Theses and Dissertations Collection

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://10.10.97.169:4000/handle/123456789/30

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations Collection by Subject "Agricultural"

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    Assessment of agricultural extension officers’ perceptions on their roles: a case study of agricultural extension officers’ in Simiyu region
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2020) Hassan, M.Z
    This study was conducted to assess agricultural extension officers’ (AEOs) perception on their roles as per government job description in five districts in Simiyu Region. Specifically, the study aimed at identifying roles performed by AEOs, determining AEOs awareness on their roles, determining AEOs self-assessment on their role competence, determining factors influencing AEOs perception on their roles and evaluating the opinions of AEOs in relation to their roles. The roles of AEOs were grouped into seven categories, which included: facilitation, organizational, intermediation, educational, technical, advisory and administrative. Using a cross-sectional research design, a sample of 100 AEOs at ward and village levels were randomly selected for the study and selfadministered questionnaire was used to collect data. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was employed as a tool for data analysis, where frequency and percentage were used to describe distribution of the study variables. Three Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) each comprising of eight members were conducted, which involved agricultural officers at the district levels including the District Agricultural Irrigation and Cooperative Officers (DAICOs). The study findings revealed that majority of the AEOs were aware about most of their roles: advisory; educational; organizational; facilitation; intermediation and technical, but least perceived awareness was the administrative role. AEOs reported to perform advisory and educational roles; furthermore, study findings showed that most of the AEOs had competence in performing advisory roles. However, they had low competence on educational, organizational, technical, facilitation, intermediation and administrative. Also, AEOs perceived advisory, organization, educational, technical, facilitation and intermediation roles as important. The multiple regression model showed that factors that statistically significantly influenced perception of AEOs about their roles were: mode of supervision (p≤ 0.048) at p≤ 0.05; owning transport (p≤ 0.004) at p≤ 0.05; type of transport (p≤ 0.010); promotion in the organization (p≤ 0.001); responsibility (p≤ 0.010), and appreciation (p≤ 0.001). For these study findings, recommendations include regular training of AEOs and provide support in terms of infrastructure for the AEOs such as transportation including fuel, allowances, office space and teaching aid for effective and efficiency role performance.
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    Gender dimensions on agricultural input voucher system in Songea district
    (Sokoine University of Agriulture, 2014) Wilson, Monica, L
    The study examined the gender dimensions on agricultural input voucher system in Songea District The main objective of the study were to establish the effect of agricultural input voucher system (TVS) on gender dimensions of agricultural input subsidy in Songea District The study used a cross-sectional design and data were collected using a questionnaire and key informant interviews. The study population comprised of farm households of Songea District The sampling frame consisted of smallholder fanners who were growing maize for more than two seasons prior to data collection. A simple random sample of 120 respondents were picked using a table of random numbers from four villages that were randomly selected from a list of potential maize growing divisions in Songea District Furthermore, the research findings showed that the proportion of fanners using agricultural input voucher system had declined after the inception of input voucher system. The findings also showed that the low purchasing power, unavailability of inputs on time and lack of credit were the main factors limiting accessibility of inputs to farmers. Farmers and extension workers perceived the agricultural input voucher system as being better compared to its performance before the inception of voucher system due to the following reasons (i) supply of inputs was reliable (ii) the farmers are getting inputs at subsidized prices (iii) quantities of inputs supplied at a time formally were inadequate (iv) input supplies has been increased (v) inputs are accessible to farmers throughout the season. Recommendations pertaining to this study are presented in chapter five.