INFLUENCE OF EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION ON THE AWARENESS AND UTILIZATION OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH OUTPUTS BY EXTENSION WORKERS FOR EFFECTIVE INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TO FARMERS

Abstract

The study is on the influence of educational qualifications in awareness and use of agricultural research outputs by extension workers for information dissemination to farmers in Daura senatorial district of Katsina state, Nigeria. The research hypotheses included H01: Educational qualification does not significantly influence awareness of agricultural research outputs by extension workers for information dissemination to farmers in Daura senatorial district of Katsina state, Nigeria and H02: Educational qualification does not significantly influence the use of agricultural research outputs by extension workers for information dissemination to farmers in the study area. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design in quantitative research method, focusing on extension workers from twelve Local Government Areas in the Daura zone of Katsina State, Nigeria, with a total population of 636 individuals and proportionate stratified random sampling technique was employed. To determine the appropriate sample size, the study followed the guidelines provided by Research Advisors (2006), which recommended a sample of 234 respondents based on the total population of extension workers in the Daura senatorial district. A questionnaire, designed and validated by experts, was used to collect the data, and the reliability coefficient of the instrument was found to be 0.839. For data analysis, ordinal linear regression was applied, given the categorical nature of the data. As such the study found that a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between educational qualification and awareness of agricultural research outputs among extension workers. Educational qualification accounted for 62.8% of the variation in awareness and also reveals a significant relationship between educational qualification and the use of agricultural research outputs by extension workers, with a moderate correlation. Based on this finding, the study recommended ongoing training programs should be implemented for extension workers to keep them updated on the latest agricultural research and enhance their ability to communicate valuable insights to farmers and among others