1. Information Needs of Agric
Extension Officers in Ghana.
Gamel A.Nasser Salifu
Ph.D Scholar at ISU,
United states of
America
2. Background of Study
Agriculture is vital to the overall economic growth and
development of Ghana. The agricultural sector has always
been the main driver of growth of the Ghanaian economy
(ISSER, 2010).
Khor (2006) reports that about; 40% of the GDP is accounted
for by agriculture and livestock, forestry, and fishing; 70% of the
employment is dependent on agriculture; the majority of the
people engaged in agricultural production are small-scale
farmers involved in subsistence agriculture
3. Background of study
However, yields, agricultural growth and productivity have
remained low and poor
Alfred and Odefadehan (2007), contend that more than 800
million people in developing countries were said to be under
nourished at the beginning of 2000, while food supply in Africa
was 2300 calories as against 3500 in Western Europe and
America (FAO, 2002)
4. Background of study
Food security index in the developing world, shows that
population growth does not match food production. Since 1980,
the population of African countries has risen by 53 percent but
food production has only risen by 45 percent (Alfred and
Odefadehan , 2007).
It is feared that if this trend continues for a long time majority of
the population will increasingly remain impoverished in the
coming decades.
5. Background of study
Inadequate supply of information to farmers.
Low income per capita
Limited public spending on agriculture.
Poor rural agricultural infrastructure.
Inadequate expenditure on various other sectors
High subsistence farming
High illiteracy
6. Background of study
As
a Medium Term Agricultural Development
Plan (NARP) and (NAEP).
7. Problem Statement
Majority of farmers in Ghana) are largely illiterate who can only
be reached by personal contact.
For the AEAs to be effective in the art of disseminating
information technologies to farmers, however, their information
needs must be adequately met .
Information in itself is not a resource.
The information must first exist in a suitable form.
8. Problem statement
Low educational qualifications of AEAs in relation to the
assignments and responsibilities they are expected to
accomplish.
The flow of information in extension organizations is difficult.
Information for Extension delivery is affected by three laws; the
law of praxis, law of escalating demand and law of necessity.
Information in extension is a moving target.
10. Aim of the Study
The aim of the study was to analyze the information
needs of Extension Agents in Dangme-west district
of the Greater Accra Region
11. Specific Objectives of Study
Determine the relationship between the information
needs of Farmers and those of Agricultural
Extension Agents of MOFA.
Identify the information sources at the disposal of
Agricultural Extension Agents of MOFA key to quality
extension services delivery to Farmers.
Investigate sources of information presently utilized
by Agricultural Extension Agents of MOFA and how
these sources may be improved.
12. Specific objectives of study
Determine the effect of Agricultural Extension Agents’
demographic characteristics on their information sources.
Ascertain constraints limiting the acquisition of information from
these sources by the Agricultural Extension Agents of MOFA .
13. Hypothesis for the Study
Ho1. The information needs of farmers have no influence on
their quality of production, processing and marketing of
agricultural produce.
Ho2. The information needs of Extension Agents have no
influence on their quality of extension delivery
Ho3 There is no relationship between the information needs of
Farmers and that of Extension Agents.
14. Hypothesis
Ho4
The source of information at the
disposal of Extension agents has no
relationship with their information need.
Ho5 There is no significant relationship
between the demographic characteristics of
Extension Agents and their information
sources.
Ho6 There are no constraints to the
acquisition of information by Extension
Agents.
16. Literature Review; Status of Agric Extension
Delivery in Ghana
Agricultural Extension services involve several different
activities such as problem identification, information provision,
field demonstration, teaching of skills and advice giving (AckahNyamike, 2003).
Agricultural Extension services in Ghana are carried out by the
MOFA. Agricultural extension activities were initiated in Ghana
in the nineteenth century and have evolved through various
stages in the art of extension delivery. In 1997, MOFA
decentralized its activities resulting in structural changes in the
management of agricultural extension delivery service in
Ghana (Sakyi-Dawson, 2004)
17. Literature Review; Status of Agric. Extension
Delivery in Ghana
Today, under the current Food and Agricultural Sector
Development Policy (FASDEP II) limited access to technology
appropriate to all levels of agricultural production has been
recognized as one major obstacle to agricultural development
(MOFA, November, 2005).
The policy also recognizes a need to respond with
the speed of light to challenges faced by farmers by
providing uniform services as well as facilitating the
effectiveness of the extension delivery mechanism
throughout the country.
18. Literature Review; Tasks Performed by Agric.
Extension Agents
There are several tasks performed by Extension Agents in
extension service delivery. These comprise teaching of skills,
disseminating proven agricultural information, negotiating in
conflict situations between farmers, and giving advice to
farmers on all aspects of agricultural production, processing
and marketing( Kwarteng etal. 2006)
According to Ackah-Nyamike Jnr (2007), Extension Agents in
performing their tasks, play various roles such as teacher,
organiser, friend, planner, administrator, motivator, and
intermediary.
19. Literature Review; Tasks Performed by Extension
Officers
According to Kargbo (2007) there are two types of information
needed in extension delivery; namely, current awareness on
the technical aspects of extension work and everyday
information. Operational tasks are performed by virtually all
Extension Agents at all levels of the agricultural extension work.
The nature of the operational tasks depends on a number of
factors including seniority and the sector of the extension
practice. Be it livestock extension, agro forestry extension or
fisheries extension operational tasks are performed in one way
or another ( Annor-Frempong etal, 2005)
20. Literature Review; Information Needs of
Extension Officers
As Taylor (1986) noted, information needs of Extension Agents
consist of two categories, namely, those pertaining to the
subject matter i.e. what information is needed, and those
arising from the situational requirement of utilizing the
information (why is the information needed, and how it will be
used by the Extension Agent).
According to Butcher (1998) Extension Agents seems unable to
explain their needs and there seem to be several reasons for
this: they are unaware of what information is available, they do
not understand how such information can be used and they are
unaware of the delivery method options.
21. Literature Review; Information Needs
of Extension Officers
Ntsala 2000, identifies extension agent’s information needs at
two levels; Immediate information needs- At this level
information is required to answer an immediate concern of
farmer. This is likely to occur in a crisis situation in which time
and costs are of outmost concern. However, the rapid demand
for information to be satisfied will depend appreciably on the
reliability of the personal contact network. Prospective
information needs- At this level this type of information is
basically treated as a long-term strategic resource in extension
delivery.
22. Literature Review; Information Needs
of Extension Officers
Alfred and Odefadehan (2007) has categorised the information
needs of extension officers into technical information needs,
commercial information needs, social information needs, legal
information needs and general information needs.
23. Literature Review; Agricultural Information
Dissemination by Extension Officers in Ghana
The Ghana government has instituted a variety of services to
facilitate agricultural information dissemination to farmers. In
1991, the Research Extension Linkage Committees (RELCS)
were formed in five ecological zones of Ghana to forge a close
working relationship between research, extension and farmers
(MOFA, November 2005).
Today one of the cardinal responsibilities of agricultural
extension is the dissemination of timely agricultural information
on technological innovations suited to the local farmers needs
(Agunga, 2008)
24. Literature Review; Agricultural Information
Dissemination by Extension Officers in Ghana
According to Ozowa (1995), research has established that
agricultural innovations are capable of changing agricultural
production and building economies of many developing
countries and this could be possible if the innovations reach the
farmers. Unfortunately, information dissemination and
technology diffusion have not been very successful in most
African countries.
In Ghana, Extension Agents are employed to disseminate
agricultural information and innovations. This they undertake by
means of channels such as print & electronic media, extension
services demonstrations and educational tours among others.
These channels have their strengths and weaknesses in their
sources.
25. Literature Review: Sources of Information
for Extension Delivery
Magnire (2004) indicated that sources of information for
extension officers in organizations ,for example MOFA, may be
personal or impersonal, public or private , and passive or
interactive to which access may be difficult or easy to coordinate or obtain.
Osei etal 2002 stated that the Impersonal sources
used in extension work include the print media,
electronic media, and institutionalized sources whiles
the personal sources include, Boss/supervisor,
training, seminars/workshops, colleagues,
26. Literature Review; Obstacles to Meeting Information
Needs of Extension Officers in Ghana
Nicholas (2006) has identified a number of factors at play in
successfully meeting the information needs of Extension
Agents. These are;
A. Factors Relating to the Extension Agents’ Personality
Extension Agents’ persistence and willingness to try again if
success is not achieved immediately.
Extension Agents’ thoroughness to search deeply and
painstakingly for the technical information.
Extension Agents’ orderliness, by searching systematically for
the information requested by the farmer.
Extension Agents’ motivation ,leading to commitment to persist
in search of the information and
27. Literature Review; Obstacles to Meeting Information
Needs of Extension Officers in Ghana
B. Factors Relating to Extension Agents’ Access to the
Information Source.
Even if the Extension Agent knows about the existence of the
information it might be difficult to obtain.
Distance from places where information can be obtained.
Format and language in which information is available.
Extension Agents’ use information sources that is easiest to get
and closest to hand and not what is actually the best or most
appropriate
28. Literature Review; Obstacles to Meeting Information
Needs of Extension Officers in Ghana
C. Factors Relating to Lack of Resources and Excessive
Costs to Extension Organisation.
Internet and on-line access by Extension Agents to information
on agriculture and extension activities may be very costly to the
extension organisation.
D. Factors Relating to Information Overload.
The amount of information piling on the Extension Agent may
be overpowering. The information needs to be evaluated and
only the best selected.
29. Research Methodology
The methodology combined qualitative and quantitative methods.
A total of 120 respondents were sampled. 90 farmers, 30
Extension agents.
30. Research Methodology
The procedure employed for assessing the information needs
of farmers and Extension agents were in three stages:
Stage one; A situational analysis. This baseline survey it
became abundantly clear that farmers needed information on
modern production, processing and marketing maize, mango,
and cocoyam.
31. Research Methodology
Stage two: Developed three standard questionnaires each on
the production and processing techniques of the three main
crops, Maize, Cocoyam and Mango.
Stage three;
32. Research Methodology
Stage three; Based on the analysed results of the preceding
stage, another standard questionnaire was developed, this time
for the Extension agents themselves who serve as farmers’
most dependable information sources.
33. Research methodology;
Instrumentation
Three instruments focused only on farmers,
This first category of instruments became the basis for the
design of the second instrument which focused on Extension
Agents work.
Four different instruments were used for this study.
34. Research Methodology; Pre-testing For
Reliability and Validity
Instruments were tested for reliability and validity.
The data collected from the pilot study was entered into spss
datafile to generate the alpha co-efficient for the sub-scales of
the construct employed by this analaysis.
The cronbach alpha co-efficient of 0.89 was derived from the
computer analysis.
35. Research Methodology; Measurement
of Variables
The dependent variable for this study was information need.
This was operationalized with the help of information need
index developed by Borich (1980).
36. Research methodology
IN= (EN – EK) × MN
Where:
IN = Information need in each item obtained by each
respondent
EN= Extent of Need in each item
EK= Extent of Knowledge in each item
MN=Mean Score of need of all respondents in each item.
37. Research Methodology
The Karl Pearson’s Product Moment Co-efficient of correlation
(r ) was used.
_
_
r=
Σ (X-X) (Y-Y)
Σ(X-X) ²(Y-Y) ²
Where:
r= Correlation co-efficient.
x= Set of information need scores for Extension agents
y= Set of information need score for farmers.
38. Research Methodology; Measurement
of Variables; Independent Variable
The independent variables for this study was the Extension
Agent.
Gender:
Age;
Marital Status:
Work experience;
Education.
39. Method of Data Analysis
Data was sorted, coded and entered into
spreadsheet on the computer using Excel software.
and (SPSS).
40. Results and Discussions; Information
Needs of Farmers
Kind of information
score
Climatic variability
4.7
Mango propagation
4.5
Pest and disease control
4.9
Irrigation techniques
3.5
Soil fertility conservation
2.8
Mechanised farming
3.9
Post-harvest handling
3.6
Wetland farming
3.6
41. Results and Discussions; Technical
Information needs of Extension agents
Kind of Technical
information
Score
Pest and disease control
3.50
Post harvest management
3.30
Climatic variability
3.20
Soil fertility conservation
3.17
Mechanised farming
3.10
Wetland farming
3.07
Irrigation techniques
3.05
Mango propagation
3.00
42. Commercial Information needs of
Extension officers
Kind of commercial
information
Score
Cost of farm inputs
2.93
Marketing of agricultural
produce
2.90
Agricultural co-operatives and
micro credit
2.87
Book keeping, accounts and
budgeting
2.85
Export prices and global Gap
standards
2.83
Import duties on equipment for
2.43
43. Social Information Needs of Extension
Officers
Kind of Social Information
Score
Group dynamics in FBOs
3.12
Public presentation and use of
exhibits
3.27
Gender planning
3.27
Topical issues in extension
practice
2.68
Rural entrepreneurship
3.20
Conflict resolution
3.40
Farmer motivation
2.45
44. Legal Information needs of Extension
officers
Kind of Legal Information
Score
Public Land Use and acquisition
Law
3.5
Agricultural Agencies Law
3.4
Legislation on Agricultural
products
3.2
General Laws governing
farmers (citizens)
3.3
Farmer insurance policy
3.8
45. General Information Needs of
Extension Officers in Ghana
Kind of General information
score
Proposal writing for
sponsorships
3.17
Information repackaging and
handling
3.15
Promotion of agric produce
3.11
Water management practices
3.20
Ecotourism
3.3
46. Ranking of Information Needs by
Extension Agents
Info. Need
Ranking
Percentages
Technical
High
32.8
Low
67.2
High
64.4
Low
35.6
High
59.3
Low
40.7
High
62.9
Low
37.1
High
43.7
Commercial
Social
Legal
General
47. Prioritization of information needs
This
is an indication that extension agents
have a higher need for information on
Commercial issues (Agribusiness) and legal
information.
HCD is key.
48. Respondents Sources of Information
for extension work
source
ranking
percentages
Boss/Supervisor
Effective
84.7
Training
Effective
86.5
Research Stations
Effective
83.8
Seminars
Effective
77.3
Print media
Ineffective
49.2
Radio/Tv
Ineffective
43.1
colleagues
Effective
51.2
Farmers
ineffective
34.3
Opinion leaders
ineffective
44.4
50. Correlation between farmers and
extension officers
Small – 0.29 to – 0.10 ≤ r ≤ 0.10 to 0.29
Medium –0.49 to –0.30 ≤ r ≤ 0.30 to 0.49
Large –1.00 to –0.50 ≤ r ≤ 0.50 to 1.00
51. Correlation between farmers and
extension officers
Σ (X-X) (Y-Y)
Σ(X-X) ²(Y-Y) ²
r = Pearson correlation co-efficient
r= 0.4
√0.61× 4.67
r=
r=
0.4
1.69
r = + 0.24
52. Correlation
The implication then is that, the technical information needs of
Extension Agents are driven by farmer demand, and that as the
information needs of farmers increase, the need for Extension
Agents to be adequately informed on those needs also
increases. Therefore the Hø is rejected.
53. Socio-Economic x’tics of Extension
Officers on Information need
Variable
Gender; male
Frequency
Percentage
80.0
Female
7
20.0
26-35
8
26.7
36-45
46-55
Age;
24
17
5
56.7
16.6
22
8
56.7
43.3
<10 years
17
56.7
>10 years
13
43.3
Education: Cert
Diploma
Work Experience
