Abstract

The agricultural sector in the developing world is changing rapidly and is driven by a number of factors. The sector also faces a number of challenges which are ever increasing and becoming more complex. These consequently place enormous demands on extension services which have a crucial role to play in promoting agricultural innovation to keep pace with the changing context, and improve livelihoods of the dependent poor have also increased significantly. Ghana’s agricultural sector has not seen any major improvement over the years: The main reasons behind this are small farm sizes and inefficient farm management. One of the most important tools to resolve these problems is the extension service. The aim of the study was to find out the factors that affect extension delivery in Ghana. The study involved using questionnaire administered to 105 respondents made up of Research Scientists Technical Officers and Extension agents. The study reveals that there was a need to actively involve farmers in the extension delivery, also extension agents need to have the required competence to enable them deliver on their given roles as far as agricultural development is concerned.

Key words: Extension delivery, agricultural innovation, improves livelihood, extension agents, farmers.