Building the capacity of agricultural extension personnel for effective implementation of agricultural transformation agenda in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper reviews the capacity (number, quality and motivation) of the extensionpersonnel in Nigeria; and describes farmers’ perception of the quality of extensionservice delivery using evidences from literature, reports of organizations as well asexperiences from field research. Findings reveal a tremendous shortage in thenumber and quality of extension personnel across the country as major reason forthe poor performance of the ADPs thereby leaving no hope for the “beautifulâ€transformation agenda. This paper strongly recommends immediate recruitment ofnew hands as well as full implementation of a well-designed capacity buildingprogramme so as to ensure a sustainable extension service delivery system whereextension personnel can operate in the expected commercial (agriculture-driven)economy.