Extension Management Competency Needs of Agricultural Extension Agents in Kenya

Improvement in the management of agricultural extension organizations has been identified as a key challenge in the delivery of extension services in Kenya. Ensuring effective management of agricultural extension services is crucial to the growth of the agricultural industry. To improve extension service delivery, the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) has been formulated with a paradigm shift from a top-bottom and centralized extension service to a decentralized and pluralistic extension service. Training staff to acquire capabilities to operate under these new management models is critical to the revitalization of the agricultural industry which is a key economic growth strategy in the Vision 2030. This requires an assessment of the management competencies required by extension staff in order to make recommendations for appropriate design of training programmes. Based on this premise, this study was conducted to examine the current extension management competencies of 440 staff in the public and private agricultural extension service sectors and assess differences in competency requirements between Frontline Extension Workers (FEW) and Subject Matter Specialists (SMS). A crosssectional survey was used and training needs determined and expediency prioritized using Borich’s Needs Discrepancy Model (BNDM) and a Mean Weighted Discrepancy Score (MWDS). The agricultural extension management competencies with the highest training need were; Motivating employees, Stress management, Managing conflict, Strategic planning, Mentoring/coaching employees, and Employee appraisal and counselling. Management competencies such as communication, extension program management and farmer group formation were also prioritized for training. There were no significant differences between the training needs of extension agents in the sectors and only managing finances was significantly different between SMS and FEW. The high MWDS obtained for management competencies form the basis for designing relevant in-service courses and warrant their inclusion in agricultural programs at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n6p1