The study assessed the use of ICTs among public and private extension officers in Lesotho. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 86 public and 19 private extension officers. Data collected were analysed, using percentages, mean, and standard deviation, multiple regressions and t-test. Extension officers use ICT tools to obtain information on new technology (79.1%), preservation of farm produce (79.1%); time of planting crops (75.6%), call attention of extension officers (75.6%) and cultural practices (75.6%). Serious constraints to the use of ICTs, as perceived by extension officers were: high cost of ICT (83.7%); poor basic infrastructure (79.1%); non-availability of technical personnel (72.1%), failure of service (73.7%) and non-availability of genuine parts. There is a strong relationship between access to information, residing within place of work, constraints, age awareness, type of extension and use of ICTs. There is also a significance differences in the use of ICTs between public and private extension officers. Policy makers should improve national e-readiness and make more ICT tools available and accessible to extension officers. Constraints of high cost, lack of ICT infrastructure and training of technical personnel should be dealt with.

Most developing countries including Lesotho, faces a major challenge of creating jobs for their high education graduates. This matter hard presses policy makers to advocate for training which equips graduates to venture into self-employment for job creation. This study therefore intended to establish students' opinions regarding self-employment opportunities in agriculture. The key objectives were: to describe students' knowledge of potential self-employment opportunities in agriculture; to assess students' willingness to engage in self-employment in agriculture; to identify factors constraining graduates from venturing into self-employment in agriculture. Sixty-six final year students in the faculty of agriculture were purposefully selected for the study. A structured questionnaire was used as a data collection instrument for this study and data were analysed descriptively using statistical indicators including percentages, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that Students perceived that agriculture has a potential of creating employment for huge number of people and they are willing to undergo agri-business after completion of their studies. It is therefore recommended that practical agribusiness training be included in undergraduate agriculture curriculum to entrench this skill. The government should support agricultural graduates by addressing all the identified constraints such as marketing, input supply, credit, training, extension services and poor storage facilities. Keywords: Students' opinions, Self-employment, Agriculture, Agri-business.

No abstract

No abstract

The study investigated the perceived effectiveness of radio jingles in combating the spread of Corona Virus among rural dwellers in Ogun State. It ascertained respondents’ awareness, knowledge, benefits derived and perceived effectiveness of the radio jingle in combating the spread of Covid-19. Using a multistage sampling procedure, 150 rural dwellers were randomly sampled and interviewed. Data were analyzed using percentages, means and correlation analysis at p=0.05. Results indicated that respondents were mostly aware of caution messages (𝑥̅ = 0.93±0.25), adherence to all non-pharmaceuticals preventive measures (𝑥̅ = 0.92±0.26) and warnings on adherence to preventive measures (𝑥̅ = 0.91±0.28). Knowledge was mostly high around issues of wearing of face mask (𝑥̅ = 0.90±0.30), social distancing (𝑥̅ = 0.84±0.37) and health workers’ vulnerability (0.84±0.48). Benefits derived included debunking myths about the virus (𝑥̅ = 1.86±0.87) and improved personal hygiene (𝑥̅ = 1.65±0.70). The jingle was perceived as highly effective in sensitizing others about the pandemic (𝑥̅ = 2.92±1.70) and vaccine information (𝑥̅ = 2.79±1.10). There was a significant relationship between awareness level and the perceived effectiveness of radio jingle (r = 0.318). Radio jingle was perceived effective by the rural dwellers, therefore should be intensified by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control in combating corona virus and other issues of public health importance.