self perceived knowledge gaps of pakistan’s …20perceived%20knowledge%20ga… · m. zafar ullah...

Sarhad J. Agric, Vol. 26, No.4, 2010 673

SELF PERCEIVED KNOWLEDGE GAPS OF PAKISTAN’S AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION PERSONNEL IN AUDIO VISUAL AIDS

MUHAMMAD ZAFAR ULLAH KHAN*, BUSHRA SHAFI****, AZIZ ULLAH*****,

KHALID NAWAB*, UROOBA PERVAIZ*, JAVID ULLAH** and NAQIB ULLAH KHAN*** * Department of Agricultural Extension Education & Communication, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Agricultural University, Peshawar – Pakistan. ** Department of Food Science and Technology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University,

Peshawar – Pakistan *** Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University,

Peshawar – Pakistan. **** Department of Sociology, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University, Peshawar – Pakistan. ***** Quality Assurance and Statistics Division HEC, Islamabad-Pakistan.

ABSTRACT

Information and Communication packages like Audio Visual Aids (AVA) are most important means to facilitate awareness among the illiterate farming communities. This paper focuses mainly on the importance of training needs of Agricultural Extension Officers (AEOs) in the use of AVA. The self perceived existing and needed competencies in the area have been compared in this study. Data were collected from all the Officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province through a mailed questionnaire in January 2007. Both the existing and needed levels of competencies were scaled from 1-5 on likert scale,1 being very low and 5 being very high.The study revealed a significant difference between existing and needed levels in the competencies of AEOs in AVA. It was observed that there were significant differences in the professional competencies of the agricultural officials classified by professional qualification. AEOs from urban origin with no experience in farming, younger and experienced group of 11-20 years show encouraging results in AVA. It is recommended that periodical trainings, refresher courses, infrastructure and financial resources may be arranged for AEOs so that their learnings may become more practicable and they can effectively convey the modern technologies to the end users by the use of modern packages of audio visual aids Key Words: Assessment, Agricultural Extension Officers, audio visual aids Citation: Khan, M. Z., B. Shafi, A. Ullah, K. Nawab, U. Pervaiz, J. Ullah and N. U. Khan. 2010. Self perceived knowledge gaps of Pakistan’s agricultural extension personnel in audio visual aids. Sarhad J. Agric 26(4): INTRODUCTION

Agriculture is one of the predominant sectors of Pakistan’s economy. It contributes about 21.8% to GDP and provides employment to 44.7% labor force (GoP, 2008-09). Despite the fact that agriculture is mainstay of Pakistan’s economy; its full potential has never been realized. The yield gaps as compared to developed and developing countries are huge (GoP, 2003). The main reason for these gaps is both at research as well as extension level. Unfortunately the farmers have been unable to meet the potential yields of available gene pool of the country. It is surprising that only 50, 50, 69, 30, 31 and 25 percent of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, maize, rice and rapeseed yields respectively have been achieved by common farmers compared to progressive farmers. At the same time 68, 60, 64, 43, 75, and 73 percent of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, maize, rice and rapeseed yields respectively have been achieved by progressive farmers of the country as compared to potential yields (PCST, 2003; Iqbal and Ahmed, 1999).

Since it is established fact that the gap between potential and actual yields is huge and there lies

responsibility with the extension department (which works separately from research wing at provincial level). The department suffers from dire shortage of funds for field visits, travelling allowances; has huge under-staffing compared to far flung and vast field areas; poor service structure and lack of motivation

M. Zafar Ullah Khan et al. Self perceived knowledge gaps of Pakistan’s agric. extension … 674

among the workers due to variety of reasons mentioned above (Urooba, 2001). Failing to achieve self-sufficiency in major agricultural products has always been ascribed to inefficiency of our agriculture extension services (Idrees, 1994; Ahmad, 1993; Iqbal, 1990; Hussain, 1983; Hayat, 1982; Naz, 1987 and Muhammad, 1981).

Various strategies such as the transfer of technology model (Nagel, 1997); the integrated rural approach (Ngomane, 2004) Training and Visit (T&V) system (Benor and Baxter, 1984); and Decentralization (Work, 2002, Alex and Rivera, 2002) have been put in place over the years. These extension efforts are meant to ensure that information on agricultural technologies are made available to improve the productivity of farmers and to facilitate the role of extension in national development in many developing countries.

The extension department is equipped with some exogenously adopted tools of print media; field visits, audio-visual aids…and the local needs have never been addressed. The socio-cultural environment of the province is not suitable for all of these tools for a variety of reasons. The print media is a wrongly used technique in farming community with more than 80% illiterate. The tribal culture is one of the major obstacles for making big gatherings from different villages and providing training at one time. It calls upon huge funding and staff to provide farmers training in such cultural settings. In such conditions, audiovisual aid has been reported as one of the most useful technique.

Audio visual aids help you reach your objectives by providing emphasis to whatever is being said. Clear pictures multiply the audience's level of understanding of the material presented, reinforce the message, clarify points and create excitement. Visual aids add impact and interest to a presentation. They enable to appeal to more than one sense at the same time, thereby increasing the audience's understanding and retention level. With pictures, the concepts or ideas you present are no longer simply words - but words plus images. According to latest report the effects of oral presentation remain in mind 10%, visual 35% and visual and oral 65% (USDL, 1996).

Realizing this fact, the extension department has been given related equipments. There are several studies focused towards the efficiency of different extension techniques (Khan, 2000), aimed at professional capacity of the workers (Urooba, 2001), and farmers preference for different extension techniques (Shafi, 1995). However the current study is designed to know the self perceived professional competencies needed by them for their job performance in audio visual aids. MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was conducted in 24 districts shown in the red circle (Fig. 1) of North West Frontier Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province-Pakistan where the total number of AEOs is 111. The study was based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through a carefully prepared and pre-tested questionnaire. Secondary data were obtained through published sources. Questionnaires were mailed to AEOs and their meetings were arranged at district level through management of the Agriculture Extension Department to explain the survey questionnaire. Selected competencies identified were based on job description of AEOs. Several researchers have followed this approach in the past (Ali, 1991: Randavary and Vaughn, 1991; Najjingo et al, 1991 and Easter, 1985). A likert scale was used to identify the level and intensity of technical competencies. The AEOs assessed their competencies by themselves at two levels: competencies they currently possessed and the required level of skill as perceived by them on 1-5 likert scale, where 1 show very low and 5 represent very high level of competency.

In this study, the purpose of scaling the index value between 0 and 1. There are five parameters where scale step can be constructed into five categories (parameters) .Scaling for possessed and required competencies was assigned values ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 into five scales. The scales were assigned values 0.00 - 0.20 (very low), 0.21 – 0.40 (low), 0.41 – 0.60 (moderate), 0.61 – 0.80 (high) and 0.81 – 1.00 (very high). Information on demographic and social characteristics and technical competencies perceived by AEOs were also collected by the survey questionnaire. The weighted average index of professional competencies both on existing and expected level perceived by AEOs based on the five scale assigned values (Qadeer, 1993).


Analysis of Differences of the Professional Competency Level by Demographic and Social Characteristics

To find out the differences between demographic and social characteristics and levels of professional competencies of the AEOs T-Tests and F-Tests were applied. The t-test was employed to analyze the differences between the professional competencies of each aspect in comparison between the existing and the expected levels perceived by the AEOs.

Fig.1 Map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province


M. Sc. (Hons.) 88%

B. Sc. (Hons.) 9%Ph. D. 3%

Main Characteristics of Respondents Age

Descriptive statistics of age and professional experience of AEOs show that the mean age was 44.21 ranging from 25 to 60 years. Newly recruited respondents were only 12.6 % of the total respondents. Majority of the respondents were in the age group of 41-50 years, as given in Table I. Table I Distribution of agricultural extension officers by age. Age (years) Frequency Percent 25 – 35 14 12.61 36 – 45 19 17.12 46 – 55 47 42.34 56 above 31 27.93 Total 111 100.00 Average 44.21 Minimum: 25 Maximum: 60

Professional Experience Professional experience of AEOs ranged from 1-34 years. Mean job experience was 16.81. About 66 %

of AEOs had job experience up to 20 years while about 20 % of AEOs had been newly recruited having 5 or more than 5 years of job experience as AEOs.

Table II Distribution of agricultural extension officers by professional experience Experience in years Frequency Percent 1 – 5 22 19.80 6 – 10 3 2.70 11 – 15 16 14.40 16 – 20 32 29.00 21 – 25 30 26.90 26 and above 8 7.20 Total 111 100.00 Average 16.81

Educational Qualifications The majority (88 %) of the respondents had M.Sc (Hons.) Degree, Nine percent of the respondents

had B.Sc (Hons.) Degree and 3% Ph.D Degree in various disciplines of agriculture as shown in pie chart (Fig.2) Fig. 2 Educational qualifications of Agriculture Officers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Field of Specialization

In agricultural education system Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural University all students take common subjects in the first two years of education. Specialization starts in the third year. There are about 12 disciplines in which specialization is given at the graduate level. These disciplines include agronomy,


horticulture, soil science, entomology, plant breeding and genetics, plant pathology, agricultural economics, agricultural extension education and communication, rural sociology, animal husbandry, plant protection etc. Distribution of respondents according to field of specialization is shown in the following bar graph. Majority of AEOs had specialization in Agronomy, Soil Science and PBG.

Fig.3 Distribution of AEOs according to their field of specialization

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Existing and Expected Levels of Professional Competency of Agricultural Extension Officers in Audio Visual Aids

The weighted average index (WAI) values are applied in this analysis to understand the self-assessment of AEOs on their different aspects of professional competencies of audio visual aids in comparison between their existing and expected levels. According to Table III, it shows that there are statistically differences at 99% confident level between self-assessment of their existing and expected level in all aspects of professional competencies of AEOs mentioned in this table. . The technical competencies comprise of “Present information with whiteboard “Convey information through charts” and “Present information with chalk board”, and are all rated at a high level (0.63, 0.64 and 0.72) but their expected competency level in those aspects are very high and high (0.83, 0.83 and 0.78). The three aspects consisting of “Convey information through radio”, Prepare radio programme on agriculture and “Use overhead projector” is statistically different at 99% confident level in their perception which are assessed at a moderate level for their existing competency level (0.55, 0.51 and 0.43) and at a very high, high and very high levels, respectively (0.87, 0.79 and 0.86) for expected level. While the rest of five aspects consisting of “ Convey information through TV”, “ Present information with slides”, “ Use multimedia projector”, “Information with sound pictures”, and “Use opaque projector” is statistically different at 99% confident level in their perception which are assessed at a low level for their existing competency level (0.45, 0.41,0.39, 0.38 and 0.35) and at a very high, high, very high, very high and very high levels, respectively (0.87,0.79, 0.85, 0.83 and 0.76 ) expected level. The average level of all professional competencies of the existing level is moderate (0.50) while it is very high (0.82) for the expected level with statically difference at 99% confident level. Similar results were reported by Khan 2003, while studying the AVA competencies of the AEOs of the Punjab province of Pakistan and indicated that in use of AVA the mean of required level was greater than the possessed level.

Comparison between Existing and Expected Technical Competency Levels of AEOs The comparison of the existing and expected competencies in farm mechanization assessed by

them is shown by a web-radar diagram in Fig.4. Fig. 4 shows the differences between the existing and expected levels of competencies on the farm mechanization based on their WAI values presented in Table III.

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

A g r o n S o il S c i PB G En to m P Pa th F o o dT e c h

H o r t A g r ic .Ec o n

A g r ic .Ex te n

A n im .H u s

A g r ic .C h e m

Pla n tPr o t

S p e c ia liz a t io n s

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Table III Self-assessment of AEOs on professional competencies in audio visual aids on their existing and expected levels

Existing Level

Over All Performance

Expected Level

Over All Performance

T-test (P-value)

Convey information through TV 0.45 low 0.87 Very High 0.000** Use multimedia projector 0.39 low 0.85 Very High 0.000** Convey information through radio 0.55 moderate 0.87 Very High 0.000** Prepare radio program on agriculture 0.51 moderate 0.79 High 0.000** Present information with slides 0.41 low 0.79 High 0.000** Information with sound pictures 0.38 low 0.83 Very High 0.000** Convey information through charts 0.64 High 0.83 Very High 0.000** Present information with whiteboard 0.63 High 0.83 Very High 0.000** Use overhead projector 0.43 moderate 0.81 Very High 0.000** Present information with chalk board 0.72 High 0.78 High 0.000** Use opaque projector 0.35 low 0.76 High 0.000** Average 0.50 0.82

Remarks: ** T-test is significant at the 0.01 level Source: Field Survey, 2007

0.41

0.450.51

0.55

0.63

0.64

0.72

0.76

0.85

0.79

0.870.79

0.87

0.83

0.83

0.78

0.35 0.380.39

0.43

0.83

0.81

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1Use Opaque projector

Present Information with sound pictures

Use Multimedia projector

Present Information with Slides

use Overhead projector

Convey information through TVRadio programme on Agriculture

Convey information through Radio

Present information with white boards

Convey Information through charts

Present Information with Chalk board

Existing

Expected

Fig.4 Comparison between existing and expected levels of professional competencies of AEOs in audio visual aids.

Analysis of Professional Competencies of AEOs by Demographic and Social Characteristics.

Age

The data regarding the relationship between various age groups of AEOs and the professional competencies in Audio Visual Aids is presented in Table IV.

Table-IV Audio visual aids competencies of AEOs by age group Age group (Yrs) F Weight Average Index ( WAI) 25-35 14 0.487 36-45 19 0.538 46- 55 47 0.489 56+ 31 0.483 Total 111 0.511 T-Test Sig. = 0.730


T-Test in Table IV shows that there is no relationship between professional competency of Audio Visual Aids and age and conclude that professional competency has nothing to do with the age group and the age group of AOs pattern does not follow significant change in the Audio Visual Aids competency. Generally the mean of competency of Audio Visual Aids was higher in the AEOs having age groups of 36-45 years and minimum mean was recorded in young AEOs.

Job Experience

Job experience shows the number of years of AEOs spent in the department and the length of service of AOs contributes to his competency and he knows weak and strong points of the Agricultural Extension Department. The data regarding job experience in relation to the Audio Visual Aids competency is presented in Table V. Table V Professional competencies of AEOs in audio visual aids by job experience

Job Experience N Weight Average Index ( WAI) 1-5 22 0.479 6-10 3 0.473 11-15 16 0.496 16-20 32 0.514 21-25 30 0.487 26 + 8 0.509 Total 111 0.495 T-Test Sig. = 0.984

T-Test in Table V shows job experience and professional competency of AEOs in Audio Visual

Aids. Maximum mean in the Audio Visual Aids was recorded by the age group of 16-20 and 26 and above which shows that competency in the Audio Visual Aids generally improves with the passage of time. Several studies reveal that Extension specialists are one of the primary sources of information for county agents (Radhakrishna and Thompson, 1996; Shih and Evans, 1991). Farming Experience

Some AEOs are involved in practical farming in their spare times in addition to their official duties which lead them to know the pros and cons of farming as well as working problems of the Agriculture Department. The data regarding the relationship between AEOs, personal experience in farming and Audio Visual Aids competencies is presented in Table VI.

Table VI Professional competencies of AEOs in audio visual aids by personal farming experience Farming Experience F Weight Average Index ( WAI) Yes 99 0.491 No 12 0.535 Total 111 F-Test Sig. = 0.418

F-Test in Table VI shows that personal experience in farming of AEOs has nothing to do with

Audio Visual Aids competency. Maximum mean of competencies in Audio Visual Aids was observed in the respondents having no personal experience in farming. It may be due to fact that agricultural knowledge is comparatively new for AEOs from non farming background causing more interest in innovative things in the field of agriculture, while on the other hand the respondents having farming experience consider it easy because of more practical experience and knowledge of farming which lead them inattentive. Analogous results were reported by Gibson and Brown (2003) that planning and scheduling was the top most priority proficiency of extension workers in Virginia’s cooperation extension.

Professional Qualification

Education is the process of development of knowledge, wisdom, and any other desirable qualities of mind and general competency and is considered very important in the use of modern agricultural techniques as well as in the adoption process of innovation to increase agricultural production. Fast changes in society, technological developments, complex roles and responsibilities of professionals require


continuing education, life learning, in-service training and in most cases, graduate education (Merriam and Caffarella, 1991). The data regarding professional qualification and Audio Visual Aids competency is shown in Table VII. Table VII Professional competency of AEOs in Audio Visual Aids by Education Level

Professional Qualification F Weight Average Index ( WAI) B.Sc (Hons) 10 0.402 M.Sc (Hons) 98 0.490 PhD 3 1.00 Total 111 0.495 T-Test Sig. = 0.00

T-Test in Table VII shows that professional Qualification and Audio Visual Aids competency of

AOs have very high relationship. Maximum mean in Audio Visual Aids competency was observed in the AEOs having PhD followed by Master Degree holder. According to Zafarullah, et al. (2008) there were only 3 PhD degree holders in the whole province extension system. This is very discouraging situation for the province in particular and for the country in general.

Place of Origin of AEOs

The background and residential status/domicile or place of origin of the respondents affects the professional competency of AOs and the data regarding place of origin and Audio Visual Aids is shown in Table VIII.

Table VIII Professional competency of AEOs in Audio Visual Aids by Place of Origin. Place of Origin F Weight Average Index ( WAI) Rural 97 0.489 Urban 14 0.539 Total 111 F-Test Sig. = 0.329

F-Test in Table VIII shows that there is no relation between professional competency and domicile of AEOs.

The urban students usually have lower know how of agriculture, the knowledge that they acquired in the university and faculties seems to be much more when compared to their original knowledge. However, it needs further research by an independent evaluator of the competencies to compare AEOs from place of origin. In a similar study Scott et al., (2005) reported that based on 143 usable responses, significant relationships existed between the job satisfaction constructs and the demographic factors of gender and race.

Attendance of Training Programme

Trainings are the only effective means for the extension agents to equip themselves with the new developments in agriculture. Darkenwald and Merriam (1982) emphasized the importance of staff development to stimulate intellect, to increase knowledge, to keep abreast of new advances and developments and for organizational effectiveness through trainings. The data about the regular training of AEOs and the relationship of Audio Visual Aids competency is given in table 9. Table IX Professional Competency of AEOs in Audio Visual Aids by Training Programme

Training program F Weight Average Index ( WAI) No 78 0.481 Yes 33 0.529 Total 111 F-Test Sig. = 0.198

F- Test in Table IX shows that Training of AEOs and Audio Visual Aids competency of AEOs have no relationship. Higher Audio Visual Aids competency was observed in AEOs who had the opportunity of attending training programs which shows that the trained AEOs are showing encouraging results in each and every aspect of agriculture. Agricultural Extension helps farmers learn how to augment their productivity, raise their incomes and collaborate with one another. Accordingly extension programs are shifting from prescribing technological practices (delivery model) to focusing more on building


capacity among rural people to identify and take advantage of available opportunities, both technical and economic. To perform such a wide range of roles, Extensionists must be trained in areas beyond technical agriculture to build skills in mobilizing farmers (World Bank 2008). Lodhi (2003) identified the lack of training of the organizational staff of the department of agriculture government of Punjab, Pakistan and revealed that extension system is weak and extension workers are not considered fully competent to perform their job.

Specialization of AEOs

There are about 12 disciplines in which specialization is given at the graduate level. These graduates are trained in various aspect of agriculture like field crops, fruit crops, insects’ pests, their protection, soil, food, diseases of various crops and fruits, agricultural extension and animal husbandry. The data regarding various specialization and Audio Visual Aids competency is shown in Table X. Table X Professional Competency of AEOs in Audio Visual Aids by Specialization

Specialization F Weight Average Index ( WAI) Entomology 28 0.470 Soil Science 15 0.469 Agronomy 23 0.503 Horticulture 9 0.451 PBG 4 0.300 Pathology 8 0.552 Agri. Economics 5 0.553 Agri. Extension 6 0.743 Food Science 7 0.530 Animal Husbandry 2 0.418 Agri. Chemistry 2 0.537 Total 111 0.495 T-Test Sig. = 0.025

T- Test in table 10 shows that specialization of AEOs and Audio Visual Aids competency of AEOs have no relationship. Significant higher Audio Visual Aids competency was observed in AEOs who had the specialization in agricultural extension education and communication.This may be due to the reason that graduates are trained at university level in the various use of audio visual aids as Transformation and Integration of Provincial Agricultural Network (TIPAN), USA has fully equiped the Department with the objective to train the all graduates of agriculture in general and the agricultural extension in particular.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATONS

It was observed that there were significant differences between the existing and expected level in the competencies of audio visual aids. It was also observed that increase in job experience improves the professional competencies in audio visual aids. AEOs from urban areas were having higher competency in audio visual aids and that professional competency increased with level of education from B.Sc. (Hons.) to Ph.D. It is recommended from the present study that efforts should be made to lessen the gap between the existing and the required level of professional competencies in Audio Visual Aids through refresher courses. Opportunities should be provided to AEOs to improve their professional qualifications and facilities to enhance the training of AEOs in the use of audio visual aids so that they can easily and effectively handle the modern equipments of audio visual aids. REFERENCES

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