Factors Affecting the Competence Level of Agricultural Extension Agents: A Comprehensive Analysis of Core Competencies in Northwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

The participatory method is supported by the recent expansion of the Ethiopian agricultural extension system through technological scaling-up or the implementation of best practices for technology transfer at larger stages. Agricultural extension workers are active in a number of agricultural and rural development initiatives. This study was a thorough effort that intended to examine the competence level and determinant aspects of the competence development agent’s (DA) level. The investigation was done in the East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. The research included both qualitative and quantitative research designs. Six main skill areas were determined using information from the literature research and the regional state council’s job description for DAs. In this study, 149 DAs from four districts participated as respondents. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the important parameters influencing DA competency and motivation. According to the mean score findings, DAs performed above average in the communication and program implementation competence categories, with total mean scores of 3.51 and 3.24, respectively. Furthermore, they scored below average in the remaining four competency categories, with information communication technology (ICT) scoring the lowest with a mean score of 1.94. According to the regression model, independent variables such as education level, relationship with coworkers and farmers, supervisor’s visit, and appraisal have a substantial influence on extension agent competency. As a result, competence-specific on-the-job training should be structured to meet the short-term demands of DAs. As the finding suggests, building social capital and investing in education through curriculum development seem more important than interventions to sustain the agricultural extension competencies of DAs. Moreover, digitalizing the extension system could have promising outcomes as most of the DAs are young and their ICT competence has been recorded as higher compared to the older DAs.