Abstract

LOKI, O.; MUDHARA, M.  and  PAKELA-JEZILE, Y.. Factors influencing farmers' use of different extension services in the Eastern Cape and Kwazulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa. S Afr. Jnl. Agric. Ext. [online]. 2020, vol.48, n.1, pp.84-98. ISSN 2413-3221.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2413-3221/2020/v48n1a528.

Over the years, dating back to the early 1980's, South Africa has seen the emergence of various institutions providing extension services to farmers independent of government. This has seen the exodus offarmers from a traditionally supplied extension to more varied sources providing extension services. The aim of the study was to provide empirical evidence on the use/s of different extension services by farmers in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces of South Africa. Research activities included a formal survey conducted on a sample of 265 smallholder farmers using a simple random sampling method. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire through interviews and using a semi-structured interview guide for focus group discussions. Chi-square and T-test statistics were employed to establish bivariate relationships between socio-economic characteristics of farmers and use of different sources of extension services. Multinomial logit regression was used to predict factors that influence the use of different extension services. Results from descriptive statistics show that 54% of farmers (aged 36-50years) and 52% of farmers (51-65years) preferred using multiple sources of extension services. From multinomial regression, farmers who favoured the used of multiple sources of extension were those who were: not satisfied with the frequency of extension visits, poor technical advice and feedback turnaround from the public sector. The study concluded that multiple sources of extension services should be the main source/s of extension provision since they recognise the diversity inherent amongst producers, and farmers can best select the information mix most suited to their farming needs.

Keywords : Extension services; Multinomial logic regression; Smallholder farmers.

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