Effective, comprehensive, need-based, and participatory agricultural extension service is a major factor in improving the income and welfare of rural households. However, it has been reported that ineffective, non-comprehensive, and not need-based in many developing countries. The study analyzed the status and determinants of rural households’ access to agricultural extension services in the case of Jimma Gebeti Woreda (Ethiopia). A mixed-methods approach is used. Primary data are collected from 387 samples. Descriptive and inferential statistics and logit models are used to analyze the data. Results revealed that there are unaccessed sample heads to agricultural extension services in the current study area. Weak links between agricultural research and farmers extension problems, lack of coordination and communication between agricultural sectors and higher learning institutions, and lower salary level and fewer resources for field agricultural extension agents are found the major potential reasons/challenges that make sample households’ unaccessed. Furthermore, Kebele/”ganda” of the household head, access to agricultural extension training, access to credit service, irrigation use, and rural households’ having a telephone were found the major determinant factors. Thus, based on the above results it is possible to conclude that rural households’ access to agricultural extension services is not as it ought to be. Above it is found that the extension delivery is mostly non-participatory. Therefore, policy majors that could avert the above challenges and determinants are recommended like for example, empowering extension workers and delivering pluralistic and need-based agricultural extension services.
Keywords: access to agricultural extension services, households, logit model (Ethiopia)
