FARM PRACTICE IMPROVEMENT NEEDS OF TEACHERS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN OPERATING SECONDARY SCHOOL FARMS IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study sought to identify the farm practice improvement needs of teachers of Agricultural Science in operating secondary school farms in Taraba State. The study had three specific objectives, three research questions and one hypothesis. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study is 1266, which is made up of 1173 teachers of Agricultural Science from 290 public Secondary Schools and 93 extension agents in the Taraba Agriculture Development Programme (TADP) in the State. The sample for this study is 303, made up of 93 agricultural extension agents and 210 teachers of Agricultural Science. The sample size was obtained using the Taro Yamane formula. All the 93 extension agents were used for the study while stratified random sampling techniques were adopted to sample 210 teachers for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Farm Practice Needs of Teachers of Agricultural Science Questionnaire (FPNTASQ). The instrument for data collection was face and content validated by five experts, three from the Department of Agricultural Education, one from the Department of Measurement and Evaluation and one from the Department of Agricultural Extension and Communication, College of Agriculture, Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi. The reliability of the instrument was trial tested on 41 teachers of Agricultural Science and extension agents in Adamawa State. The result yielded an internal consistency of 0.85 and 0.81 for need and performance categories using the Cronbach Alpha method. The data for the study were collected using 303 structured questionnaires. 292 copies representing 97 per cent of the instrument were retrieved for analysis. Data for the study were analysed using the mean and improvement need index (INI) to answer research questions. It was found from the study that teachers of Agricultural Science in secondary schools in Taraba State need farm practice improvement in soil conservation, plant disease control, and animal disease control. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that Agricultural Science teachers in secondary schools in Taraba State need improvement in the 3 farm practices for operating the school farm. It was therefore recommended that teachers of Agricultural Science should undergo in-service training in soil conservation to enable them to perform to expectation in operating the school farm.