Effect of Extension Worker's Qualifications on The Performance of Agricultural Extension Workers in Agricultural Extension in Kendari City

This research analyzed the state of extension worker's qualifications, the state of extension worker's performance, and the effect of qualifications on the performance of extension workers in Kendari City. The research was carried out in Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi Province from March to June 2023. The population or research analysis unit this research was 63 people who were State Civil Apparatus (ASN) that agricultural extension workers in Kendari City. In this research, the exogenous variable is the instructor's qualifications (X) which include communication skills of extension workers (X1), attitudes extension workers (X2), knowledge extension workers (X3), and introduction to the socio-culture of farmers (X4). The endogenous variables in the research are agricultural instructor performance (Y) which includes performance in planning (Y1), performance in implementation (Y2), and performance in extension evaluation (Y3). In describing the condition of qualifications and performance of extension workers in Kendari City, descriptive statistical analysis was used. Meanwhile, in analyzing the effect of qualifications on the performance of instructors in Kendari City, inferential statistical analysis, namely structural equation modeling (SEM) - Partial least squares (PLS), was used. The results of this research show that the qualifications and performance of extension workers in Kendari City are in the good category. The results of this research also showed that extension worker's qualifications have a significant positive influence on the performance of extension workers in Kendari City. The results of this research indicate that increasing the qualifications of extension workers will improve the performance of extension workers. Therefore, efforts are needed to improve the qualifications of extension workers towards being very good so that the performance of extension workers will also increase towards being very good as well. Keywords: Extension worker’s qualifications, extension worker’s performance, agricultural, agricultural extension, extension worker’s communication skills..