| dc.description.abstract | Various extension service providers extend new skills and modern techniques to dairy cattle farmers in various sub counties in Uganda. All these were aimed at improving farmers standards of living through adoption of better farming skills and yield. There was however slow or little adoption of these techniques provided by extension workers as evidenced by slow improvement in modern livestock farmers practices among farmers now days. The aim of this study was to assess benefits of dairy farmers exposed to extension services offered in Nabukalu sub county and Muterere Town council Bugiri district from 2015. The research was carried out in Nabukalu sub county and Muterere Town council Bugiri district in Eastern Uganda Busoga sub region. The research focused on farmers who participated in NAADs activities by 2015. Every farmer in Nabukalu sub county and Muterere Town council was a potential candidate for the study. A total of 34 randomly selected farmers; 17 from each of the two study points were enrolled. A number of benefits were realized by farmers who were exposed to the extension service among the farmers of Nabukalu sub county and Muterere Town council. These included increase in the number of animals kept particularly cows, bulls and heifers. There was an increase in the calving rates and a decline in the mortalities on the farm. Additionally, there was an increase in the breed types reared and the uptake of the use of extension service. However, no improvement was achieved in the record keeping practice. Majority of the farmers preffered the methods and results demonstrations approach followed by farm and home visits. The least preffered extension approaches were field trips and farmer-farmer extensions. Factors that influenced adoption rates were remote and scattered location of smallholder dairy households with limited access to reliable infrastructures and rain could disrupt the training, moving long distances to training venues and mixing training and garden work. Additionally, lack of allowance, writing materials as well as language barrier we're reported. Therefore, there is need for government to increase on financing in the agriculture sector, extension officers need to be well facilitated and there is also need to improve on the infrastructures especially in rural communities to allow farmers easily access extension services. | en_US |
