Problems of Agricultural Extension Services in Toto LGA Nassarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The objective was to bring educational advantages of universities to ordinary people. Ordinary people in this sense refer to those people who are illiterate or do not have enough educational qualification or training to be able to decide for themselves as well as manage resources for their own benefit and the people around them. These set of people are mostly found in the rural areas where physical and social infrastructures are almost insufficient, inefficient inadequate or non – existent. In Nigeria, agricultural production majorly rest in the hands of these classes of people and they account for almost 70% of her population. The need to strengthen agricultural extension therefore becomes imperative in the battle line against poverty and inadequate food production since experience has shown that Nigerian extension workers are poorly trained and ill-equipped. In Toto Local government, the challenge to effectively visit all the categories of farmers, some of whom are women, as well as the young men and women who are just entering farming; pose a special and complex assignment for extension personnel in the area. How can agricultural extension services be effective or strengthened in this area? This is the basis for this study. To be able to determine where efforts are needed to strengthen extension services nine (9) major  problem areas from literature will be assessed. These are Technological problems, linkage, technical training, extension training, Mobility, Equipment Lack of teaching Aids, organizational and Miscellaneous.