Perception of Extension Agents on Online Marketing of Agricultural Enterprises in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Online marketing of agricultural enterprises have potentials to curb the incessant farmers’ exploitation occasioned by the activities of the middlemen. Previous studies have explored consumers’ inclination to utilize online marketing, and internet functions of agricultural websites for agricultural products, but information on the perspectives of extension agents who are the drivers of this innovation is not documented. The study, therefore, assessed the perception of extension agents on the online marketing of agricultural enterprises in Ogun State, Nigeria. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 125 respondents across the four Ogun Agricultural Development Programme (OGADEP) zones. The questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The average age of the respondents was 45.6years, most of them were male (70.8%) and married (81.7%) with a household size of 4.98 persons. About 33.3% and 28.3% had a Master degree and a Bachelor degree, respectively. The working experience was 16.26±8.21years with a larger percentage (38.3%) having worked between 17 and 24 years. The majority (75.8%) of the extension agents were senior staff and a larger percentage (52.5%) were trained extension agents. Respondents were mostly aware of social media component ((x =0.95) and online marketing components ((x =7.03-9.0). A large number were favourably disposed ((x =99-117.88) to online marketing for agricultural enterprises.