Restructuring Agricultural Extension Practice for Improved Productivity and Livelihoods Among Cocoa Farmers in Osun State (Published)
Cocoa production remained a major livelihood activity in Osun State, Nigeria, however, the level of productivity and household welfare among cocoa farmers are significantly low due to ineffective agricultural extension service delivery. Hence, this study examined the effect of restructuring agricultural extension practices on cocoa productivity and livelihood improvement among cocoa farmers in Osun State. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select 240 cocoa farmers from major cocoa-producing local government areas. Data were collected using structured questionnaires and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that restructured extension practices had positive and statistically significant effect on cocoa productivity (R² = 0.62, p = 0.000), and on farmers’ livelihoods, (R² = 0.58, p = 0.000). The study concludes that restructuring agricultural extension practices is essential for improving cocoa productivity and livelihoods, and thus recommends increased public and private investment in extension services, adoption of participatory and ICT-enabled extension approaches, and strengthened institutional collaboration to ensure sustainable cocoa sector development
Keywords: ICT, Livelihood, Productivity, Restructuring, extension practice
Student’s Perception of Internet Use in Agricultural Colleges in Ghana: The Case of Kwadaso Agricultural College and University of Cape Coast Kumasi Campus (Published)
The objective of the study was to identify student’s perceptions about constraints affecting the use of the Internet in Agriculture Colleges in Ghana and to evaluate how those constraints can be addressed to enhance their professional capacity and productivity through the use of the information technology. The target population for this study consisted of 50 General Agricultural students at Kwadaso Agricultural College and 23 Agricultural Extension students at University of Coast Cape- Kumasi campus (UCCKC). Data was collected using the descriptive methods of research. Information were collected from participants through a personal visit to the colleges. Findings indicated that students use the Internet about once a week. Most students had access to the Internet at school dormitories and through public cafes. Respondents indicated that use of the Internet was mostly for educational purposes. When compared across ages, results revealed that younger students (˂40 years) use more Internet than older students (˃40 years) for classroom work, preparing assignments literature review information seeking and social media. The findings were confirmed by the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicating that difference in the use of Internet for these various variables was statistically significant across age group with p-value of 0.00 at 0.01 level of significance.
Keywords: Agriculture Colleges, Extension Agent, ICT, Internet