Performance of Agricultural Extension Officers for Small and Micro Community Enterprise Promotion in the Southern Regions of Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to 1) examine the characteristic of agricultural extension officers performing with the Small and Micro Community Enterprise (SMCE) promotion in southern regions of Thailand, 2) examine the performance of SMCE promotion of agricultural extension officers, and 3) analyze factors related to performance for SMCE promotion of agricultural extension officers. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. A group of a population composed of 1 agricultural extension officer/district for the total of those from 111 districts which covered the whole provinces in the southern regions. Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used for data analysis. Results of this study revealed that most of the agricultural extension officers performing with SMCE promotion in southern regions of Thailand were male (82.9%) with an average age of 40 years old, were Buddhists (75.7%), took a position as agricultural extension officer at practitioner level (53.2%), and had experiences with SMCE promotion for an average at 4 years 1 month. For the performance with SMCE promotion in the southern regions, the study found that most agricultural extension officers (91.9%) performed with basic information of SMCE which the second most was transferring knowledge and technology (91.0%). For coordination with related organization units, the study indicated that agricultural extension officers (80.2%) performed this job.  Factors related to performance of agricultural extension officer for SMCE promotion were gender, age, marital status, childbearing and level of position holding.