Abstract:
This study examined the congruency between extension professionals and farmers regarding their perceptions of
privatization and commercialization of agricultural extension services. The study was carried out in Delta State,
Nigeria and it had a sample size of 224 respondents comprising of 134 extension professionals of the Delta State
Agricultural Programme (DTADP) and 90 farmers that were randomly selected. Data for the study were collected
from the respondents through the use of validated questionnaire and interview schedule. The questionnaire was
used for the extension professionals, while the interview schedule was used for the farmers. Spearman’s rank or der correlation coefficient was used to determine the congruency in perceptions of respondents. Results of the
study showed a high congruency between extension professionals’ perception and their estimate of farmers’ per ception (rho = 0.92), while the congruency between farmers’ perception and their estimate of extension profession als’ perception was low (rho = 0.08). The study recommends that farmers’ knowledge of issues relating to P and C should be enhanced through seminars and workshops organized by the appropriate extension agency.
