Extension program needs by farmers in Tanzania: a descriptive study

The agricultural sector in Tanzania is the backbone of economic and social development of her citizens who\u27s liveli-hood depends on this sector for more than seventy five percent of the economy. Until significant efforts are undertaken to the make the agricultural sector move forward, Tanzania will lag behind in food security and abject poverty alleviation. Strengthening agricultural extension services is paramount for attainment of genuine economic growth in the country and sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. This descriptive study explored the extent to which Extension Programs meet farmer needs in the Ngorongoro district of Tanzania. The main objectives of this study were to: (1) identify the perceptions of farmers regarding extension program needs, (2) identify the priorities farmers place on selected extension programs, (3) identify types of recommended extension improved practices that have been implemented by district farmers during the past 10 years, (4) identify the factors that affect implementation of Extension program recommended practices that address farmer priorities and (5) identify selected demographic data and analyze comparisons among variables. A descriptive survey research design was used in collecting and analyzing the data. A questionnaire was designed and administered using a direct interview. Information was collected from randomly selected 139 respondents from two clusters (one cluster for pure pastoralists and another cluster for agro-pastoralists) from Ngorongoro district, Arusha region in Tanzania. Collected information was coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistical parameters such as frequencies, percentages, and chi-squares were used to report findings. The study revealed that about 71.9% of the study population had not received agricultural extension services in the year 2013/14. The number of farmers who did not receive agricultural extension services is lower among pastoralists than the agro pastoralists but this difference is not statistically significant. Farmers believe that extension programs have not addressed their needs. Provisions of agricultural extension services were male biased. Farmers believe that agricultural extension services can contribute a lot in an attempt to reduce poverty among farmers. There is no synergy among the main development actors in Ngorongoro division. It was found that livestock extension programs were highly valued by Ngorongoro district farmers, followed by extension programs related to crops, environmental conservation and the least being non crop/livestock extension programs. Further, this study shows there is a lack of agricultural extension staff, available extension staffs are not motivated to working with farmers, frequency occurrence of disasters in the district and unsatisfactory farmer involvement in planning, implementation and evaluation of extension programs. Demographically, big numbers of farmers in the Ngorongoro district are in the age levels of 21-35 years and 36-55 years. Almost half of the farmers have no formal education while about 10.1% has above primary education. Literate famers are more positive toward the extension service compared to illiterate farmers. More males received extension services as compared to females in the year 2013/2014 in the study population. Due to lack of extension personnel in the district there is a need to strengthen the farmer-to-farmer agricultural extension system. Introduction of the 4-H program in the district is important because youth will be prepared to be future farmers