Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Analysis of Inclusive Extension Service Among Agricultural Extension Workers in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Summary The study analysed the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of inclusive extension service among agricultural extension workers in southwestern Nigeria. All the extension workers (268) in Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) in five states randomly selected within southwestern Nigeria were interviewed for the study via a structured and pre-tested questionnaire. The collected data were presented using descriptive and inferential statistics. The mean age, formal education and job experience of the extension workers were 43.3±8.4, 17.0±2.6 and 14.1±8.4 years, respectively. The majority of the respondents were male (74.3%) and married (77.8%). Furthermore, most of them have encountered farmers with special needs such as albinism (81.7%), hearing impairment (87.3%), visual impairment (85.2%) and mental disability (81.7%) among others. The majority of the respondents (60.0%) had high capacity for inclusive extension service. The extension workers differed significantly across the states in terms of their practice scores, but not in their knowledge and attitude scores. The findings revealed that at p<0.05, job experience (r= 0.483) and age (r=0.322) of the respondents had significant relationship with KAP of inclusive extension service. Therefore, the hypothesis was accepted for sex and marital status, but was rejected for ethnicity, age and job experience. The study concludes that the extension workers differ significantly across the states in terms of practices, but not in their knowledge and attitude about inclusive extension services.