Abstract

Dr. Dilip Kumar Trivedi*

ABSTRACT

A thirst for knowledge is not the end but it is only a means to the end. Learning is a pre-requisite for adoption but does not necessarily ensure the adoption of the practices. The decision to use a particular practice depends upon various other factors such as profitability, applicability and compatibility. This in turn needs provision for follow-up activity by the officials of the training center or others working in the field. The article aims to analyze the effect of training programs on the yield of smallholder farmers. The empirical analysis employed a sample of data collected from a rice farming household in the Mvomero district of Tanzania. The results indicate that the yield outcome among trained and non-trained farmers with water access for irrigation was significantly more than double; however, the yield difference between trained and non-trained farmers was insignificant in non-irrigated plots. Our findings have policy implications for agricultural development in developing countries where training programs alone may not be a panacea for smallholder farmers’ productivity improvement. Therefore, respective governments, policymakers, and other agricultural stakeholders, should consider both farm and non-farm factors altogether, which may increase agricultural training effectiveness to address the challenges of low yields. Thus, trainees were asked to give their suggestions on the nature of follow up activity to be taken up in future for effective training programme and are presented in the following section.