The Effect of the Nature of Messages Conveyed Between the Extension Officers and Farmers on the Adoption of Irish Potato Farming in Meru County

Abstract

This study was an investigation of the effect of the nature of messages conveyed between extension officers and farmers on the adoption of Irish potato farming. The problem of this study was that past studies had limited focus on the nature of extension messages conveyed between extension officers and farmers on adoption of Irish potato farming, hence a gap that demands specific studies to be carried out in order to fill it. The study’s general objective was to determine the effect of the nature of messages conveyed between extension officers and farmers on the adoption of Irish potato farming. The target population for this descriptive study comprised farmers from four sub-locations (Kimbo, Gathuine, Kiamiogo, Mburugiti) of Kibirichia Ward in Meru County and all the three extension officers involved in the production of Irish potato crop. From the sampling frame, respondents were selected using purposive sampling. Farmers who took part in focus group discussions were selected using homogeneous sampling. Total population sampling method was used to take the total population of the three extension officers that train Irish potato farmers in the four sub-locations in Kibirichia Ward. One focus group discussion and one in-depth interview were conducted from each sub-location in Kibirichia Ward. Using qualitative methods in data analysis, focus group and interview data was transcribed, coded and categorized into relevant themes and sub-themes and possible and plausible explanations of the findings drawn. Findings of this study revealed extension messages contained information, ideas and technologies on soil testing, seed varieties, spacing, weeding, earthing-up, pesticides, fertilizer and manure application, crop rotations, diseases and harvesting. Farmers’ comprehension of most extension messages led to the high adoption of Irish potato farming in Kibirichia Ward. The researcher recommended that there is need to find the effect of the nature of messages conveyed between extension officers and farmers on the rate of adoption on Irish potato farming.