Evaluating the role of public agricultural extension and advisory services in promoting agro-ecology transition in Southeast Nigeria

Abstract

Agroecological farming approaches sustain food production with zero or reduced dependence on agro-chemicals. This study investigated the impact of the public agricultural extension activities in enhancing the transition to agroecological approaches, in particular organic farming, in south-eastern Nigeria. Data were collected from 30 farmers and 20 extension personnel using in-depth interviews. The respondents were selected using a purposeful random sampling technique. The results show that extension and advisory activities are influenced by current agricultural policy. Extension personnel currently focus almost exclusively on intensive agricultural practices because of the agricultural transformation agenda which surprisingly ignores the principles of organic farming. Factors such as policy, social, environmental, research, and extension management were observed to impede organic farming transition. It is concluded that there is need for a clearly enunciated organic agriculture policy that supports farmers, organic agricultural research, and information dissemination. A participatory approach in policy formulation and information dissemination that incorporates farmers’ traditional knowledge with capacity to strengthen the agricultural information dissemination structure is recommended to improve agroecological transition.