Information Skills and Use of Agricultural research Outputs by Extension Workers for Information Dissemination to Farmers in North-West, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated on Information Skills and Use of Agricultural research Outputs by
Extension Workers for Information Dissemination to Farmers in North-West, Nigeria. The specific
objectives is to identify information skills used in using agricultural research outputs by extension
workers for dissemination of information to farmers in North-West, Nigeria and find out the
different types of agricultural research outputs used by extension workers for the dissemination of
information to farmers in the study area. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design
and the population of the study comprises all the extension workers in seven (7) states which
includes Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara and Multistage cluster
sampling technique was adopted to the study. Balloting method was applied to select the two states
that serve as the clusters for the study. Eventually, Katsina and Kebbi were randomly selected to
represent the population and which is two-thousand and thirty-four (2034). More so, 234 extension
workers were chosen as the sample size of the study Using the guiding principle of Research
Advisor’s Table 2006.The questionnaire was used for data collection and data were analysed
using means and standard deviation at 3.0 bench mark. The study’s findings indicate that extension
workers lack digital skills and predominantly use traditional print materials, such as journal
articles and newspapers, for disseminating information to farmers, while the use of online
resources is significantly lower. Based on this, the study recommended a need to enhance digital
literacy and training for extension workers, thereby, organizing targeted training programs aimed
at improving digital skills, including the use of online databases, search engines, and digital
platforms for agricultural research and among others.