Role perception and role performance of extension agents in post-harvest activities of rice in southwestern, nigeria

The paper assessed role perceived and performed by Extension agents (EAs)) in post-harvest activities (PHAs) of rice in Southwestern Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was employed to elicit quantitative data from 124 EAs across the area of study while focus group discussion guide and in-depth interview guide were used to collect qualitative data from the farmers and local fabricators in the study area. Appropriate descriptive statistics were used to describe and summarise quantitative data while paired T-test was used to test the difference between role perception and performance of respondents in PHAs of rice. Content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The result showed that EAs were competent in traditional method of parboiling paddy rice (mean = 4.46) and sun drying of paddy rice (mean = 4.30). EAs mostly perceived training rice farmers on rice value addition (96.7%) and facilitating loans for rice farmers (93.5%) however, performed linking rice farmers to markets ((84.7%) and training them on drying paddy to a safe moisture content (80.6%).The result showed that were significant difference existed between the perceived and performed roles (t = 21.915; p <= 0.05) of EAs in post-harvest activities of rice. The study concluded that there was a wide gap between perceived and performed roles of EAs in rice postharvest activities. Hence, EAs should be equipped with necessary skills and knowledge in modern PHAs of rice through capacity building in order to perform their roles effectively to enhance utilisation of high-quality enhancing post-harvest technologies.