Accuracy of Extension Professionals’ and Farmers’ Perceptions regarding Privatization and Commercialization of Agricultural Extension Services

This study examined the accuracy between extension professionals and farmers regarding their perceptions of privatization and commercialization of agricultural extension services. The study was carried out in Delta State, Nigeria and it had a sample size of 224 respondents comprising of 134 extension professionals of the Delta State Agricultural Programme (DTADP) and 90 farmers that were randomly selected. Data for the study were collected from the respondents through the use of validated questionnaire and interview schedule. The questionnaire was used for the extension professionals, while the interview schedule was used for the farmers. Spearman’s rank order correlation coefficient was used to determine the accuracy in perceptions of respondents. Results of the study show that extension professionals estimated farmers’ perception with a high degree of accuracy (r = 0.80 ), while farmers estimated extension professionals’ perception with low accuracy (r = 0.22 ). The inability of farmers to accurately estimate extension professionals’ perception could be due to differences in their background and knowledge of issues relating to privatization and commercialization of agricultural extension services. The study recommends that farmers’ knowledge of issues relating to privatization and commercialization should be enhanced through seminars and workshops organized by the appropriate extension agency.