PERCEIVED PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS IN IJEBU-ODE ZONE OF OGUN STATE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, NIGERIA

Abstract

In order to meet the requirement of disseminating proven technologies, some professional competencies should be possessed by the agricultural extension agents (EAs). A descriptive survey study was conducted in  the Ijebu-Ode zone of the Ogun State Agricultural Development  Programme, South-western Nigeria to assess the perceived professional competencies possessed by the EAs. Interview guides for farmers and questionnaires for Extension Agents were used for data collection and analyzed  using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results show that more competent extension agents perceive their levels of professional competency as adequate and have had a positive and significant impact on technology transfer to farmers. The paper concludes with recommendation that skill gap analysis to determine the training needs should be conducted periodically and large number of EAs with low competency in identified areas trained to enhance technology transfer to farmers.