A study on Profile Characteristics of Agricultural Officers in State Department of Agriculture, Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Extension systems in India have played immense role in delivering the services to the farmers there by increasing the agricultural productivity. Agricultural officers (AO’s) working in the State Department of Agriculture had greater responsibilities on them to convey recent advancements to the farmers. The profile characteristics of the AOs shows how well they are equipped and can plan the activities that befit the farmers. The study was conducted in southern zone of Andhra Pradesh by considering 90 respondents. Data collection was done by structured questionnaire and personal interview method. The results revealed that majority of AOs stands at medium category with respect to variables like achievement motivation, perceived workload, morale, job involvement and attitude towards farmers. Whereas, characters like mass media exposure, interpersonal contact and self-reliance were at high category showing us the characters that need to be improved and can be used to our advantage for extension services delivery. Personal characters like age, gender, marital status, family size and type, rural-urban background, education and health were also studied and gave us the information on present status of the AO’s.