A study on the Training Needs Assessment of
extension agents in Nigeria has revealed several gaps and constraints that have
hitherto limited the effectiveness of extension service in the country.
Findings from the study which was recently
presented in a paper titled, ‘The
capacity of extension staff in managing weeds in cassava systems in Nigeria’ in
Nanning, China, during the World Congress on Root and Tuber Crops’ revealed
that unless extension workers have the capacity to transfer improved knowledge
on weed control in cassava, farmers will not be able to maximize the benefits
of improved weed management technologies.
Godwin Atser, a Communication and Knowledge
Exchange Expert at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA),
Ibadan, Nigeria who presented the paper also noted that the current
farmer-extension ratio of one extension worker to 3011 farm families was
a major constraint limiting the effectiveness of extension system in Nigeria.
“The ratio of one extension worker to over
3,000 farmers drastically fell short of the target of the Nigerian government
to have one agricultural extension worker attached to 800 farmers, posing a
serious challenge to the agricultural transformation agenda of the government,”
he explained.
Atser said that apart from the grossly
inadequate number of extension workers, his study indicated that the existing
workers were older, lacked capacity development as a result of underfunding and
basic requirements, causing inefficiency.
The study, which was
funded by the IITA Cassava Weed Management Project specifically, investigated
the capabilities of extension staff of Agricultural Development Programmes
(ADPs) in weed management in cassava systems in Nigeria.
“The findings of the
study,” Atser said, “showed that more than 80 per cent of extension staff have
not had training that specifically targets weed management in cassava.
“There is knowledge
gap on weed identification, types of herbicides, cassava varietal
identification, and computer skills among extension staff.
“Furthermore, the
extension system in Nigeria is male dominated and majority are 50 years and
above. Radio, telephone and group discussion were the most used communication
channels for technology transfer to farmers by extension staff.”
He recommended
training of extension staff on sustainable management of weeds in cassava
systems with specific emphasis on weed identification, herbicides use and
application, cassava varietal identification, gender and computer skills.
Atser concluded by calling for recruitment of
young, educated and upwardly mobile agricultural extension workers in Nigeria,
with intensive capacity development to meet up with the need for effective
dissemination of information to farmers on new technologies, varieties and
market opportunities.
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