Assessment of The Competency Needs of Agricultural Extension Workers in Disseminating Organic Soil Management Practices To Farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria

The importance of viable alternatives to soil management practices cannot be over emphasized. This is in an effort to mitigate the effects of land degradation on soil. Thus, the dissemination of such practices to ensure timely, efficient and effective soil management practices (OSMP) is crucial. This study therefore assess the competency needs of agricultural extension workers in disseminating OSMPs farmers in Kwara state, Nigeria. The specific objectives were to assess the level of importance attached to OSMPs by extension workers, examine their competencies and competency needs in OSMPs. A two-stage sampling technique was used to select 154 extension workers for the study. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire and summarized using frequency, percentages, mean, standard deviation, and Borich model. The study showed soil erosion control to be of primary importance (70.1%), many extension workers (73.4%) attached moderate importance to selected OSMPs, while 84.4% were found to be moderately competent. The Borich model analysis showed that organic matter amendments (MWDS= 4.49) was the highest ranked area of competency needs. Also, the workers were observed to attach a moderate level of importance and were fairly competent in disseminating OSMPs to farmers. As such, there is a need for intensive training to promote better dissemination of information and practices to farmers and stakeholders