Full Length Research Paper
Exploring the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) among Village Extension Agents in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
Ebisike Chiazoka*, Sennuga S. Olayemi, Tuedon O. Annirejuoritse and Maimunatu K. Halidu
Article Number - 61BF92257A337 | Vol. 2(8), pp. 78-84, December 2021 |
Received: 25 October 2021 | Accepted: 3 December 2021 | Published: 31 December 2021
Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.
Abstract
The study explored the use
of Information and Communication Technology among Village Extension Agents in
the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria. The study was carried out in five
agricultural zones of FCT. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 100
village extension workers in the five agricultural zones of FCT and primary
data was collected using structures questionnaire and interview schedule.
Results reveals that the ICT tools that are frequently used by village
extension agents are; mobile phones (21.82%), followed by WhatsApp (19.04%),
internet (17.26%). Few number of village extension workers in the study area
access information using ICT tools. 18.42% accessed information on new
technologies and weather information, 14.21% accessed information on best
cultural practices and plant protection (disease/pest control). Furthermore,
the constraints village extension workers faced in the use of ICT were; lack of
training on use of ICT in accessing agricultural information (14.96%), high
cost of ICT tools (14.73%) and high cost of internet subscription (12.05%).
There is a need for constant technical trainings for village extension workers
on how to explore ICT in accessing relevant information on new agricultural
technologies so that they will be up to date on the latest innovations
available for farmers to adopt. Also, it is imperative for the government to
look into the cost of ICT tools and its infrastructures because it is the major
constraints village extension workers have in exploring the application of ICT
tools in agricultural information access and usage in dissemination of
information to farmers. Keywords: Technology, Village,
Extension, Information, Farmers, Communication.
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Authors
Ebisike Chiazoka*, Sennuga S. Olayemi,
Tuedon O. Annirejuoritse and Maimunatu K. Halidu
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology,
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Abuja, FCT, P.M.B. 117, Abuja, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
How to Cite this Article
Ebisike, C., Sennuga, S. O., Tuedon O. A. & Maimunatu, K. H. (2021). Exploring
the application of Information and Communication Technologies among Village Extension
Agents in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Journal
of Research in Science and Technology, 2(8), 78-84.
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