Extension Agents’ Use of Mobile Phone Applications for Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Ebonyi State Agricultural Development Programme, Nigeria
Abstract
This study assessed field extension agents’ utilization of mobile apps for extension service delivery in Ebonyi State Agricultural Development Programme (EBADP). The study employed quantitative research design involving 100 Field Extension Agents who were administered with structure and validated questionnaire. Descriptive statistical tools were employed in the analysis of data generated. The result of the analysis shows that the most utilized mobile apps for extension service delivery were Whatsapp (76%) and facebook (53%). Lowland rice production (65%), cassava/maize/vegetable production (58%), and upland rice production (47%) were the most recommended packages of crop production component that was extended using mobile apps in EBADP. However, these apps were highly underutilized for extension services due to constraints such as unavailability of network coverage in rural area (84%), lack of institutional policy for application of mobile apps in extension service (75%), low ownership of smartphones among farmers (73%), poor framers’ knowledgability on the use of mobile apps (67%), poor internet connectivity (66%), unstable electricity (64%), and lack/inadequate training programmes on mobile apps use for extension services (48%). The study recommended that government should initiate e-extension policy, making mobile apps extension services mandatory for public extension organization; extension organization should develop specific mobile apps that will support extension service delivery; and organizing training programmes for extension agents on the use of mobile apps for extension service delivery.
Published
2021-01-23
How to Cite
EZE, Anayochukwu Victor; EZEH, Ann Nnenna; EZE, Esther Onyinyechi.
Extension Agents’ Use of Mobile Phone Applications for Agricultural Extension Service Delivery in Ebonyi State Agricultural Development Programme, Nigeria.
Journal of Agricultural Extension, [S.l.], v. 25, n. 1, p. 48-58, jan. 2021.
ISSN 2408-6851.
Available at: <http://aesonnigeria.org/ajm/index.php/jae/article/view/2604>. Date accessed: 07 mar. 2021.
Section
General Extension and Teaching Methods
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
JAE supports free online communication and exchange of knowledge as the most effective way of ensuring that the fruits of research and development practice are made widely available. It is therefore committed to open access, which, for authors, enables the widest possible dissemination of their findings and, for readers, increases their ability to discover pertinent information. The Journal adopts and uses the CC BY-NC-ND license. Under this license users are permitted to: Copy and distribute the article (non-commercially); you can’t change or alter the article in anyway; Users are not allowed to data mine the article.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
