INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTs) UTILIZATION IN INFORMATION DISSEMINATION AMONG EXTENSION AGENTS IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (ADP) ZONE B OF NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

The study accessed information communication technologies (ICTs) utilization in information dissemination among extension agents in Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) Zone B of Niger State. Multistage sampling procedures were used to select 100 extension agents. The data were collected using questionnaires. Descriptive research design was used for the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means were used to describe the characteristics of the respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that extension agents had mean age of 42 years; males (94%) married and educated. The mean year of working experience was 26 years and the mean annual income was ₦265,300:00k. The results on the agricultural information dissemination using ICTs showed that weather updates had 88% and fertilizer had 74%. The constraints were lack of ICT skills with a mean score of x̄= 2.1. Collaboration between the Niger State Ministry of Agriculture, ADP, and telecommunications companies should aim at expanding rural internet coverage and reducing data costs were offered as recommendation.