Presentation by Agwu Ekwe Agwu (University of Nigeria) at the IAALD 2010 World Congress - 26-29 April 2010, Montpellier, France

1. CONGRUENCY, AGREEMENT AND ACCURACY AMONG RESEARCHERS, EXTENSION WORKERS AND FARMERS ON THE ROLE OF ICTS IN NIGERIA’S AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT BY A. E. AGWU AND U. UCHE-MBA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA PHONE: +234-8034024251

4. Conceptual Framework Congruency “measures the perception of what a group thinks, compared to what another group thinks the first group thinks”. Accuracy refers to the similarity between one person’s estimate of another’s cognitions about an object and that other person’s actual cognitions about the object (Walton, 2000). Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework for analyzing researchers, extension workers and farmers perceptions of the role of ICT in agricultural development in Nigeria.

5. FIG 1: Conceptual framework for analyzing researchers, extension workers and farmers perceptions of the role of ICT in agricultural development. Agreement Agreement Congruency Accuracy Accuracy Congruency Researchers’ perception of the role of ICTs in agriculture Extension workers’ perception of the role of ICTs in agriculture Farmers’ perception of the role of ICT in agriculture Researchers estimate of farmers’ perception of the role of ICTs in agriculture. Extension workers estimate of farmers’ perception of the role of ICTs in agriculture. Role of ICTs in agriculture

12. Perceptions of Respondents (Cont’d). Results also show that farmers perceived 14 statements in favour of the roles of ICTs in agriculture. This result indicates that these farmers were aware of the importance of ICTs in agricultural development process and will be favourably disposed to using these technologies. In general, these findings show that actors are aware of the importance of knowledge and information as factors for accelerating agricultural production and improving marketing and distribution.

13. Table 1: Respondents’ perceptions of the roles of ICTs in agricultural development in Nigeria *Negative Statements S/N Perception Statements Researchers SD Extension workers SD Farmers SD 1* ICT does not carry useful content that meets the information needs of researchers, extension workers and farmers. 2.33 0.526 2.00 0.904 1.85 0.679 2 ICT facilitates the interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture. 2.70 0.526 1.95 0.904 0.77 0.679 3 ICT enhances effective storage and retrieval of information in agriculture. 2.75 0.439 2.53 0.554 2.10 0.712 4 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 1.95 0.846 2.47 0.640 2.30 0.794 5 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers 2.23 0.832 2.40 0.810 2.57 0.568 6* ICT emphasizes understanding practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 1.00 0.751 1.13 0.791 1.30 0.877 7* ICT increases the cost of research and extension work. 2.50 0.757 1.40 0.709 1.23 0.971 8 ICT provides connected and distributed networks to researchers, extension workers and farmers. 2.10 0.883 2.07 0.656 2.17 0.791 9* ICT makes learning monotonous and boring. 1.70 0.883 0.98 0.733 0.87 0.629 10* ICT does not enhance retention of information. 1.50 0.751 0.82 0.931 1.07 0.923 11 ICT makes individualized agricultural instruction packages readily available. 1.90 0.928 2.17 0.747 1.97 0.615 12 ICT improve both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural / research /extension work. 2.33 0.616 2.38 0.586 2.37 0.556 13 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of level of agricultural development. 2.17 0.675 2.20 0.687 2.23 0.626 14 With ICT information can be provided to a large group of audience at the same time. 2.50 0.555 2.68 0.474 2.37 0.490 15 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enabling them to know their strength and weakness. 2.08 0.917 2.18 0.712 2.33 0.711 16 ICT assist researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 2.05 0.714 2.07 0.572 2.17 0.747 17* ICT does not facilitate information exchange amongst the agricultural communities and outside world 2.30 0.549 1.93 0.997 1.03 0.850 18 ICT makes farmers to learn faster about new technologies 1.67 0.859 2.08 0.797 2.07 0.907 19* ICT does not facilitate lesson presentation and does not save the amount of time extension workers or researchers spend on teaching a topic. 2.00 0.823 1.72 0.874 1.51 0.986 20 ICT facilitates decision making process in agriculture. 2.08 0.694 1.85 0.770 1.87 0.900

15. Ranked by ascending order of importance of mean rating scores (1- 17) Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient for ties 0.839**, P = 0.000 Table 2: Spearman’s rank correlation showing the congruency of researchers perception and researchers estimate of farmers perception S/N Statements Researchers perceptions ( ) Rank Researchers estimate of farmers perceptions( ) Rank 1 ICT enhance effective storage and retrieval of information. 2.75 1 1.78 8 2 ICT facilitates interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture 2.70 2 2.07 2 3 ICT information can be provided to large group of audience at the same time. 2.50 3.5 2.13 1 4 ICT increases the cost of research and extension work. 2.50 3.5 1.23 15 5 ICT improves both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural work. 2.33 5 2.00 3.5 6 ICT facilitates information exchange among the agricultural communities and outside world 2.30 6 2.00 3.5 7 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers 2.23 7 1.63 14 8 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development. 2.17 8 1.70 11.5 9 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enable them to know their strength. 2.08 9.5 1.90 7 10 ICT facilitates decision making process in agriculture. 2.08 9.5 1.93 5.5 11 ICT does not assist researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 2.05 11 1.70 11.5 12 ICT facilitates lesson presentation and saves the amount of time extension workers and researchers spend on teaching a topic. 2.00 12 1.77 9 13 ICT makes information accessible to farmers. 1.95 13 1.93 5.5 14 ICT makes individualized agricultural instruction packages readily available. 1.90 14 1.70 11.5 15 ICT makes learning/ work monotonous and boring 1.70 15 0.95 16 16 ICT makes farmers to learn faster about new technologies 1.67 16 1.75 10 17 ICT emphasizes understanding the practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 1.00 17 0.85 17

16. Ranked by ascending order of importance of mean rating scores (1-17) Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient, Corrected for ties: 0.544**, P= 0.24 Table 3: Spearman’s rank correlation showing the congruency of extension workers perception and extension worker’s estimate of farmers’ perception S/N Statements Extension workers perceptions( ) Rank Extension workers estimate of farmers perceptions ( ) Rank 1 ICT makes information to be provided to large group of audience at the same time. 2.68 1 2.20 5.5 2 ICT enhance effective storage and retrieval of information 2.53 2 2.26 3 3 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 2.47 3 2.20 5.5 4 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers 2.40 4 2.35 2 5 ICT improves both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural work. 2.38 5 2.23 4 6 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development. 2.20 6 2.12 7 7 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enable them to know their strength and weakness. 2.18 7 2.07 8 9 ICT makes farmers to learn faster about new technologies. 2.08 9 2.45 1 10 ICT assists researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 2.07 10 1.38 13.5 11 ICT facilitates interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture. 1.95 11 1.38 13.5 12 ICT does not facilitate information exchange among the agricultural communities and outside world. 1.93 12 1.48 12 13 ICT facilitates decision making process in Agriculture. 1.85 13 1.88 10

18. Table 4: Test of difference in the perceptions of researchers and farmers on the role of ICTs in agricultural development S/N Statements Researchers Farmers T- value Remarks 1 ICT facilitates information exchange among the agricultural communities and outside world. 2.30 1.03 3.630 S 2 ICT facilitates interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture. 2.70 1.77 0.566 NS 3 ICT enhances effective storage and retrieval of information. 2.75 2.10 0.710 S 4 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 1.95 2.30 -1.758 NS 5 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers. 2.23 2.57 -1.935 NS 6 ICT emphasizes understanding the practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 1.00 1.30 -1.539 NS 7 ICT assist researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 2.05 2.17 -0.472 NS 8 ICT makes learning/ work monotonous and boring. 1.70 1.87 0.349 NS 9 ICT makes individualized agricultural instruction packages readily available. 1.90 1.97 -0.292 NS 10 ICT can provide information to a large group of audience at the same time. 2.50 2.37 1.045 NS 11 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development 2.17 2.23 -0.369 S

19. Table 5: Test of difference in the perceptions extension workers and farmers on the role of ICTs in agricultural development S/N Statements Extension workers Farmers T- value Remarks 1 ICT facilitates information exchange among the agricultural communities and outside world. 1.93 1.03 2.09 S 2 ICT facilitates interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture. 1.95 1.77 0.34 NS 3 ICT enhances effective storage and retrieval of information. 2.53 2.10 2.81 S 4 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 2.47 2.30 0.92 NS 5 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers. 2.40 2.57 -0.96 NS 6 ICT emphasizes understanding the practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 1.13 1.30 -0.88 NS 7 ICT increases cost of research and extension work. 1.40 1.23 0.83 NS 8 ICT makes learning/ work monotonous and boring. 0.98 1.87 2.65 S 9 ICT makes individualized agricultural instruction packages readily available. 2.17 1.97 2.24 S 10 ICT improves both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural work. 2.38 2.37 0.60 NS 11 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development. 2.20 2.23 -0.21 NS 12 ICT can provide information to a large group of audience at the same time. 2.68 2.37 2.65 S 13 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enable them to know their strength and weakness. 2.18 2.33 -0.92 NS 14 ICT assist researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 2.07 2.17 -2.38 S

21. Table 6: Spearman’s rank correlation showing the accuracy of researchers’ estimate of farmers’ perception and farmers’ perception Spearman’s Rank Correlation for ties- 0.429, P = 0.05 S/N Statements Researchers’ estimate of farmers perceptions Rank Farmers perceptions( ) Rank 1 ICT does not facilitate information exchange among the agricultural communities and outside world. 2.48 1 1.03 17 2 ICT makes information provided to a large group of audience at the same time. 2.13 2 2.37 2.5 3 ICT facilitates interaction between researchers, extension workers and farmers in agriculture. 2.07 3 1.77 12.5 4 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 1.93 5.5 2.30 5 5 ICT facilitates decision making process in agriculture. 1.93 5.5 1.87 10.5 6 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enable them to know their strength and weakness. 1.90 7 2.33 4 7 ICT enhance effective storage and retrieval of information. 1.78 8 2.10 8 8 ICT does not facilitate lesson presentation and does not save the amount of time extension workers and researchers spend on teaching a topic. 1.77 9.5 1.51 13.5 9 ICT does not facilitate lesson presentation and does not save the amount of time extension workers or researchers spend on teaching a topic 1.77 9.5 1.51 13.5 10 ICT improves both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural/ research/ extension work 2.00 4 2.37 2.5 11 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development 1.70 11.5 2.23 6 12 ICT makes individualized agricultural instruction packages readily available. 1.70 11.5 1.97 9 13 ICT assists researchers and extension workers to demonstrate experiments and concepts of agriculture. 1.70 11.5 2.17 7 14 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers. 1.63 14 2.57 1 15 ICT increases the cost of research and extension workers. 1.23 15 1.23 16 16 ICT makes learning/ work monotonous and boring. 0.95 16 1.87 10.5 17 ICT emphasizes understanding the practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 0.85 17 1.30 15

22. Table 7: Spearman’s rank correlation showing the accuracy of extension workers estimate of farmers’ perception and farmers’ perception Ranked by ascending order of importance of mean rating scores (1-17) Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient, Corrected for ties: 0.285, P = 0.267 S/N Statements Extension workers estimate of farmers perceptions ( ) Rank Farmers perceptions ( ) Rank 1 ICT makes farmers to learn faster about new technologies. 2.45 1 2.07 9 2 ICT enables extension workers to acquire necessary information on research work without meeting the researchers. 2.35 2 2.57 1 3 ICT improves both efficiency and effectiveness of agricultural/ research/ extension work. 2.23 3 2.37 2.5 4 ICT enhances effective storage and retrieval of information. 2.26 4 2.10 8 5 ICT can provide information to a large group of audience at the same time. 2.20 5.5 2.37 2.5 6 ICT makes information easily accessible to farmers. 2.20 5.5 2.30 5 7 ICT aids in evaluation and appraisal of the level of agricultural development. 2.12 7 2.23 6 8 ICT enables researchers and extension workers to obtain immediate feedback on their performance and thus enable them to know their strength and weakness. 2.07 8 2.33 4 10 ICT facilitates decision making process in Agriculture. 1.88 10 1.87 11.5 11 ICT makes learning/ work monotonous and boring. 0.95 17 1.87 11.5 17 ICT emphasizes understanding the practical aspect of learning thereby discouraging the role of extension workers. 1.05 16 1.30 15

25. Table 8: Mean scores of constraints that hinder the use of ICT in agriculture S/N Constraints Researchers ( ) Extension workers ( ) Farmers ( ) 1 Lack of confidence in operating ICT facilities such as computers, CD Rom 1.50 1.78 2.40* 2 Lack of competence in handling ICT facilities 1.78 2.30* 2.33* 3 Lack of adequate time for training on ICT facilities 1.60 1.90 2.33* 4 Unavailability of hard required by modern ICT 1.90 2.00* 2.23* 5 Lack of communication infrastructure on which ICT depends on 2.00* 2.03* 2.20* 6 Fear that things will go wrong in using ICT 0.78 0.62 1.37 7 Inappropriate contents of ICT messages that do not meet the needs of clients 0.77 0.87 1.37 8 Poor benefits in using ICT 0.70 0.85 1.63 9 Lack sufficient trained computer personnel 2.03* 2.00* 2.20* 10 Erratic and fluctuating power supply 2.55* 2.38* 2.70* 11 Poor finance 2.32* 2.48* 1.77 12 Lack of adequate awareness about ICT 1.90 2.28* 1.93 13 Complexity in using ICT 1.80 1.85 2.23* 14 Lack of internet access to the rural areas 2.60* 2.45* 2.00* 15 Poor communication network 2.10* 2.23* 1.80 16 Nature of information provided 1.85 2.00* 2.43* 17 High cost of ICT soft ware 2.00* 2.72* 2.43* 18 High cost of ICT hard ware 2.08* 2.30* 2.43* 19 Negative attitude of people to change 1.88 1.55 1.30 20 General lack of awareness of the importance of ICT in agriculture 1.90 1.70 1.73

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