ABSTRACT
Agricultural extension has long been seen as a key element for enabling farmer obtain information on technologies that can improve their output.This study examined the effect of agricultural extension services on fish farmers output in Ikpoba Okha local government area of Edo state, Nigeria.The specific objectives were to describe the socio-economic characteristics of fish Farmers in the studyarea, examine the production characteristics of fish farmers, identify the various services provided by extension agents in fish production, examine the extension services used by fish farmers, ascertain the effect of Agricultural Extension Services on fish Farmers production output and identify the constraints to fish Farmers accessibility to extension services. Data was collected from both primary and secondary sources and a two-stage sampling procedure was used in selecting 120 respondents for the study through the use of questionnaire.The data were analysed using frequency counts, percentages, mean scores, standard deviation and regression analysis.
The result showed that 65.8% of the sampled respondents were males, with a mean age of 41 years, majority (78.3%) of the respondents were married and the respondents have 14 years farming experience.The mean showed the respondents earned ₦410,009.44 annually. The result showed that the farmers’ stocking density was 250,719.49 before extension agent contact, while the production status increased to 365, 199.45 stocking capacity after extension agent visitation. The result indicated that out of the numerous constraints identified, inadequate awareness of technologies in fish production (Mean = 3.09), poor extension services (Mean = 4.37), high cost of accessing extension services (Mean = 3.59), poor market structure (Mean = 3.73) and unavailability of extension services (Mean = 3.59) were rated as those constraints that are serious. The result showed that age (t = - 5.58), duration of contact with extension agent (t = -3.22) had a negative and significant relationship with fish outputs. The result also showed that fish farming experience (t =4.36), number of fingerlings stocked per cycle (t = 3.61), estimated annual income (t = 5.24) had positive and significance (p<0.01) relationship with fish output. The result showed the influence of extension services on fish production outputs. The result indicated that significant influence was found in the services (t = 2.15) delivered by extension agents on the output of fish production at 5% level of probability.
The study indicate a significant positive influence of extension services on fish production outputs, indicating the role of extension agents in providing valuable support and guidance to farmers. Factors such as fish farming experience, number of fingerlings stocked per cycle, and estimated annual income were found to positively correlate with fish output. Age and duration of contact with extension agents showed a negative relationship with production outputs, suggesting that younger farmers and those with shorter contact duration may exhibit higher adaptability and responsiveness to extension services. These findings emphasize the importance of experience, knowledge, and effective extension support in driving sustainable growth and profitability within the fish farming sector.
