Profile of extension personnel working in state agriculture department of Nagpur district of Maharashtra

Abstract:

Agricultural extension personnel play a crucial role in facilitating the dissemination of agricultural information and technologies to the farming communities. However, their work environment, workload, motivation, and job stress can significantly influence their overall effectiveness and professional well-being. The present study was conducted in Nagpur district of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra State. Out of 14 talukas of Nagpur district, 10 talukas were purposively selected in this investigation. Out of 165 working extension personnel from these talukas, 90 extension personnel were purposively selected as respondents for the study. Data were collected with the help of a pre-tested interview schedule by personally contacting respondents at their workplace and analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, correlation and multiple regression analysis. Exploratory design of social research was adopted in this study. The findings revealed that, majority of the extension personnel belonged to Assistant Agriculture Officer (AAO) cadre, most were male, were B. Sc. graduates, majority had medium service experience, all had received training for a period of less than 10 days up to 1-3 months. Most of them were posted at a distance of 16-25 Km from their headquarters to their workplace. Majority extension personnel reported high availability of facilities (information communication facilities). Majority extension personnel exhibited medium to low achievement motivation, and medium to high levels of job stress, highlighting the need for appropriate rationalization of workload and well-balanced responsibilities, suitable motivational strategies, supportive work environments and effective stress-management interventions to enhance their motivation and reduce job-related stress.