Files
Abstract
Agriculture extension and advisory services is a multidisciplinary
discipline based on human interaction seeking to improve the
livelihoods of farming communities and individuals by providing
information and technologies. The training of extension staff is
important as it has a bearing on their effectiveness in the office and in the
field. This study sought to determine the HRD activities in agricultural
extension and advisory services in the public and private sector. The
study was done in 5 counties in Kenya and a total of 440 agricultural
extension agents were sampled from the public and private extension
service. HRD activities focused on formal and in-service training. 68
% of the respondents had attended formal education to improve their
education with the majority 63.5 percent, having trained at the diploma
level from certificate level while 21.1 % had undergone training at the
degree level from diploma level. The main areas of specialization
were Agricultural education (34.1 %), General agriculture (28.1 %)
and Horticulture (11.7 %). The inclusion of non-agricultural areas of
specialization such as Sustainable development and Strategic planning
and management show the multidisciplinary nature of agriculture. Inservice
courses attended were in the form of short courses, seminars,
or workshops. These were clustered in five general areas; Crop
Management, Management, Agricultural Economics, Agricultural
Extension, and Animal Science. Most respondents (40.9 percent) had
undergone training in Crop management which covered various crop
enterprises from breeding to postharvest management. The shift of
agricultural policy toward business orientation is reflected in 13.0 % the respondents specializing in Agricultural Economics. These HRD
activities show commitment of agricultural extension providers to
improve the competencies of their staff to deliver effective services to
farmers. The wide range of formal and in-service courses attended also
reflects the need to meet the management and technical requirements
of a pluralistic and demand driven extension service.