Meeting Capacity Building Needs of Secondary School Graduates for Citrus Production for Economic Development in Benue State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study determined capacity building needs of secondary school graduates in citrus production for economic development in Benue State, Nigeria. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. A survey research design was employed for the study. The study was carried out in Benue State, Nigeria. The target population of the study was 392; consisting of 320 Agricultural Science Teachers and 72 Agricultural Extension Officers in Benue State and used for the study, the entire population was used for the study hence they were no sampling. A-22 capacity-building questionnaire items on citrus production were the instrument for data collection. The instrument was face validated by three experts. Three hundred and ninety copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondent while three hundred and seventy copies were retrieved and analyzed using weighted x (mean) and Capacity Building Needed Index (CBI). Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the internal consistency of the instrument which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.88. Findings from the study revealed that secondary school graduates in Benue state needed capacity-building skills in post-planting, harvest, and post-harvest operations in citrus production. It was recommended amongst others that Secondary school graduates should be trained in citrus production using the identified competencies, skills identified in the study should be integrated into the curricula of secondary schools for students to acquire skills in citrus production, the identified skills should be used by extension officers to build the capacity of secondary school graduates in citrus production.