Full Length Research Paper

Farmers training effectiveness in terms of changes in knowledge and attitude: The case of Holeta, Melkassa and Debre zeit Agricultural Research Centres, Ethiopia

Tsion Tesfaye¹*, Ranjan S. Karippai² and Teklu Tesfaye³

¹University of Swaziland, PO Luyengo, Hill Street, LA-8, Swaziland.

²Haramaya University, College of Agriculture, Department of Rural Development and Agricultural Extension, P. O. Box 138, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

³Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Research and Extension Division, P. O. Box 1234, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: tsdanatan@yahoo.com. Tel: +268 698 1939.

Accepted March 5, 2010

 Abstract

Several agricultural technologies and high yielding varieties have been disseminated from the research centres operating under the umbrella of Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research such as: Holeta, Debre Zeit and Melkassa Agricultural Research centres. While the core functions of Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) are technology supply, popularization, national coordination and capacity building and policy development, the research and extension divisions of EIAR are responsible for transfer of technologies that are being developed in the respective research centres to farmers and other functionalities through training. There is, therefore, an alarming need to improve agricultural extension activities with the involved farmers through training. Therefore, the objective of this study was to the effectiveness of farmers’ training in improving their knowledge and attitudes. One woreda was purposively selected from areas where each one of the three research centres is offering training to the farmers. Equal numbers of respondents of 40 trained and 40 untrained farmers from each of the three research centres were selected for the study. Quantitative data were collected from the respondents. Structured interview schedule was used for collecting the essential quantitative data from the sampled trained and untrained respondents. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools and also chi-square t-test were employed. The major output of the study indicate that training offered by the three agricultural research centre significantly improved knowledge of potato, onion and durum wheat extension packages, attitude of farmers and level of practice of farmers compared to those of untrained sample farmers.

Key words: Farmers training, effectiveness, Ethiopia, research, onion, durum wheat, potato.