CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
Agricultural Extension Extension, in a broad sense, may be defined as:”
The extending or a service or system which extends, the educational
advantages of an institution to persons. Extension, in all its ramifications,
takes education and information to the people. Agricultural extension
therefore has been defined as: ”A service or system which assists farm
people, through educational procedures, in improving farming methods and
techniques, increasing production, efficiency and income, bettering their
levels of living, lifting the social and educational standards of rural life”
(Maunder, 1973). The basic concept on the broader function of extension
work is to help people to solve their own problems through the
instrumentality of scientific knowledge.
Agricultural extension brings about changes, through education and
communication in farmers attitude, knowledge and skills. The role of
agricultural extension involves dissemination of information, building
capacity of farmers through the use of a variety of communication methods
and help farmers make informed decisions. Sinkaye, (2005) equates help in
extension to empowering all members of the farm households to ensure
holistic development.
The Nigerian extension service is bedeviled by several problems as
identified by Agbamu (2005). These include inadequacy and instability of
funding, poor logistic support for field staff, use of poorly trained personnel
at local level, ineffective agricultural research extension linkages,
insufficient and inappropriate agricultural technologies for farmers,

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disproportionate Extension Agent: Farm Family ratio and lack of clientele
participation in program development. Others are poor input supply,
irregular evaluation of extension programmes and policy, institutional and
programme instabilities of National agricultural extension systems. Some of
the recommendations to improve the service are to make its content more
relevant to farmers, alternative sustainable financing option, well trained,
and adequate staffing, and the use of participatory extension approach
under stable policy and sustainable institutional arrangement.

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 CHAPTER TWO
PROBLEMS OBSERVED IN MY COMMUNITY

 Inadequate farm supplies e.g. fertilizers and where they are

available, the farmers are unable to afford them.
 Inadequate provision of training facilities and infrastructures;
 Ineffective communication channels among research, extension and
farmers. Also, linkage system (REFILS), poor feedback from farmers
to researchers, inadequate logistics, etc;
 Ineffective utilization of extension service as agent for technology
transfer by farmers.
 There is failure of the Unified Agricultural Extension Service (UAES)
to make much impact.
 Inadequate demonstration farms and rural processing centres; and
 Poor agricultural information dissemination system; there is a wide
gap between research-extension linkage. The private sector need to
be encouraged to come into this.
 There is need for government to allocate more funds to the State
Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) and State Ministries of
Agriculture to properly finance agricultural extension.
 Sense of Rural Community: Extension work is mostly located in semi-
urban and rural communities of the society where it is needed more
due to absence of amenities and presence of resources to be
developed. Psychological need of the communities is given priority to
help in understanding of the basic requirement and make predictions
based on the need assessment to avoid waste of resources (time and

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 space). Bichi (2010) opined that, it refers to the degree at which the
smaller units of the community are directly connected to the larger
components and the relationship between them. However, sense of
rural community is shaped by the faith based groups that are not in
conflict with the culture of the community. Shitu (2012) suggested
four dimensions towards understanding sense of rural community
thus: participation, encouragement, incorporation and integration,
and self-dependence and joint responsive linkages.

 Collective Action and Rural Community Dynamism: Researches in this

context focuses directly into changes required to ensure sustainable
rural community development economically, politically, socially,
intellectually and psychologically. In this context marginalized groups
resources are harnessed and efficiently utilized towards given them a
voice and raising their consciousness on the potentialities they
possess. This type of research involves extensive community
education facets, mobilization techniques, involvement strategies and
participation methods. Moreover, it is an effort to bring closer all the
societal components together for proactive action to ensure change is
effected for the majority of the community members’ mostly low-
income earners. This type of research is very difficult and time
consuming, because it incorporates combining both the quantitative
and qualitative methods to arrive at a reasonable findings, it is more
of social mobilization and liberation from the oppressors’ towards
ensuring equality, justice and fairness. In addition, this kind of
research was found to be sabotaged by those in positions because

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they perceived it as a threat to their leadership styles. Furthermore,
in this approach the extension researches incorporates and recruit
volunteers that will undertake the grassroots mobilization, organizing,
implementing, monitoring and evaluating actions in their domain d
also report to the central body for critical observation and re-
alignment. Moral and financial support services are initiated by the
volunteer representatives or together with donor agencies that
provides enabling environment for liberating the community. In some
cases the changes required are not directly related to action, but
policy formulation, in this case the researcher coordinate political
assembly that will influence actualization of the required need
without violating the culture and established rules of engagement.

CHAPTER THREE
SOLUTIONS AND WAYS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS

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In spite of many odds outline above, there are many opportunities which
lie ahead of Nigeria to foster or realize and improve on organization and
administration of its agricultural extension.

 The administration and organization of every extension service and

program, to be effective, has to be inkeeping with the accepted
principles and practices of public administration and policy (Maunder,
1973). The following are elements we consider conducive to the
development of extension services in Nigeria: Development of policy
embodied in legislation stressing the educational role of the extension
service and in relation to other elements of agricultural and rural
development.
 Development and encouragement of educational institutes (colleges,
and tertiary institutions) that can turn out personnel to be absorbed
into extension services. There is dearth need of extension personnel
to serve the 60% of the Nigeria rural populace of farmers. Literacy of
the farmers should be intensified through adult literacy education.
 Development and management of available infrastructural and
communication facilities and ICTs for the purpose of extension
service e.g. radio, television, roads, newspapers, GSM, telephone etc.
 There should be an effective use of available structures and
machinery for the coordination and provision of ancillary services
such as farm supply, credit, transportation, marketing and veterinary
units, storage facilities and processing equipment.
 The employment and investment of the Nigeria resources (in the
range of 5 – 10% of annual budget) to agricultural sector of the
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 economy. No doubt, Nigeria is earning much foreign exchange
through petroleum sector which if judiciously plowed back to
agricultural sector, could launch the country forward into an agrarian
revolution.

Political stability, continuity of government, peaceful atmosphere, and

crisis-free period gives a promise of prospect for Nigerian agricultural
extension development, organization and administration.
 Emergence of right-thinking, selfless, nationalist leaders, policy
planners, elite extension workers in Nigeria who are dedicated to the
cause of good governance and development of agricultural sector.
Such potential calibers of people exist in Nigeria, and they should be
identified and given opportunity to perform.
 Liberalization of land tenure system, investment in agriculture,
diversification and incentives to high productivity-minded farmers
stand a chance of bringing a progress to organization and
administration of agricultural extension in Nigeria.
 Formulation of a long term national plan/programme like the “Vision
2010” (being revised) specifically focused on agriculture and rural
development.
 Development of optimum land use strategy and policies with the aim
of discouraging over-dependence on rain fed agriculture and
irrigation projects.

CHAPTER FOUR

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 CONCLUSION
The administration and organization of the extension in Nigeria calls for
certain specific considerations and adjustments because there is a great
difference between it and other public service. Extension work is directed
toward rural people, through educational processes, a unique framework
within which it should thrive. Consequently, it is imperative that all officials
concerned with extension programmes and rural development have a clear
understanding of the nature, scope and methods of operation of extension
service. The end-users or recipients of such service should also be
mobilized and given conducive atmosphere to receive such services.

REFERENCES

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Albrecht, B Diedrich,D. Grober,H Hoffmann,V Keller,P Payr G Sulzer R
(1990) Agricultural Extension (Volume 2): Examples and Background
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Adegbehin, J.O Chikwendu,D.O Omotayo,AM Arokoyo,J.O Akpoko,J.G

Umaru,M Dafwang I.I (2001) Impact of the Training and Visit
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Ajayi, A.R (1999). Assessment of the recent modifications in the operations

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Alabi, J.O (1988) Evaluation of Agricultural and Rural Development

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Atala T.K (1984). Agricultural Extension in Nigeria and Green Revolution

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Benor D, and Baxter M (1984). Training and visit Extension. A World Bank
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Fadiji, T.O (2000). Sources and Utilization of Extension Information Among

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Maunder A.H (1973). Agricultural Extension- A Reference Manual.

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Omotayo, A.M Arokoyo T (1994). An assessment of the use of contract
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Shaib B, Aliyu A, Bakshi J.S (1997) Nigeria - National Agricultural Research

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Siyanbola A.T, Alao J.A, (1995). Towards a Sustainable Agricultural

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