Problems and prospects of farmers training centers: the case of Ada’a Woreda, East Shewa, Oromia Region
Ethiopian agriculture is characterized by traditional and subsistence peasant farming whose access to modern technology and basic education is very limited. It is also noted that low investment in developing agriculture labor force are one of the problems that hinder the transformation of the sector. Agricultural change and development require the mobilization and development of human resource through such means as education and technical training. Realizing the importance of educating and training the rural community the government has formulated rural development policies and strategies. The cornerstone of the government’s strategy is the establishment of FTCs in about 18, 000 kebeles and the recruitment, training and deployment of number of front line extension agents who teach farmers at FTCs. Starting 2004 upto 2008, 59, 348 extension agents have been graduated and 8500 FTCs have been constructed. However, the status of FTCs and the constraints that hamper them in implementing their mandatory roles are not systematically assessed through empirical studies to take proper action. The objectives of the study were to assess the present status of FTCs, to identify opportunities and constraints of FTCs and to know the opinion of farmers towards the mandatory roles of FTCs in Ada’a woreda, East shewa zone, Oromia region. For this study 160 house hold heads from 16 FTCs were selected through simple random sampling technique and personal and group interviews. Fourty (40 )extension agents from 16 FTCs were also included as source of information for the study. Data were collected from both primary and secondary sources. The method of data collection employed includes interview schedule, self-administered questionnaire, focus group discussions and personal observation. The data were analyzed by using simple descriptive statistics such as percentage, frequency, mean, standard deviation, rank correlation and z-test. Qualitative data were analyzed through interpretation and conceptual generalization. Moreover SWOT analysis was done to summarize the results of the research objectives. The findings revealed that the organizational and operational status of FTCs was poor. The woredahas ample opportunities and potential for the advancement of FTCs.The major constraints identified by the respondents were low community participation, high dropout rate, non- extension work load, lack of budget, lack of training materials and high expectations of benefit in the side of farmers. Therefore, the woreda should take into consideration the socio-cultural, institutional, economic, and general constraints that hinder the implementation of farmer training centers.
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| Format: | Thesis biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Haramaya University
2009-08-15
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| Subjects: | training centers, extension activities, |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/680 |
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