Agricultural Extension Role in Diffusion Wheat Crop Production Recommendations Among Farmers in Some Villages of Kom -Hamada District , Elbehira Governorate

Abstract: Egypt demographic problem causes a lot of troubles as to the increasing demand on food stuff particularly cereals , Food security in wheat becomes urgent to balance between consumption and production , and reducing exports ؛ this can be done via three main approaches : vertical expansion by reclaiming more lands and reducing the loss during the process of production \ storing and consumption / horizontal expansion by producing new cultivars that enjoy high yelled / implementing the updated technical recommendations not only through its diffusion but also to persuade farmers to adopt these recommendations .The agricultural extension challenge stems from the gap between what in the current wheat productivity and what should be ? There is individual variation in wheat productivity and chance to use information on wheat technology .
This study aims mainly at identifying the role of agricultural extension in diffusing wheat crop production recommendations among farmers in some villages at kom Hamada District , Elbehira governorate .
This entail fulfilling the following objectives :
1- Identifying the respondents personal social , economic , communicative , and farming characteristics .
2- Identifying the degree of the respondents knowledge and applications for the updated recommendations on wheat cultivation .
3- Determining the respondents knowledge of information about wheat production recommendations .
4- Identifying the agric extension Role in diffusing the updated recommendations in the domain of wheat production .
5- Studying the relationship between the respondents degree of knowledge and application offer the updated recommendations wheat production and some independent variables .
6- Estimating the degree of the significant explanatory indep. variables interpreting variance in the respondents degree of knowledge on updated wheat production recommendations .
7- Understanding why some respondents reject the application of updated wheat production recommendations .
A questionnaire was designed and administered to a random sample of 227 wheat growers at the three biggest villages in Kom - Hamada , Behira governorate .
Percentages , averages , standard deviation , simple correlation coefficient , chi – square , multiple regression , and step – wise multiple regression were used to analyze the data .
The fallowing are the main findings of the research .
I - The respondents social, economic, communicative, and farming characteristics :
1- The respondents age average is 48.9 years, old farmers amounts to 17.2% whereas 82.8% are of middle and young ages .
2- Approximately half of the respondents are of low education whereas more than half enjoy a moderate and high education .
3- The majority of the respondents 92.5 are of law and moderate land tenure whereas only 1.3% enjoy a high land holding .
4- 94.7% of the respondents cultivate small of this holding wheat.
5- 66.9 % of the respondents are moderate wheat productivity whereas 28.3% enjoy a high wheat productivity .
6- 84.6% of the respondents are of moderate net income from wheat crop production .
7- Experience in wheat growing based on-- its cultivation is low for 55.1% of the respondents .
8- 62.2% are of low possession of agricultural machinery whereas 37.8% of the respondents enjoy a moderate and high ownership for such machinery .
9- Approximately half of the respondents 48.9% are highly ready to carry out wheat recommendations whereas 33.9% are moderately ready to implement the recommendations .
10- 86.8% of the respondents are of moderate and high achievement motivation .
11- More than half of the respondents 54.7% are of neutral and positive attitudes toward wheat growing whereas 45.3% enjoy a high positive attitudes toward wheat growing .
12- The majority of the respondents 79.3% are of low and moderate formal social participation .
13- The majority of the respondents 94.7% are of scarce and moderate degree of visiting governmental and non – governmental service center .
14- Approximately half respondents have a positive attitudes toward agricultural innovations whereas 37.7% are of neutral attitudes toward there innovations .
15- 79.3% enjoy a high mass media exposure whereas only 13.3% are of moderate mass media exposure .
16- One third of the respondents 36.6% enjoy moderate degree of leadership whereas 33.9% one of high degree of leadership .
17- 41.4% of the respondents have neutral attitudes toward agricultural extension whereas 40.5% enjoy a positive attitudes toward agricultural extension .
II – Farmers degree of knowledge and application for the updated wheat production recommendations :
1- As to the degree of respondents knowledge about the updated wheat production recommendations , result indicates that 70.5% of them are of low and moderate knowledge about these recommendations whereas 29.5% of them enjoy a high level of knowledge on these updated recommendations .
2- As to the degree of respondents application for the updated recommendations on wheat production 69.7% of them are of moderate application for such recommendations whereas 15.4% and 14.9% are of low and high application respectively .
III – The role of agricultural extension and other source in diffusing wheat updated recommendations :
1- Agricultural extension ranks first as to spreading out 72.5% of these recommendations . In addition , it is the main source for three critical recommendations on wheat production it has no role on tow items of the updated recommendations .
2- Other non governmental source of wheat updated recommendations ranks first for diffusing 25% of these recommendations . They are source of 16 items of the updated recommendations for 90% of the respondents. They have no role in diffusing 7 updated recommendations of wheat production .
IV – The findings prove that a correlation exist between the independent variables and the two dependent variables .
• There is a significant correlation between the respondents degree of knowledge on the updated recommendations of wheat production and all the independent variables except years of wheat growing , the independent variables explain 28.94% of the total variance in the respondents degree of knowledge of the updated recommendations on wheat production .
• Meanwhile the respondents application of wheat recommendations and all the independent variables except three , namely the respondents age , no of years in growing wheat and their areas cultivated with wheat only three variable hold respondents for explaining 17.5% of the total variance in applying the updated recommendations for wheat production as a dependent variable .
VI – As to reason for rejecting the application of technical recommendations on wheat production .
Results show that the respondents are tricking fastidiously only to three recommendations whereas they don’t pay attention to four out of 28 recommendations receptionists ranges from 23 to 213 respondents .
Reasons behind such rejection varies from one recommendation to another .however, they are not a ware of the recommendations implementing the recommendations is expensive such as purchasing fertilizers and pesticides , lack of agricultural machinery , and being accustomed to erroneous application .
VII – The major problems that farmers face to get more knowledge on wheat production .
Low level of knowledge of the agricultural extension agency , conflicting view on the future price of wheat supply , difficulty of obtaining accurate knowledge especially in the area plant of decease and protection especially the recommended pesticides , and the last one is the lack of information on the new wheat cultivars .
Publication year 2008
Pages 1-127
Availability location المكتبة
Availability number 705
Organization Name
Country Egypt
Publisher Name: Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University
Place: Alexandria
Author(s) from ARC
Publication Type PhD Thesis
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