Assessment of collaboration among Research - Extension - Farmers for Agricultural Innovation in North West Province, South Africa

Abstract

The study examined collaboration among research-extension-and farmers for agricultural innovation in North West Province, South Africa. The study was based on the need for agricultural production to be more responsive to demand through effective collaboration and strengthened linkage activities among researchers, extension officers and farmers. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 50 researchers, 50 extension officers and 50 farmers from the Agricultural Research Council and North West University, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, National African Farmers' Union and African Farmers Association of South Africa respectively. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was analyzed with SPSS version 21 using frequency count percentages, mean and standard deviations. The results indicate that there is weak linkage between researchers, extension agents and farmers. Actor linkage is affected by personal characteristics, attitude towards collaboration, knowledge of Agricultural Innovation Systems and institutional constraints among others. To make the value chain more effective, this paper recommends operative linkage among researchers-extension agents and farmers.