An evaluation of access to and use of Agricultural information by extension service officers: A case study of Makueni County, Kenya.

Abstract

This study did evaluate access to and usage of agricultural information by extension service officers in Makueni County, Kenya. Agricultural extension is the delivery of information inputs to fanners and refers to a form of education that introduces new knowledge and technology to fanners. Most fanners in Makueni County have minimal knowledge on the use of agricultural information facilities like computerslintemet. The goal of this study was to determine the accessibility, usage and constraints to access and use of agricultural information by extension service officers. The study used primary data. Multistage random sampling procedure (MRSP) was used to select divisions in the County to participate. A questionnaire was used to collect data in the field. Quantitative data was analyzed using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 16, while Qualitative data was derived from analysing the narrative responses of the open-ended questions. The findings indicated that extension service officers ranked field days highest for access to and use of agricultural information. The majority of the extension service officers are over 40years old and used analogue rather than digital methods of access to and use of agricultural information. It is recommended that to increase agricultural productivity by farmers, hybrid access to and use of agricultural information should be used by extension service officers.