Agricultural Extension Services and Manpower Development Policies

For agricultural development to advance, improved materials, better methods, and innovations from research institutes need to be effectively communicated to farmers.

This responsibility lies within the extension delivery system. The policy on extension delivery in Nigeria addresses this objective, and complementary strategies for manpower development are also articulated.

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Agricultural Extension Services Policy

According to Udoma, Inyang, and Ekaiko (2009), agricultural extension is out-of-school education aimed at communicating useful information to people through an educational process. It primarily focuses on technology transfer to the clientele, although a community-driven approach has recently been introduced through the FADAMA intervention program.

Despite the changes in approach, the overall objective remains the same promoting agribusiness to drastically reduce poverty by enabling farmers to become aware of opportunities for self-empowerment and improvement. Thus, it is the policy of the government to provide agricultural extension services to enterprising farmers to boost productivity.

The general objective of the agricultural extension policy, which has remained largely unchanged since 1960, is to disseminate proven agricultural technologies to farmers, thereby increasing their output and improving their standard of living.

Various strategies have been adopted to realize this goal, one of which is the establishment of the Agricultural Development Programme (ADP).

Agricultural Development Programme (ADP)

The primary institution responsible for agricultural extension services in Nigeria is the network of Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs) located in each state and Abuja. The ADPs, as the extension service arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, have the following responsibilities:

1. Recruiting, training, and developing extension personnel to ensure effective extension service delivery.
2. Providing training facilities and infrastructure that strengthen the connection between researchers, extension agents, and farmers.
3. Establishing demonstration farm centers and rural livestock, fisheries, and crop centers in their areas of jurisdiction.
4. Encouraging private sector investment in agricultural information dissemination.

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Constraints to Agricultural Extension Delivery in Nigeria

Although agricultural extension services in Nigeria have successfully introduced many innovations to farmers and improved rural women’s welfare, they are constrained by several problems. Haruna and Abdullahi (2013), Auta and Dafwang (2010), and Onuche et al. (2020) have identified some of these challenges:

1. Inadequate and untimely funding: Around 75% of ADP centers in Nigeria are inadequately funded.

2. Low ratio of extension agents to farmers: The average ratio in Nigeria is about 1:3011, significantly below the FAO's recommended ratio of 1:1000.

3. Poor deployment of ICT: While other African countries have employed technologies such as drones for crop mapping and monitoring, Nigeria's extension services remain largely analog, with limited ICT usage. Up to 35% of extension workers need basic computer training.

4. Inadequate training: Beyond ICT, there is a strong need for training in areas like crop improvement and pest management, yet only a few personnel receive such training.

5. Ineffective monitoring and supervision: The lack of effective oversight of extension workers’ activities hampers the growth of agribusinesses.

Training and Manpower Development Policy

Training and manpower development are crucial for increasing agricultural productivity. This initiative is aimed at improving the skills of those engaged in agricultural activities.

The government has embarked on policies to train and develop manpower to support research and other duties that promote agricultural development in Nigeria.

The objective is to meet the country’s manpower needs in crops, livestock, forestry, wildlife, fisheries, aquaculture, agricultural extension, home economics, food science and technology, and water resources management. The strategies used to implement this policy include:

1. Establishment of training and research institutes such as the Agricultural Research and Manpower Training Institute (ARMTI) in Ilorin, Kwara State.
2. Sponsoring Nigerians to participate in agricultural workshops, conferences, and seminars within and outside the country.
3. Establishing universities of agriculture in Abeokuta, Umudike, and Makurdi to offer degree programs in all agricultural disciplines. Other federal, state, and private universities also provide training opportunities in agriculture.
4. Providing scholarships and bursaries to encourage students pursuing agricultural courses both within and outside Nigeria.
5. Establishing colleges of agriculture and introducing faculties and departments of agriculture in polytechnics and colleges of education to train middle-level manpower.
6. Establishing federal agricultural colleges and encouraging state-owned institutions to offer agriculture-related courses.

This initiative is a holistic approach by the government to address the persistent problem of inadequate skilled manpower at all levels of the agricultural sector.

The development of strategies to ensure effective communication of improved methods and materials from research institutes through the extension delivery system primarily the ADP has been outlined.

Additionally, complementary strategies for manpower development through training institutions have also been highlighted.

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