AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMMES IN WEST AFRICA

Subject:

Agricultural Science

Class:

SS 3

Term:

First Term / 1st Term

Week:

Week 5

Topic:

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMMES IN WEST AFRICA  

Previous Knowledge: The pupils have previous knowledge of

  PROBLEMS FACING AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION  

that was taught in their previous lesson.

Behavioural  Objectives : At the end of the lesson, learners will be able to

• Say the problems facing Agricultural extension in west Africa
• List methods of agricultural extension
• Highlight the principles of agricultural extension

Instructional Materials 

• Wall charts
• Online Resource
• Textbooks
• Laptop
• Crop samples
• Pictures that are related to the subject matter
• Flash cards
• www.edudelighttutors.com

Methods of Teaching 

• Role modelling
• Questions and Answers
• Explanation
• Discussion
• Recitation
• Imitation
• Story Telling
• Dramatization

WEEK FIVE 

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PROGRAMMES IN WEST AFRICA

Agricultural extension programmes are the media or channels such as Ministries of Agriculture, Schools of Agriculture, Universities of Agriculture etc through which new ideas and techniques are disseminated to rural farmers. In other words, they are bodies or agencies which have extension services unit that can teach and train extension workers on the job approve their daily extension services so that they will be to transfer these innovations to the rural farmers.

Examples of extension Programmes include: Agricultural Development Programme(ADP), Farm Settlement Scheme, Agro-Service Centres, Research Institutes. past and present government food production programmese.g Operation feed the nation OFN, NAFPP, Green Revolution Programmme etc.

AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION OFFICE/WORKER/AGENT

This is a person who is involved in the dissemination of new ideas and techniques from the research institutes to the farmers.He acts as an intermediary between researchers and the farmers.

QUALITIES OF EXTENSION OFFICER/WORKER

1. Extension Officer must be knowledgeable in his field of operation to enable him teach farmers.
2. He must understand the local language of the local community he operate because most farmers are illiterate.
3. He must have interest in what he is doing.
4. He must not easily get annoyed because he will come across various categories of farmers that may ask him foolish questions.
5. He must be persuasive in his operation i.e he should have the ability to always encourage the farmers when introducing new innovations to them.
6. He must have enough materials and financial resources to carry out his duties.

FUNCTIONS OR ROLES OF AN EXTENSION OFFICER/WORKER/AGENT

1. He consults and reflects on rural or agricultural development projects
2. He plans and executes farming educational programmes.
3. He organizes and supervises farmers group i.e. meeting, cooperatives and their workers meetings.
4. He liaises with other agencies that may have influence on rural environment and the farmers.
5. He helps to improve the outlook of farmers towards the problems or difficulties.
6. He acts as a connecting link between the researchers and the farming communities.
7. He teaches improved farming practices to farmers.
8. He evaluates agricultural extension programmes and projects.
9. He supervises the utilization of agricultural loans.
10. He conducts or organizes training for farmers.

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION OFFICER/WORKER/AGENT

1. High level of illiteracy among farmers may affect the rate of adopting of new farming techniques.
2. Absence of credit facilities to farmers make them uninterested and prevent the implantation of accepted innovation.
3. Insufficient motivation of the extension workers by way of better remunerations for his effort tends to retard his work.
4. Extension workers do not have adequate resources such as money to travel or enough materials to supply his or her target farmers.
5. Unfavourable attitudes of rural farmers towards government programmes tends to make extension work a bit difficult.
6. Inadequacy of well-trained extension staff make the extension worker have a wider area and more farmers than he can cope with.
7. Language barriers lead to improper dissemination of new innovation by the extension worker.
8. Uncoordinated efforts by government agencies may lead to confusion and rejection by farmers.

INFORMATION DIFFUSION THROUGH AGRICULTURE EXTENSION WORKERS 

Diffusion is a process of spreading new ideas and information from research station to reach farm families. Diffusion is the movement of new ideas and information from area of higher concentration to area of lower concentration through a medium(extension Officer) and extension method.New ideas and techniques are known as innovations.

Five Steps or stages of Diffusion process include

1. Awareness
2. Interest
3. Evaluation
4. Trial
5. Adoption/Rejection/Discontinuation

Adoption of new innovation involves the acceptance and practice of new or modern farming technique introduces in the rural area. This is largely dependent on:

1. level of education
2. attitude of farmers
3. financial status of farmers
4. size of farm
5. presence of extension workers 
6. result of demonstration plot

Categories of farmers based on adoption of innovation 

1. Innovators: they introduce new ideas of farming seen in other places to their dwelling. Due to inexperience or error they might suffer losses and can be encouraged by giving expert advice, granting credit facilities, providing and subsidizing farm inputs, granting insurance cover, providing market for sale of produce. 
2. Early adopters: are less quick to accepting innovations which might be largely due to some of the aforementioned factors. If percentage of these set is as low as 10% then such innovation has not been uniformly accepted maybe due to hitch during demonstration or the idea is too complex to understand.
3. Late adopters:this group are very conservative and need assurance before accepting new innovations. They usually have the largest percentage in a group. 
4. Never adopters: they are extremely conservative and will not accept new innovation no matter the persuasion. If their percentage is usually low

Presentation : 

The topic is presented step by step

Step 1: The class teacher revises the old topic

Step 2: The class teacher introduces the new topic

Step 3: The class teacher allows the pupils to give their own contributions and gives room for pupils” participation

Class Teacher and Pupils Activities. Interaction or Participation 

This involves class teacher and pupils’ interaction, conversation, imitation or modeling through discussion, play method or just by recitation or asking and answering questions that are related to the topic that has just been taught.

EVALUATION 

1. State five principles of agricultural extension in Nigeria. (NECO 2018 question 10d).
2. Highlight five agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria
3. An agricultural research organization categorized farmers in village x according to the rate of adoption of new ideas and came up with the following: Innovators 10  Early adopters 15. Late adopters 70. Never adopters 25
   • Calculate the percentage of early adopters and state the implication of this percentage on the extension system.
   • Suggest four ways of encouraging the innovators.
   • State four possible reasons for high number of of late adopters
   • State two merits of the print media as a channel for agricultural extension (WASSCE 2000 question 10)

Conclusion : 

The class teacher concludes the lesson by giving the pupils some notes on the topic that has just been taught. He goes round to mark and he does the necessary corrections.