Department of Agricultural Education & Studies

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Graduate Programs: Greg Miller 515-294-2583 / Undergraduate Programs: Mike Retallick 515-294-4810

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Graduate Student Scholarly Work

 

Kagima, D. K. (2005). Training programs in sustainable agriculture for post harvest loss minimization and storage: a case study in Ethiopia. Doctoral dissertation.

The purpose of this study was to use a series of adult educational programs conducted in a developing country as a case study of adult extension education challenges and how these challenges could be met. The specific objectives of the study were to describe an adult education program in sustainable agriculture in a selected country in Africa, identify problems described by participants in specific areas of sustainable agriculture and to develop an improved adult agricultural education program model for the delivery of the technical information related to specific sustainable agricultural practices.

Training programs on postharvest loss minimization and storage were conducted in Ethiopia from 1999 to 2003. This program was a part of a five-year program by Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteer Overseas Cooperative Agency (ACDI/VOCA) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop agricultural cooperatives in Ethiopia. The program was administered to cooperative managers and promoters with the sole purpose of enhancing their capacity and improving their skills in postharvest loss minimization and storage. During the training programs, participants were asked to share information regarding their experiences in sustainable agricultural practices for postharvest loss minimization and storage that was used in this case study.

The study revealed that there were major problems in postharvest losses and storage. Information and knowledge about sustainable agricultural practices for postharvest loss minimization and storage did not appear to reach most farmers. Extension workers were busy collecting taxes for the government rather than helping farmers use sustainable agricultural practices and food production. Cooperative managers and promoters acknowledged that many barriers blocked the flow of information gained in the training programs for grassroots farmers. Poverty, limited knowledge resources, infrastructure, poor government, land policies, drought and starvation were some limiting factors to the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices for postharvest loss minimization and storage.

Cooperative managers and promoters recognized the fact that there was a need for educational programs to provide technical information regarding sustainable agricultural practices for postharvest loss minimization and storage. Respondents regarded sources of information from schools and colleges, on-farm demonstrations, field days, seminars, workshops and visits to other successful cooperatives as the most useful strategies in agricultural education programs. It is recommended that a multidisciplinary team of experts such as entomologists, agriculturalists, agriculture economists, and sociologists from educational institutions, donors, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), private sector, and related government departments need to work together in order to achieve an ultimate goal of sustainability in agriculture for postharvest loss minimization and storage. Needs assessments to be conducted working together as a team of experts and farmers to develop practical solutions for postharvest loss minimization, storage and sustainability in food production. The multidisciplinary team of experts could train cooperative managers, promoters and extension agents through formal and non-formal educational programs such as workshops, seminars and in-house training programs. Information and knowledge gained by cooperative managers, promoters and extension agents would be used to train staff in cooperative stores and farmer leaders who will in turn help to train farmers at the grassroots.