Agricultural Extension Workers' Awareness of E-Extension Platforms and Support Needs in Butuan City

Digitalizing agricultural extension services is a crucial technique for improving their dissemination, however there is limited data on AEWs' awareness of these technologies and the institutional support they need to use them effectively. This study assessed Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) awareness of current e-extension platforms, applications, and programs and identified the support needed to prepare them for implementation. The descriptive mixed methods study used a convergent-parallel methodology based on Diffusion of Innovation Theory. Agricultural Extension Workers from Butuan City's Agriculture and Veterinary Department were surveyed. Text mining was used to analyze qualitative responses, while descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data. The Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) Finder showed the highest awareness and utilization among Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs), however, a gap was observed between awareness and practice. Most institutional support needs involve ICT training and capacity-building, improved internet connectivity, and ICT equipment suggesting that awareness alone is insufficient to secure e-extension technology use without organizational support and facilitating infrastructure.
The report suggests improving institutional capacity, incorporating digital platforms into extension activities, and investing in professional development to advance digital agricultural extension. The results provide empirical data to inform policy and capacity-building efforts to digitalize Philippine agricultural extension services.

E-Extension, Agricultural Extension Workers, Awareness, Digital Agriculture

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