge needs in the use of internet (M=3.39), operational linkages (M= 3.64), GSM phones access (M=3.64), email addresses (M = 3.27), while the training aspects include computing (M= 3.43). For the perceived important of communication in extension, it provision of timely and sensitive market information was considered standard of operation in communication. Constraints such as no regular electricity supply (Mean = 2.85), lack of interest (Mean = 3.05), poor internet network (Mean = 3.08), poor road network (Mean = 3.39) and high cost of internet facilities (Mean = 3.11), poor technical knowledge (Mean = 3.01) and illiteracy among audience (Mean = 3.29) were the major constraints regarded to be serious among agricultural extension workers with respect to communication. It was revealed that age (r = 0.63;p<0.01); working experience (r= 0.47;p<0.05) and years of training (r = 0.52;p<0.05) were the significant socio-economic characteristics that correlated with the respondents communication needs at both 0.01 and 0.05 level of significance and perceived standard communication of extension workers (r = 0.65;p<0.01) had positive and significant relationship with the communication knowledge of the respondents in the study area.
It was concluded that respondents’ communication knowledge needs are numerous and this need to be urgently addressed for effective agricultural extension delivery in the study area, it was also recommended that young people be recruited into the extension services for the sustainability of the organization as most of the present staff have spent high working time/experience on the job.
