13th Annual International Management Conference Proceeding

Agricultural Extension
Because of limited skills of the peasants, agricultural extension is essential for improved farming. Whereas
the farmers had heard of NAADS services over the local FM stations, most respondents had not seen the
activities of NAADS on the ground. Extension services in the Agricultural sector have remained weak
because of very poor remuneration of the extension staff at the sub- County. However, the major problem
seems to be the reluctance of the farmers in adopting new methods of farming. The main reason was that
where extension services have been provided, little or no impact on output has been realized.
Ranking the problems of increasing Agricultural output by Respondents
From the table below, it is clear that problems relating to land size and quality are the major causes of low
agricultural output according to the respondents. Results also revealed that land ownership and lack of
agricultural tools are perceived as least determinants of banana production.
Table 3.6: A Table showing the major problems to increased output
Problem NO %
Land size 61 30.5
Land quality 52 26
Shortage of labour 32 16
Lack of seeds and fertilizers 19 9.5
Land ownership 15 7.5
Lack of capital 14 7.0
Gender division of labour 04 2
Poor tools 3 1.5
Total 200 100
Source: Primary Data.
4.0 Conclusion and recommendation
Introduction
The main objective of this study was to find the factors that determine agricultural output. The findings
were presented in both qualitative and quantitative form.
Conclusion
With respect of land, what actually determines agricultural output was found not to be the traditional system
of land ownership but rather the size and quality of land. Most of the families have divided and sub –
divided land due to family expansion. This has left families with small plots of land, which make it difficult
for mechanicals transformation path of agriculture.
With labour, the problem is two fold. In the first case, the problem of rural urban migration where the
youths migrate to trading centers and towns to look for “easy” work such as boda boda, shop attendants has
let agriculture into the hands of few and old parents whose productivity is very low. Secondly, the few who
remain in agriculture o greater heights.
The other problem was found to bee the traditional division of labour. Men allocate themselves “easy”
activities in agriculture such as bush burning or clearing, building granaries thus leaving the hard agricultural
activities such as ploughing into the hands of women. Women have therefore been overworked which
reduces their productivity.
Agricultural extension was found to be non- existent. The very few who had received some extension has
paid for it through attending workshops and seminars organized by the district farmers association.
Policy recommendations
On the basis of the findings, a number of policy recommendations can be put forward to increase
agricultural output.
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