An Investigation of the Competencies of Extension Advisors in Lorestan and Khuzestan Provinces, Iran: Advisor's View Points

Success of the agricultural advisory services plan that has recently been implemented in the form of Agricultural Engineering, Technical and Consulting Firms (AETCFs) is dependent on an understanding of the level of the advisor's competencies to design and implement purposeful human resources development programs. The aim followed in this study was to investigate and compare the competencies of extension advisors employed in AETCF in Lorestan and Khuzestan provinces. The statistical population included 3417 agricultural extension advisors in Lorestan and Khuzestan provinces. The sample size was determined by using Cochran's formula. Two hundred and fifty two advisors were selected as study samples through Stratified Random Sampling Technique. Completed questionnaires served as the data source for the study. Validity of instrument was established by investigating the attitudes of specialists. Cronbach's coefficient, alpha was used to estimate the internal consistency of the Likert-type scale items (α =. 93). Data collected were analyzed by use of SPSS19. Findings revealed that leadership; administrative- fiscal and organizational knowledge competencies are not in an appropriate status and are in need of design and implementation of training courses. Likewise, the results revealed that there is a significant difference between the level of competencies in females and males.