Case Study Of Participatory Training Of Technology Transfer To Farmers

With the development of adult education and participatory training theory and methods, the traditional "spoon-feeding" training method, which excluded farmers from the learning and teaching chain has been increasingly questioned and criticized by many experts. The top-down mechanism, technical training at grass-rooted level has been a long-term ignored issue in agricultural extension system, which stifles the wisdom, experience and creativity of farmers. Recently, concerning about these issues, agricultural departments of various levels of government, with assistance from international organizations are trying to introduce participatory training into farmers' education in rural areas of China and optimizing the technology transferring for farmers. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to provide a systematic framework that can guide the implementation of rural participatory training through a case study in western China.The thesis comprises five chapters. Chapter one introduces the rational, background information, key points and research approaches for this paper. Chapter two, describes the background information and the principles of development of participatory training and also analyzes the characteristics of participatory training from adult education and learning points of view. Chapter three offers a conceptual framework for the implementation of rural technology transfer with participatory training method. A participatory training program specifically in agriculture technology transfer initiated at Jinlan Village, Mianzhu, Sichuan in 2006 has been selected as the case study to illustrate the key steps of rural participatory training. The training program was supported by the Canadian Sustainable Agricultural Development Project. Are there any changes on farmers' knowledge, skill and attitude during the course of more than 2 years implementation? Therefore the objectives of chapter four are to illustrate, evaluate and interpret the results of the rural participatory training with data collected through a series of questionnaires and interviews of various levels of key players. Statistical analytical results showed that participatory training has improved farmers' income through proper utilization of fertilizer and pesticide (proper amount and timing), which could reduce environmental impact and benefit the agricultural sustainable development as well. In addition, the farmers' wisdom and creativity were stimulated and the decision making for the training was empowed the farmers and ownership of training was shifted to the farmers during the process. Self-esteem and learning capacity has been built with promotion of dialogue between the trainer and trainee and hands-on practice as well. In chapter five, some suggestions and concerns have been discussed to enhance the development of participatory training in New Village Construction Campaign in China.In conclusion, fanners are not only benefited from participatory training economically but also grain empowerment on controlling the trainings they need by participating in every stage of training planning, delivery and evaluation. During the training, the farmers sharing their experiences, leading discussion, summarizing and presenting group discussion results stimulate problem solving skills and build self confidence. The hands-on experiential learning ties theory with practice to enhance the learning. The new acquired skill would equip farmers to face other aspects of their life. The empowerment of self determination, boosted self confidence and newly acquired skill are a good start to build a more democratic and harmonious new village in China. Finally, it is believed that the participatory training will be widely introduced and implemented in rural education by Chinese government and some organizations.