IMPACT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE DELIVERY ON CASSAVA PRODUCTION IN KWAMI LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF GOMBE STATE

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the impact of agricultural extension service delivery on cassava production in Kwami local government area of Gombe State. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The design for the study was survey. The sample for the study was 105 respondents with 93 cassava farmers and 12 agricultural extension agents. A simple random sampling technique was used to obtain the sample. The instrument for data collection was a researcher designed structured questionnaire rated on a four- point scale. The instrument was subjected to validation by 3 experts. To determine the reliability of the instrument, Pearson Product moment correlation coefficient was used after administering the instrument on a different population of farmers in Adamawa State. The coefficient obtained was 0.99. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research question while t-test was used at 0.05 level of significance to test the hypothesis. The findings of the study revealed that factors such as poor soil fertility among others influence cassava production in Kwami local government area of Gombe State and cassava farmers derive benefit from agricultural extension agents. The study recommended that more agricultural extension agents should be employed by the government so as to have sufficient agricultural extension service among others.