LEVEL OF COMPETENCY OF EXTENSION PERSONNEL IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY USAGE FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study ascertained the level of competency of extension personnel in information and communication technology usage for information dissemination in Southwestern Nigeria. Specifically, the study ascertained the personal characteristics of the respondents, identified the various types of ICT tools accessible to the extension personnel, ascertained the frequency of usage of ICT tools, determined the level of competency of extension personnel, assessed the perceived effects of ICT tools usage, identified the areas of training needs and determined the constraints to the effective usage of ICT tools and devices by extension personnel for information dissemination in the study area. A multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting two hundred and sixty-eight (268) respondents using proportionate sampling technique. Data were collected with the use of a well-structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of the study revealed that majority (73.5%) of the respondents were male, married (86.6%), Christians (70.9%), with an average age of 42 years. About 37 percent of the respondents had HND as the highest educational qualification with an average working experience of 11 years. The most accessible ICT tools by the respondents were mobile phone (96.6%), radio (80.6%) and Television (69.8%). The respondents were very skilled in creating an email account (x̅ = 1.59, S.D = 1.93), sending and receiving emails messages (x̅ = 1.49, S.D = 0.75), sorting mails (x̅ = 1.35, S.D = 0.95), use of functional keys in computer (x̅ = 1.28, S.D = 0.72), and use of public address system for addressing farmers (x̅ = 1.28, S.D = 0.81). The result revealed that, ICT offered the respondents the opportunity to reach the world of information resources (x̅ = 2.71, S.D = 0.55), help in spreading information faster (x̅ = 2.70, S.D = 0.53), and also improves the presentation of materials for training (x̅ = 2.58, S.D = 0.60). The respondents’ areas of training needs in ICT include training on preparation of excel spreadsheet (x̅ = 2.15, S.D = 0.94), training on preparation of PowerPoint slides (x̅ = 1.95, S.D = 1.05) and training on general window skills (x̅ = 1.84, S.D = 1.05). The major constraints to effective use of ICT tools by the extension personnel include cost of maintenance and replacement of obsolete ICT tools (x̅ = 1.74, S.D = 0.47), irregular power supply (x̅ = 1.70, S.D = 0.51) and poor network coverage (x̅ = 1.70, S.D = 0.51). The results further revealed that there was no significant relationship between working experience and level of competency. There was significant relationship between household size, educational level and level of competency. The study recommends that Agricultural Development Programme in conjunction with Ministry of Agriculture should organised an in-service training programme in preparation of PowerPoint slides and Microsoft excel spreadsheet for extension personnel in order to enhance their competency