The Role of Extension Workers in Managing Agricultural Indigenous Knowledge in the East Showa Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing extension workers’ role in managing agricultural indigenous knowledge (IK) in East Showa Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia. To do so, a concurrent survey design involving face to face semi-structured interviews and key informant interview were employed to collect data. A sample of 24 extension workers was selected through purposive sampling techniques to take part in semi-structured interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods were employed. For quantitative data, descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean were used, while the qualitative data gathered through open-ended questions was organised, interpreted and analysed in the form of theme descriptions and tables. The result reveals that most extension workers are knowledgeable on different types of IK practices, not limited to clearing and preparing farm fields, controlling weeds and maintaining soil fertility. The study established that extension workers have been found to play a good role at preservation of IK and use a number of platforms to disseminate and promote IK utilisation among studied communities. However, most of these workers are not actively involved in the capturing and management of agricultural IK; and also they are not making use of current extension advisor approach as a platform for sharing and learning of IK with smallholder farmers. Thus, the limited engagement of extension workers with IK could have negative policy impacts related to knowledge capturing and preservation, indigenous rights, and sustainable development. Special efforts are, therefore, needed to understand, document, disseminate and utilise agricultural IK for farming activities at the grassroots level. The study further recommends the need to revisit the roles and purposes of extension workers within the current extension model and then empower them to fully participate in the formal capturing, dissemination and preservation of agricultural IK.