EVALUATION OF EXTENSION AGENTS’ COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES IN PROMOTING NEW RICE FOR AFRICA (NERICA) TECHNOLOGY AMONG RICE FARMERS IN OFADA, OGUN STATE

ABSTRACT

This study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of extension agents’ communication strategies in promoting the New Rice for Africa Technology among rice farmers in Ofada, Ogun State, Nigeria. The study sought to ascertain and examine the exact communication strategies employed by extension agents in their attempt to pass across vital information regarding NERICA to farmers who are expected to adopt new techniques as they engage in rice farming in order to enhance their productivity. The study adopted the survey research design, which is considered appropriate for this kind of study since it enabled the researcher reach and examine the two categories of people that were investigated: agricultural extension workers and rice farmers. A combination of the use of a structured questionnaire designed to obtain information from extension workers, and focused group discussion panels carried out among rice farmers were used to elicit appropriate responses from extension agents in Owode Local Government Area and rice farmers in Ofada, both of whom constitute the population of the study.

The study was framed around the Diffusion of Innovations, Technology Acceptance Model and Development Communication Theories.The total enumeration and purposive sampling techniques were used to arrive at the sample size utilized for both the extension agents and the farmers. A total of 95 questionnaires were administered on the extension workers, out of which 92 were returned and analyzed using descriptive statistical tools. For the focused group discussion carried out among rice farmers in Ofada, a purposively selected 10 – 12 member comprised each group. Five different groups were interacted with during their weekly cooperative meetings holding at various venues. Result obtained from the interaction was analyzed using content analysis method.

Findings revealed that extension agents employed such strategies as one-one, group gatherings, radio jingles, short sms, and video demonstrations among others to promote NERICA among rice farmers in Ofada. It was also gathered that these communication strategies were effective in passing across required information but that more needed to be done by the extension agents and the government whom they represent in order to ensure that NERICA technology is adopted. Farmers agree that with the right seedlings, means of preservation, and other backup supports such as availability of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers, adopting NERICA technology will be easier, rather than telling them about it and leaving them all to themselves without any visible form of support. The study recommends that extension workers and other government agencies should draw closer to farmers and help in the provision of seedlings, preservation equipment, pesticide, herbicides, fertilizers and storage materials as they will go a long way in aiding them to adopt the New Rice for Africa Technology.

Keywords:Communication; Communication Strategies; Agricultural Extension Agents,NERICA, Rice Farmers

ABBREVIATIONS

NERICA –      New Rice for Africa

FAO –              Food and Agriculture Organisation

TAM –             Technology Advancement Model

C4D –              Communication for Development

WARDA –      West Africa Rice Development Agency

PVS –             Participatory Varietal Selection

SELN –            State Extension Leaders Network

MNRDP –       Multinational NERICA Rice Dissemination Project

GDP –              Gross Domestic Products

OFN –              Operation Feed the Nation

GR –                Green Revolution

DFRRI –          Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Development

ADP –              Agricultural Development Programme

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

The role of agriculture in economic development and growth of a nation cannot be overemphasized. Agriculture can play a unique role in achieving food security and serve as an important engine for economic growth in a country especially developing countries. This is due to the large number of people engaged in it and its capability to foster food production and help generate substantial income, thereby reducing poverty and starvation. That an estimated 70 percent of the labor force in sub-Saharan Africa work in the agricultural sector (Ali, Mohammad, & Ebraheem, 2012), is a pointer to the fact that agriculture can serve as a springboard to national development by contributing substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any nation.

Although the economy of Nigeria depends on crude oil, the country has since recognized the need to invest heavily in promoting agriculture. Since early post-independence, Nigeria has witnessed diverse agricultural intervention programmes by successive governments designed specifically to improve productivity in the agricultural sector. These initiatives emerged out of government’s concern that the agricultural sector must develop the capacity to provide the nation’s food, industrial raw materials and to generate foreign exchange. Programmes such as Operation Feed the Nation (OFN), Green Revolution (GR), the Directorate of Food, Road and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI), the River Basin and Rural Development Authorities, the World Bank assisted Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) (Chukwuemeka & Nzewi, 2011), and most recently Anchor Borrowers Programme for farmers were all attempts by government at various times aimed at improving the capacity of the agricultural sector. However, despite all these seemingly laudable initiatives and agricultural development programmes by successive governments, Nigeria, known as the most populous black nation in the world, with a population of nearly 170 million people, is still faced with food insecurity. Though a noticeable positive shift was witnessed shortly before this era of economic recession, poverty is still on the increase; and this increase in poverty level in the country as noted by Oyakhilome and Zibah (2014), calls for a shift from a monolithic oil-based economy to a more diverse one with agriculture as the lead sector.

One of the major agricultural products grown in Nigeria is rice. The Nigerian rice sector attracts special attention within the West Africa sub-region because of the population of the country as well as its vast land area where rice could be cultivated. Although rice is primarily a cash crop in Nigeria, it also serves as a common staple food for many people across the country. In rice producing areas, the enterprise also provides employment for more than 80 per cent of the inhabitants in various activities along the production/distribution chain from cultivation to consumption.