Attitude of Crop Farmers towards Public Agricultural Extension Services: Implication for Extension Programming in Tanzania

Abstract

Over time, the effectiveness of extension service has been the focus of many studies. However, most of these studies
have paid more attention to the service itself, neglecting the service users’ attitudes about that service. It is envisaged that a
positive attitude is a key requirement for service utilisation. Therefore, this study assessed crop farmers’ attitudes towards
agricultural extension services (AESs) in Mpwapwa and Mvomero districts. The study was conducted from December 2017 to
In February 2018, and used questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to collect data from 292 participants who were randomly selected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts, mean, and percentages), and content analysis.
The study found that although AESs were provided in the study area, 40.1% of farmers were never visited by extension agents
in the month before the study. It was further revealed that 73.5% of the respondents had a favourable attitude towards AESs
that are provided in the study area. It was concluded that overall, farmers have a positive attitude towards public extension
service although the service seems not to perform better in areas of marketing, value addition and access to loans and credits.
The study recommends that efforts should be made to ensure that all farmers are visited by extension agents. Additionally,
extension service should increase emphasis on linking farmers with markets, loans and credits, and capacity building on crop
value addition.