Abstract:
Internet has been introduced by Ministry of Food and Agriculture to
improve extension delivery in Ghana. However the extent to which extension
agents have acquired the knowledge and skills to use it was not known in Eastern
Region. The study assessed competencies of agricultural extension agents to use
Internet in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study used descriptive survey
design, stratified proportional sampling technique and validated questionnaire to
collect data from 217 AEAs in ten districts of Eastern Region. Statistical tools
such as frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviation, appropriate
correlation coefficients were generated to describe or identify relationships among
variables of the study. The study revealed that age, educational level, marital
status, rank, location, years of experience, monthly salary, duration of use, years
of using Internet, and training of AEAs relate significantly to Internet
competencies of AEAs. The AEAs used the Internet for extension delivery by
sending and receiving e-mails, accessing pay slips, searching for information on
agriculture reading agricultural news and chatting with colleagues. The overall
Internet competency of AEAs was moderate. The best predictors of Internet
competencies of AEAs were training, location, duration of use, age and
educational level. The study recommends among others the need for MoFA to
organize in-service training on Internet since AEAs have positive attitude to use
Internet but low to moderate knowledge and skills. Furthermore, specialized
mobile phones and tablets that can access Internet easily should be procured for
AEAs.
