Assesement of Nigeria Agricultural Extension Services
Assesement of Nigeria Agricultural Extension Services
Assesement of Nigeria Agricultural Extension Services
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Abstract:- The Nigerian agriculture is growing sluggish domestic budget, despite Nigeria’s membership in the
with low production and productivity. This may be due Maputo Declaration where they committed to fund
poor agricultural and advisory service in the country. An agriculture at 10 percent of its total budget (FMARD, 2016).
overview of public and private agricultural extension
service in promoting agricultural production and The first State Policy on Agriculture was adopted in
productivity for Nigerian economic growth is offered in 1988, but not legislated. The policy was then reviewed in
this study. Major factors of agricultural extension were 2001. Since 2001, a number of agricultural programs have
recognized and described in this paper. Major been announced by the successive political administrations.
constraints to effective extension service delivery in However, they seem to have been largely unsuccessful in
improving agricultural productivity and production improving food security or livelihoods (CTA, 2011). In
were discussed. Absent of legislative policy, weak 2012, the Nigerian government announced the Growth
funding and diversification, low level of private sector Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS), which launched an
participation, low knowledge of extension personnel and e-Wallet system to distribute fertilizer supports directly to
weak capacity of extension organization were the major farmers through mobile money to avoid the graft and losses
problem to agricultural extension in Nigeria. This study that had previously happened. However, e-Wallet has 15
concluded that lack of legislative policy and poor million subscribers, several million of whom are women
funding were the major constraints to extension farmers (Adesina, 2017).
agricultural extension service. the study recommended
that the challenges identified in the study should be given In 2016, the central government of Nigeria launched a
priority while implementing the agricultural extension subsequent policy to the Agriculture Transformation
policy. Agenda called the Agricultural Promotion Policy, or the
Green Alternative, which highlights the need to fund,
Keywords:- Private and public extension, extension organize and increase quality of extension services across
delivery, constraints, Nigeria. the nation. Moving trends in the enabling environment of
Nigeria include the increase of mobile phone use as well as
I. INTRODUCTION the attraction of more private-sector agricultural business.
Mobile phone penetration in Nigeria is at 94 percent, with
Nigeria is the most populated nation in Africa, with smart phones at about 30 percent penetration and feature
223,804,632 million people (UN Projection, 2023), it has an phones at 70 percent diffusion (Adepetun, 2017). However
economy of US $481 billion in 2015 (World Bank, 2017), Nigeria has also moved toward the privatization of input
the largest on the region. In spite of abundant natural markets. During the time that AkinwumiAdesina was the
resources, there is much poverty, with about 40 percent (80 Minister of Agriculture (2010 – 2015), “the total of seed
million) of Nigerians living below the state poverty line, companies operating in Nigeria improved from just 11 to
which cannot spent up to 137,430 naira/year (World Bank, more than 100. The new fertilizer market mobilized five
2020). As of 2021, 45 percent of all death of under-five billion naira from private financiers during this time” as well
children were malnourished and projected of 2 million and major global players such as Syngenta and
suffer from severe acute starvation (UNICEF, 2022). Life Sasumastarted doing business in Nigeria (Adesina,
expectancy was at 54 years in 2019 (World Bank, 2020). A 2017).However, the study purpose was wants to examine
projected 50 million youth are jobless today (IFPRI, 2017) Nigerian agricultural extension service. The objectives of
contributing to social insecurity. Agriculture is the largest the study are
sector of the Nigerian economy with 70 percent of the To analyses Nigeria public and private agricultural
population employed in agriculture. Agriculture pays 23 extension service.
percent of GDP (FMARD, 2016). Agriculture contributes 75 To examine constraints associated with agricultural
percent of all other export earnings (FMARD, 2016). extension service in Nigeria.
However, less than one percent of cultivated land is
irrigated, significantly depressing total land productivity
(FAO, 2016). Despite 77 percent of the land in Nigeria
being offered for agriculture, Nigeria spends NGN 1.3
trillion (approximately US $4.1 billion) annually in food
imports (Matsilele, 2017; Elebeke, 2017). Support to
agriculture and extension services has gone up and down in
response to the overall frame conditions and
economy.Agriculture represents only two percent of the
Nigeria agricultural extension services include The extension services bridge the gap between
transferring knowledge to farmers, advising and educating researchers and farming population for the acceptance of
farmers in their decision making, enabling farmers to clarify innovation in other to improve their livelihood (Anderson
their own goals and possibilities, and stimulating desirable and Feder, 2003). Different studies show that farmers who
agricultural developments. Traditional public-sector have regular contact with extension agent are more willing
extension services use a variety of extension programs to to change than those who do not have extension contact
overcome barriers to technological adoption without much (Ogunlana, 2004; Anderson, 2007; Kassieet al., 2009). Lack
success (Anderson and Feder, 2004;Anandajayasekeramet of extension support, preferential treatment within extension
al., 2008, Aker, 2010). Historically, agricultural service organization, and inadequate motivation/incentives from the
delivery in developing countries started with production- government has a detrimental effect on extension
oriented limited extension services for export crops. The information delivery (Anderson, 2007). Insufficient facilities
attention was diverted in the fifties to food production and and the monetary limitation stop the movement of an
improved farming techniques (Anandajayasekeramet al., extension officer thereby preventing the spread of
2008). information (Anderson, 2007). This concern brings critical
difficulties with information delivery and extension
The development of the Nigeria economy heavily activities which resulted to some of the extension agents
depends upon the speed with which agricultural growth is have to seek alternative income source for their survival
achieved. The rate of agricultural growth in Nigeria in turn (Anderson and Feder, 2004). Lack of motivation among
depends on the speed with which the current subsistence extension officers will cause them to be unwilling in
oriented production system is transformed into a market committing their tasks (Anderson and Feder, 2004).
orientated production system. Among the many institutional Furthermore, the poor extension infrastructures in most of
support services that need to support the transformation developing nations around the world are among factors that
process, the agricultural extension service plays a critical hinders the delivery of extension message (Anderson, 2007).
role, since it contributes to the development of the skill and However, nearly all farmers within developing countries are
knowledge of farmers to adopt new and improved in geographically spread out villages where movement links
technologies (seed varieties and animal breeds, implements, is awful. These make extension agent to find it difficult to
chemicals and practices etc.), and the methods and processes reach farmers and show them the benefit of technological
with which the skill development and access to information innovation. Agricultural extension and advisory services
are realized. Presently, extension is mostly provided by the play an imperative role in agricultural improvement and can
public sector, operating in a decentralized manner where contribute to improving the livelihood of the farmers and
extension information is implemented at the district level. other people in rural areas (Umetaet al., 2011).Linking
The public sector is the single most important player, smallholder farmers with require agricultural information
especially in terms of inputs, at the local level for can help to drive sustainable productivity and profits,
smallholders. The private sector and NGOs (known to have improve livelihoods and increase household incomes.
many innovative and participatory approaches), while Information access by smallholder farmers is generally
becoming increasingly important, are often left out of considered a critical part of long-term development
extension initiatives. Nigeria has an impressive strategies that may reduce poverty andhunger in rural
infrastructure for extension, including dedicated extension communities. There are several other factors affecting
offices or ADPs in each state, a large number of agricultural access and use of agricultural information and performance
research institutions and extension training programs, a amongst smallholder farmers. Studies by Barrett (2008) and
system to connect them all, the REFILS and an extension Chapotoet al. (2013) outlined key factors including;
workforce of 7,000 public agents (28 percent female) and an location, farm size, economic and linkages to financial
unknown number of private extension agents employed by services, ability to manage water resources, costs of inputs,
agribusiness companies and non-governmental transaction costs, price volatility, access to and adoption of
organizations (FMARD. 2016). Most of these public production technologies. Small-scale farmers have learnt
initiatives were established with World Bank funding in the agricultural activities in emerging countries (Kameswari, et
1990s and have since suffered from lack of funding and al., 2011; Siyao, 2012; Angelucciet al., 2014). However,
coordination in times of both economic growth and their agricultural production is described by low yield
recession. With renewed focus and political will, these (Traoreet al., 2011; AGRA, 2014) due to lack of use of
important assets can be leveraged for important extension. agricultural inputs (Kinyangi, 2014). Farmers need farm
Falling of oil price a few years ago, the government is information to fulfill their farming needs. Thus, better
taking a fresh look at agriculture as the second alternative to choices are made by knowledgeable farmers, who in turn are
the economy, particularly as a source of foreign exchange. answerable for improving agricultural productivity. The
Some actors are hopeful that this is a golden moment for transfer of farm information is done by extension services.
agricultural reform. Nevertheless, there are very few extension officers to serve
large number of farmers (Sangaet al., 2013).