Assessment of Extension Services Delivery Bias on Crop Farmers and Pastoralists in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzed extension services delivery bias on crop farmers and pastoralists in Niger State, Nigeria. Multistage sampling procedure was used to select 120 crop farmers and 40 pastoralists for the study. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, logit regression analysis, and Kendal coefficient of concordance. Results revealed that the mean age of crop farmers was 36 years while that of pastoralists was 27 years. Majority (89.2%) of the crop farmers and pastoralists (90.0%) were married with the mean household size of 7 people and 8 people respectively. Majority (87.0%) of the crop farmers were formally educated while majority (90.0) of pastoralists were none formally educated. Significant biases for crop farmers were training on farm record keeping (92.0%) and mobile extension services (90.0%). Pastoralists experienced biases in extension visits to remote areas and access to grazing reserves (73.0%). The logit regression results revealed that extension service delivery bias among crop farmers and pastoralists was significantly associated with language barrier (2.4201, p<0.01) and political interference in extension agent (1.1857; p<0.05). The perceived effects of extension services delivery bias were on reduce trust between crop farmers and extension service providers ( X =2.71) and increase economic disparity among pastoralists (X =2.85). Extension agents should be trained in local languages for easy understanding and adoption of improved practices and extension agents should be trust worthy in their interactions with farmers and pastoralists were offered as recommendations.