Agricultural extension service in Nigeria is largely public sector driven. Unfortunately, the sector is not operating at its maximum largely due to weak institutional structure and poor extension to farmers’ ratio. As such, smallholder farmers often suffer low productivity and poor product quality. The study therefore examined the perceptions, utilisation and effectiveness of the Competitive African Rice Initiative (CARI) extension practise in Kebbi State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 120 rice farmers enrolled under the initiative in the study area. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study revealed that the average age of the respondents was 47.8 ± 1.72 years, 76.7% were male and married (73.1%). The study further revealed that the respondents were smallholder farmers (5.6 ± 7.22 acres). Respondent’s perception of CARI was favourable at 72.5% (36 ± 2.8), Rice Advice (