THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION ACTIVITIES IN CONFRONTING CLIMATE CHANGE FROM THEPERSPECTIVE OF WHEAT FARMERS IN BEYGEE DISTRICT, SALAH AL-DEEN GOVERNORATE

Abstract

The research aimed to identify the role of agricultural extension activities in confronting climate change from the point of view of wheat farmers in Beygee District, Salah Al-Deen Governorate in general, and to determine the difference between the averages of the respondents’ answers about the role of extension activities and the studied independent variables, which are: (age, educational level, exposure to information sources related to climate change, and the attitude towards extension activities related to climate change). The research included all wheat farmers in Beygee District, Salah al-Din Governorate, distributed among five agricultural divisions. A random sample was taken, namely the Hajaj Agriculture Office and the Al-Synia Agriculture Office, which represented 45% of the total agricultural offices. The total number of farmers officially registered in the annual plan of the agricultural office of Beygee District in the two divisions was 750 farmers, distributed as follows: 432 farmers in the Hajaj Agriculture Office, and 318 farmers in the Al-Synia Agriculture District. A random sample of 20% of the farmers in each division was taken, amounting to 150 researchers. A simple random sample of 4% was taken to conduct the exploratory sample from the research population and from outside the research sample, comprising 30 researchers. A questionnaire was prepared consisting of two parts, the first part of which included data related to the independent variables of wheat crop farmers, and the second part included the preparation of a four-part scale to measure the role of extension activities in confronting climate change, consisting of 58 items distributed on four levels (large, medium, small, none). Reliability was found using the split-half method, where its value reached 0.87, and the validity of the scale reached 0.93. Research data was collected from the respondents during the time period from (11/12/2024 - 29/12/2024). 

           The results showed that the general level of the role of extension activities is average and tends to increase. It is concluded that agricultural extension has implemented extension activities for wheat farmers in the study area. The results also showed a significant difference between the averages of the respondents at the probability level of 0.01 and 0.05 according to the variables (educational level, exposure to information sources related to climate change, and the trend towards extension activities). Except for the age variable, the difference was not significant between the averages of the respondents. The research recommended that agricultural extension identify the determinants of applying scientific extension recommendations to find appropriate solutions and avoid their negative impact. There is a need to consider the variables that show significant differences in the respondents’ answers regarding the role of extension activities.