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EXTENSION AGENTS ACCESS AND UTILIZATION OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) IN EXTENSION SERVICE DELIVERY IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA
This study was carried out to assess field extension agents’ access and utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) in extension service delivery in South East Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure involving purposive and simple random sampling techniques were employed in selecting 120 Extension Agents used for the study. Primary data were collected with the aid of a wellstructured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics according to the specific objectives of the study. The result of the socio-economic characteristics of the extension agents showed that 61.67% of the extension agents studied were males whose age bracket fall between 40-49 years and majority (78.33%) were married. Majority (85%) had postsecondary education with a household size of 1-3 persons and majority (51.67%) earned monthly income of N21, 000-N40, 000. Further analysis revealed that although many ICT facilities exist, both contemporary and conventional ICTs, radio, television and phones sourced personally from open market were the most readily available ICT facilities owned, accessed, and utilized by most of the extension agents. Consequently, the level of access and utilization of these facilities were found to be generally low with a mean score responses of x = 1.8 and x = 2.4 respectively. The result of extension agents’ opinion on the ICTs application in facilitating agricultural activities indicated; information on new varieties of seeds and seedling (x=2.6), acquire information from research institutions and farmers (x=2.7), best planting techniques (x=2.6) and use of fertilizer (x = 2.8) among others. Necessary recommendations such as strengthening the use of contemporary ICTs (phones, internet connected computer etc.), provision of adequate training on the use of ICTs for extension agents and general improvement in rural infrastructure were made among others.
Key words: Information and Communication Technology (ICTs), extension agents, access, utilization, facilities.