Frontline Extension Workers’ Information Use, Protective Behaviors and Counseling Practices During Covid -19 Pandemic in Imo State, Nigeria

The only people close to the farmers are the extension workers, and to function well, they need the right information, good health and sound mind all the time. However, the sources of information on covid 19 available to them is unknown, hence this study. The study seeks to identify covid 19 information sources of extension workers, examine their protective behaviors, and describe counseling practices they adopt to reach farmers. A total of 120 extension staff purposively chosen from Imo ADP was used to elicit information for the study using questionnaire. Data were analyzed descriptively. The results revealed that the extension staff get information from a variety of ways, such as health organizations (72.5%), healthcare professionals (74.2%), ministries of Health and Agriculture (79.2%). They practice social distancing (83.3%), wearing of face masks (70.5%), avoid contact with eyes, nose and mouth (68.3%), promote hand washing (70.5%), avoid public gathering and many more. In counseling the farmers, the educate them regularly (85%), training of farmers (78.3%) and many more. It is worthy of commendation that since life has no duplicate, the extension staff are doing great job by adhering to covid 19 protocols and should be praised for service to humanity.