Strengths and weaknesses of various information delivery methods used by Private Agricultural Extension System in the Punjab, Pakistan

A study was conducted during the year 2009 to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of various information delivery methods used by the extension field staff (EFS) of private sector in the Punjab, Pakistan. A cross-sectional research design was used for the study. A sample of 408 farmers was drawn by using Fitzgibbon table. Only 260 respondents (who were able to rate the strengths and weaknesses of extension methods) reported that they got extension services from private sector. The data were collected through personal interviews with the help of pre-tested and validated interview schedule. The data were analyzed by using computer software (SPSS). About 98.5 percent of the respondents reported that group discussion was a commonly used method followed by TV channels (62.7%) and telephone calls (52.3%). Regarding effectiveness of communication, overall mean value (2.11) depicts that it was considered a weakness of the private extension system by the end users. The study concludes that effective communication of a message is more important than delivery of a message. So the private extension system should focus on effective communication rather than communication.