AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AGENTS AND CHALLENGES FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (A CASE STUDY OF PESHAWAR VALLEY)

The present study was launched in two districts of NWFP namely Peshawar and Nowshera during 2007-08. Forty agricultural extension agents were interviewed through face to face interview schedule. The main objectives of the study were to identify the challenges, constraints, problems and shortcoming faced by extension agents engaged in disseminating the latest agriculture technology and to make policy recommendations. . The empirical results indicate that more than half of the field assistants were educated up to Matric plus two years agricultural training course. On average the extension agents had a job experience of 16 years and attended on average nine (9) in service training. All the field assistants reported no offices at union council level. Majority (81%) of the extension agents reported lack of teaching equipments/facilities, poor linkages between research and extension organizations (15%) and (3%) each reported mobility/funds and dispersion among the farmers were the major obstacles hampering extension agents in developing educational program. The main difficulties identified by extension agents regarding technical services providing to farmers were lack of resources (29%), poor knowledge (24%) regarding improved agricultural technologies, illiteracy (16%) among the farmers and communication problems (11%). The most appropriate teaching methods identified by extension agents were method demonstration (33%), formal group meetings (30%), and result demonstrations (20%). The most frequently method used by extension agents were farmers meeting (60%), individual contact (35%). More than half of the extension agents identified that they need training in improved crop managements, computers (15%) and orchard managements (9%). Majority (85%) of the respondents reported that extension publications were their main sources of information regarding improved agricultural technologies. This study recommends that Government should provide offices and basic resources such as funds, mobility, equipments and staff should be made available for extension agents. The Government should regularly organized latest technologies training programme for extension agents. Linkages must be developed between agriculture extension agents and researchers in order to know the latest development in the field of agriculture and conduct/design research on the basis of farmer’s problems.