Accessibility of demand-driven extension services in Niger State, Nigeria: An assessment of fadama farmers.

Abstract

The study assesses the accessibility of demand-driven extension services in Niger State, Nigeria. To achieve the study objectives, multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 377 respondents for the study. Validated interview schedule was used to collect relevant data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit regression analysis. Finding showed that demand-driven extension services were very accessible in the area as reported by 83.8% of the respondents. Result of the study also revealed that farm income, access to cell phone and total livestock owned significantly and positively influenced farmers’ access to demand-driven extension services, while farm distance and age of the respondents had negative effect on the accessibility of demand-driven extension services. The result of the study further showed that nearly all the service providers of demand-driven extension services in the study area were male (98.6%). It was therefore recommended that improvement of rural infrastructures such as telecommunication and roads should be undertaken to facilitate communication and access to services. The need for demand-driven extension service providers to maintain gender equality and balance in the composition of service providers was also advocated