Smallholder Farmers’ Satisfaction with Agricultural Extension Services in Embu East Sub-County, Embu County, Kenya

Abstract

Agricultural extension services (AES) play a major role in promoting agricultural sustainability by facilitating the effective dissemination of information and innovative agricultural technologies. These services play an essential role in improving farmers’ knowledge and competencies, thereby enabling them to contribute to both household and national food security. However, the impact of AES is often undermined by the inadequacy and irregularity of information provided by extension providers. This shortfall has significantly limited the capacity of majority of smallholder farmers to adopt new agricultural technologies. Furthermore, there is persistent inconsistency in farmers’s access to training, frequent extension services, and agricultural inputs. This study, therefore, aimed at evaluating the level of satisfaction among smallholder farmers with AES in the Embu East Sub-County. The specific objectives were to determine the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ satisfaction with agricultural extension services, evaluate the extent of smallholder farmers’ satisfaction with agricultural extension services, and assess the determinants of sources of agricultural information preferences by smallholder farmers in Embu East Sub-County. Primary data were collected from 396 smallholder farmers using an interview schedule with a multi-stage sampling design. To evaluate factors influencing smallholder farmers’ satisfaction with AES, data analyses were performed using the Cumulative Link Mixed Models (CLMMs) incorporating a random effect for the village ID to adjust the results for the correlation of farmers’ satisfaction within the village. The multivariable CLMM analysis revealed that education level, off-farm income, land tenure system, frequency of extension contact, and access to credit are significant determinants of farmers’ satisfaction with AES. In addition, multivariable multinomial logit models were used to analyze the potential determinants of farmers’ primary preferred information choices across key decision-making domains, namely production, financial, and marketing decisions. The results from these models identified age, education level, access to credit, occupation, and group membership as significant determinants of farmers' selection of agricultural information channels. To assess the extent of smallholder farmers’ satisfaction with the quality of AES, the weighted mean response for each satisfaction statement (relevance, diversity, assurance, effectiveness, accessibility, and reliability) was calculated, followed by the average mean scores for the overall satisfaction criteria across all the farmers. Disaggregated analysis of satisfaction criteria showed moderate satisfaction regarding relevance, diversity, assurance, and effectiveness of services provided. However, notable dissatisfaction was expressed concerning the accessibility and reliability of extension services. These findings offer critical insights for both extension practitioners and policymakers. For extension agents, they highlight farmers' preferred communication channels and key service delivery gaps. At the policy level, there is a need for formulating context-specific strategies to strengthen the efficiency, inclusivity, and responsiveness of the agricultural extension system in Embu County and its environs.