Decentralized Agricultural Extension System and Job Satisfaction among Extension Agents of Nepal

Job satisfaction refers to the collection of feelings people have about their jobs. Understanding job satisfaction status and factors that drive such is important because it has an impact on organizational efficiency and productivity. Grounded on Organizational Support Theory (OST), this study explored the status and drivers of job satisfaction among extension agents in Nepal. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to select 210 agents, of which 31.90% were working at the federal, 34.29% at the provincial, and 33.81% at the local tier. Multinomial regression was used to assess the factors driving job satisfaction. A factorial ANOVA was then used to assess whether the effect of organizational support on satisfaction varies across three government tiers. Results showed that higher organizational support significantly decreased the chance of medium and low job satisfaction compared to the high, indicating that a better work environment enhances job satisfaction. The interaction between organizational support and the government tier was significant. Pairwise comparisons revealed that higher support raised satisfaction significantly only at the provincial level, but no significant differences were found in the federal or local tiers. The finding demonstrated the need for support mechanisms to enhance agents’ morale in the delivery of extension services, particularly where agents are generally equipped with limited resources. The results support the main contention of OST that perceived organizational support enhances job satisfaction, while structural and systemic barriers hinder service effectiveness, necessitating targeted reforms recommended through the strategic framework.