Vocational educational services by non-government organisations to adult farmers in Oyo and Ogun States, Nigeria

Author: O.I. Oladele, Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Edition: Volume 46, Number 3, November 2006

Summary: The objective of this paper is to examine the vocational education services provided by non-government organisations (NGOs) to adult farmers in the states of Oyo and Ogun, in Nigeria. Two agro-based NGOs, the Diocesan Agricultural Development Project (DADP) and the Farmers Development Union (FADU), were purposively selected because of their relevance to the study. A total of 120 members of these NGOs were sampled for the study, 116 of whom responded. They were interviewed using a structured schedule designed to elicit vital information on the NGO extension services of which they were aware, and the frequency with which these services were administered to the respondents. The data collected from the field were analysed using frequency counts, tables, chi-square and t-test. The findings revealed that the respondents were mostly aware of the extension activities provided by the NGOs. In addition, several  extension services were received regularly, with FADU members receiving more extension activities than members of DADP. While a broad range of extension activities were provided by the agro-based NGOs to their members, those most frequently accessed by farmers were mainly advisory. Relationships between some of the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the extension activities of the NGOs were also discovered. Conclusions are drawn concerning the focus of NGO activities provided to farmers and the relationship between these and government-based programs.

Keywords: NGO, DADP, FADU, extension services

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