INFLUENCE OF THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTS) ON AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORKERS JOB PERFORMANCE IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the Influence of the use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) on Agricultural Extension Workers Job Performance in Rivers
State, Nigeria. It described the socio-economic characteristics of Agricultural Extension Workers;
examined the extent of performance; and identified the challenges encountered by AEWs in the
influence of ICTs in the study area. Purposive sampling technique was used to select sixty-five
agricultural extension workers from both private and public extension organizations. Data were
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that 60% of the
respondents were males, while 40% were females, 56.9% were aged between 45-54 years,
about 78.5% were married; and 49.2% were from households of 5-8 members. Considerable
proportion (56.9%) had university degree, 41.5% had NCE/OND and 40% had 19 or more years
of working experience. 66.2% visited the farmers fortnightly, and 33.8% visited famers once a
month. Results on extent of the influence of ICTs by AEWs showed that in the public agricultural
extension organizations GSM phone....