Utilization of cyber-extension for agricultural extension delivery in Lagos state, Nigeria

Abstract

The utilization of cyber-extension tools for agricultural extension delivery has the potential to effectively revolutionize extension services, especially in reaching out to a large and diverse farming population. This study assessed the utilization of cyber-extension for agricultural extension delivery in Lagos State. There are 90 extension personnel in the employment of the Lagos State Agricultural Development Programme therefore; all of them were purposively selected to constitute the sample size for the study. Both primary and secondary data were used for the study. Primary data were collected with the aid of a well-structured questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentages, mean and the inferential statistical tool used in testing the stated hypothesis was Chi-square. The study identified that there were fewer cyber-extension tools available in the study area with their attendant constraints, which poses significant challenges to the effective utilization of the tools by the extension agents. The Chi-square result shows that there was a significant relationship between the type of cyber-extension tools available for agricultural extension delivery and the level of utilization of cyber-extension for agricultural extension delivery. It was recommended that there is a need for increased collaboration and partnerships between government agencies, NGOs, and private sector entities to support the development and deployment of cyber-extension tools and address the constraints associated with their use, for improve farmers' access to information and resources, and enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability in the State.