6079 Perceived Level of Importance and Competency of Agricultural Extension Officers in Agriculture and Allied Activities Khalilullah Panjshiri1, N. Sriram2 and P. Suganthkumar3 ABSTRACT Training is the process of assisting a person for enhancing one’s efficiency and effectiveness at work. A study was conducted in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu to ascertain the perceived importance and competency of agriculture extension officials and their training needs. The first six ranked training needs of the respondents in the study area were found to be integrated nutrient management, integrated water management, integrated weed management, agricultural waste management, organic farming and integrated pest management. Keywords: Training need; Extension officers; Competency Received : 28-06-2018; Accepted : 04-07-2018 1. Extension official, Directorate of Agriculture, Parwan Province, Jangalbagh, Afghanistan 2. Associate Professor and 3. PG Scholar, Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, TNAU, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Training has been recognized as an important input in improving the professional competence of extension personnel for effective transfer of technology to the farming community. The success of agricultural extension and its role in agricultural development doesn’t stop its ability to transfer know- how to farmers, but also on its capacity to create active and positive interactions between agriculture and the other officials involved in the process of agricultural development in order to understand and learn from practice and help them identify and clarify where the needs and experience (Saleh, et al., 2015). Training in any form is intrinsic to organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The study was conducted to ascertain the perceived importance and competency of agriculture extension officials and their training needs. METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. Random sampling was used to select 70 respondents from Coimbatore district. Block level extension officials were selected which includes Assistant Director of Agriculture, Deputy Agricultural Officer, Agricultural Officer and Assistant Agricultural Officers. All the thirteen extension workers of these blocks were selected as sample for the study. A Mean Weighted Discrepancy Score (MWDS) was calculated to describe overall rankings for each of the Research Note Journal of Extension Education Vol. 30 No. 2, 2018 DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2018.2.30.6079-6082 Research Article Journal of Extension Education Vol. 30 No. 1, 2018 DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2018.1.30.5996-5999 6080 competencies. To determine the Mean Weighted Discrepancy Score (MWDS), the following statistical methods were used: A discrepancy score was calculated for each individual on each competency by taking the importance rating minus the ability (competency) rating. A weighted discrepancy score was then calculated in each individual for each of the professional competency by multiplying the discrepancy score by the mean importance rating. A mean weighted discrepancy score for each of the competencies was calculated by taking the sum of the weighted discrepancy scores and dividing by the number of observations. Using the mean weighed discrepancy scores, the competencies were then ranked and the area of training need by the farmers was found. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Extension officers’ overall perceived level of importance of agriculture and allied activities The overall perceived level of importance of agriculture and allied activities of the respondents were calculated and analyzed and presented in Table 1. By using mean and standard deviation the respondents were categorized in to three categories. Table 1. Extension Officers’ overall perceived level of Importance and Competency of Agriculture and allied activities (n=70) Sl.No. Category Frequency Percentage Extension officers’ perceived level of importance of agriculture and allied activities 1 Low 15 21.40 2 Medium 42 60.00 3 High 13 18.60 Extension officers’ perceived level of competency of agriculture and allied activities 1 Low 14 20.00 2 Medium 44 62.90 3 High 12 17.10 It is found from Table 1 that three-fifths (60.00%) of the respondents had perceived up to medium level on importance of agriculture and other allied activities for their job followed by 21.40 per cent and 18.60 per cent of the respondents had medium and high level. Extension officers’ overall perceived level of competency of agriculture and allied activities It is found from the table that more than three-fifths (62.90%) of the respondent had perceived up to medium level on competency of agriculture and other allied Journal of Extension Education 6081 Perceived Level of Importance and Competency of Agricultural Extension Officers in Agriculture and Allied Activities activities for their job followed by 20.00 per cent and 17.10 per cent of the respondents who had medium and high levels respectively. Training needs of the respondents The ranking of training needs is given in Table 2. Table 2. Training needs of the respondents Sl. No. STATEMENT MWDS RANK 1 Integrated nutrient management 2.235129 1 2 Integrated water management 2.093076 2 3 Integrated weed management 1.996622 3 4 Agricultural Waste management 1.915744 4 5 Organic farming 1.771064 5 6 Integrated pest management 1.745168 6 7 Post-Harvest Management 1.646275 7 8 Marketing intelligence 1.469319 8 9 Farm Crop Management / crop planning 1.419779 9 10 Integrated disease management 1.407394 10 11 Nursery Management 1.320698 11 12 Agro forestry 1.231188 12 13 Integrated farming system 1.122162 13 14 Farm mechanization 0.697692 14 15 Soil Health Management 0.57797 15 16 New extension methods (Farmers’ Field School, Farm School etc.,) 0.477951 16 17 Drought Management / Dry farming 0.404579 17 18 Seed production technologies 0.118596 18 19 ICT applications in Agriculture 0.05067 19 20 Farmers’ organization 0.05611 20 21 Managerial Skills 0.2721 21 From the table, it is found that the first six training needs according to Mean Weighed Discrepancy Score were integrated nutrient management, integrated water management, integrated weed management, agricultural waste management, organic farming, and integrated pest management. Organic farming is also gaining momentum among farmers and other stakeholders for getting chemical free agricultural commodities. Hence, the extension workers should upgrade their knowledge and skill through training programmes. 6082 Majority of the respondents required training both in knowledge and skill level in the areas like allied enterprises, integrated nutrient management, integrated water management, integrated weed management, agricultural waste management, organic farming, and integrated pest management . So it is proposed that suitable trainings should be organized and imparted in the above mentioned areas so as to improve the knowledge and skill of the change agents. REFERENCES Rohit, J & Beevi, C.N.A. (2017) Training need assessment on communication competencies of extensionists working in Krishi Vigyan Kendras (Farm Science centres) Journal of Extension Education, 29(3) Saleh, J. M., Man, N., Lafta, A. H., Saleh, M. H., Hassan, S., Nawi, N. M., & Kshash, B. H. (2016). A review: Training requirement of agriculture extension officers in Iraq. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences, 9(2), 34-40. Journal of Extension Education