THE LEVEL OF IMPACT OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SYSTEM ON RURAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT FROM THE FARMERS’ POINT OF VIEW IN HALABJA GOVERNORATE, KURDISTAN REGION, IRAQ.

This research mainly aims to identify the level of impact of the agricultural extension system on rural agricultural development from the farmers’ point of view in Halabja Governorate. The research population included all farmers in Halabja governorate, numbered (2735) farmers distributed over (141) villages. A simple random sample was taken from the villages, at a rate of (14.18%), with a total of (20) villages, the number of farmers in these villages reached (515) farmers, then a proportional random sample was taken by (20%) of the research population, so the sample size was (103) farmers. A questionnaire was prepared to consist of two parts, the first of which included the personal variables of the respondents, as for the second part of the questionnaire, consisted of two axes: the first axis is measuring the impact of the agricultural extension system on rural agricultural development, and the second axis, it is measuring the extent to which farmers benefit from the agricultural fields. The results showed that the majority of respondents believe that the level of impact of the Agricultural Extension Service is low on rural development in Halabja Governorate. The results also showed that the extent to which the respondents benefited from the agricultural fields provided by the extension system was low and tended to be medium, and there is a discrepancy in the respondents’ opinions about the impact of the agricultural extension system on rural development according to the research variables (exposure to information sources, farmer’s attitude towards agricultural extension services), while there is no discrepancy according to the research variables (age, gender, educational level, agricultural experience, sources of information, type of farm holding). Therefore, the researchers recommend improving the performance of the Agricultural Extension system by modernizing its infrastructure, developing training programs for its employees and providing the necessary technical consultations in various fields related to agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]