Comparative Analysis of Factors Affecting Effective Participation in Agricultural Extension Services Among Male and Female Extension Agents in the Cross River State Agricultural Development Project (CR-ADP)

This study determines the factors affecting effective participation in agricultural extension services among male and female extension agents in the cross river state agricultural development project (CR-ADP) by ascertaining, comparing and contrasting the reasons for their participation in agricultural extension. The study was conducted in the Cross River State Agricultural Development Project (CR-ADP) which covers the Northern, Central and Southern Agricultural Zones in Cross River State. The population of the study comprised of extension workers in the eighteen blocks in the state. A purposive sampling technique was adopted to select 35 male and female extension workers respectively. A researcher structured questionnaire was used to obtain primary data from respondents while secondary data was obtained from the Cross River State Agricultural Development Programme (CRADP). Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and Student T-test. Results indicate that, the desire to be a part in enhancing agricultural development was mostly ranked (1st , 𝑥̅=2.0), followed by need for income, and the desire for solving complex farm problems through mediating between the research and farmers (2nd , 𝑥̅ = 1.94) among male extension agents while the desire to be a part in enhancing agricultural development ranked highest with a mean (𝑥̅) of 2.0. among female extension agents. This was followed by Need for income (2nd , 𝑥̅= 1.94) and improving rural lives through community projects (3rd , 𝑥̅= 1.91). The study concluded that certain ethical variation and similarity silently exist between male and female extension agents in the CR-ADP, and recommended that agricultural stakeholders must understand that a certain level of disparity exist in gender studies, and so development programmes must capture all options under consideration.