Training Needs of Horticulture Extension Personnel in Jammu Region of J&K State, India

Effective extension work depends upon competent and well-trained extension personnel. Horticulture extension personnel (Horticulture Development Officers and Horticulture Technicians) occupy the focal position in transfer of technologies to the orchardists in Jammu and Kashmir. Given this a study entitled “Training needs of horticulture extension personnel in Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir” was undertaken. Data was collected from 200 horticulture extension personnel (30 horticulture development officers and 170 horticulture technicians) working at gross root level in all ten districts of Jammu region. Training need important score was categories in to three categories viz. least important, important, most important by using mean ± S.D technique. The finding reveals that horticulture development officer and horticulture technicians’ categories Pests /disease identification and their control measures as most important training areas in technical skills where time and methods of planting was placed as least important. Similarly in case of communication skills demonstration technique was rated highest important training need area and script writing as least important. Motivation technique and programme planning were also categories as most important training need areas of supervisory skills by horticulture development officers. Two factors viz. trainings attended and information utilization sources were significantly affecting the training needs of horticulture extension personnel.

Training Needs of Horticulture Extension Personnel in Jammu Region of J&K State, India

Effective extension work depends upon competent and well-trained extension personnel. Horticulture extension personnel (Horticulture Development Officers and Horticulture Technicians) occupy the focal position in transfer of technologies to the orchardists in Jammu and Kashmir. Given this a study entitled “Training needs of horticulture extension personnel in Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir” was undertaken. Data was collected from 200 horticulture extension personnel (30 horticulture development officers and 170 horticulture technicians) working at gross root level in all ten districts of Jammu region. Training need important score was categories in to three categories viz. least important, important, most important by using mean ± S.D technique. The finding reveals that horticulture development officer and horticulture technicians’ categories Pests /disease identification and their control measures as most important training areas in technical skills where time and methods of planting was placed as least important. Similarly in case of communication skills demonstration technique was rated highest important training need area and script writing as least important. Motivation technique and programme planning were also categories as most important training need areas of supervisory skills by horticulture development officers. Two factors viz. trainings attended and information utilization sources were significantly affecting the training needs of horticulture extension personnel.

A Study on Communication Behaviour of Extension Personnel of Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh

Successful communication is the main job of an extension worker. He cannot expect change among farmers unless he is able to communicate effectively to them. This entails the extension personal to have thorough understanding of communication process. This study will be helpful in identifying important variables of extension personnel affecting their communication process. Prakasam District of Andhra Pradesh was selected by purposive random sampling. The study was conducted in 7 mandal's which were selected randomly. Respondents were Agricultural officers, agricultural extension officers, village agricultural assistants and village horticultural assistants. The total sample size for the study were 120 extension personnel. majority of the respondents were female, young aged, having high educational status, with low annual income, job experience and training exposure. Perceived work load was high, medium level of job satisfaction and low level of Innovativeness and medium level of achievement motivation and medium level of communication behaviour was observed. The findings of overall communication behaviour of extension personnel indicate that there is need to increase the communication behaviour from medium to high through suitable training programs on latest Communication technologies and communication skills, providing needed literature.

Role of Key Communicators in Disseminating Agricultural Information in Nilayur Village of Thiruparankundram Block in Madurai District

The present study was taken up to identify the role of key communicators in the dissemination of agricultural information. The study area was Nilayur village of Thiruparankundram block located in Madurai district. A total of 60 respondents were sampled randomly for the study. Sociometric technique was used to identify the role of key communicator. The responses were noted and the identified six key communicators were classified as low, medium and high using the sociogram scores and cumulative percentage. Among the six key communicators, only one key communicator was identified as high levelcommunicator with a cumulative percentage of 100 per cent. Thus, the key communicator should be identified and they can be a handholding support for the extension personnel for dissemination of the technology to reach large farmers.

Pre-scaling up of improved finger millet (Kako-1) variety, at Weyira district, under Halaba zone in Ethiopian

Pre-scaling up of improved finger millet variety (kako-1) was conducted in 2019/20 mehere season in Halaba Zone, two selected kebeles under Weyira District,southern Ethiopia under rain fed conditions through involvement of farmers in participatory demonstration. The demonstration was carried out with the specific objectives:to popularize and demonstrate improved Finger millet technology (Kako-1) and to collect farmers feedback on improved finger millet variety. The demonstration was conducted at layignawu Badana and kufe kebele on farmers field of Weyira Districts on 10ha land coverage totally 20 beneficiary farmers field .Site and beneficiary farmers selection criteria were conducted purposively by cooperating with woreda and kebele extension personnel by willingness to accept technology, land availability and accessibility of the area. Training was given by focusing on agronomic practices and awareness creation for all selected beneficiary farmers and concerned extension personnel. Also, all necessary inputs (10kg/h kako-1 seed,100kg/h NPSB and 150 kg /h Urea) were provided from Hawassa agricultural research center.Yield and farmers feedback data were collected and analyzed by using descriptive statistics applying on SPSS software Accordingly, 2.7 tone/ha average mean grain yield was obtained. According to farmers’ feedback, the variety kako-1 has high tilling capacity, high grain yield, early maturity, high biomass yield and quality Therefore the variety need to extended to wide area.So, all concerned bodies need to work to facilitation of further extension of kako-1 variety for Halaba zone and other similar agro-ecological zones to improve finger millet production and productivity of smallholder farmers.

Getting the Most out of Social Media: Creating a Social Media Plan

This 3-page publication on how to create a social media plan is part of the Getting the Most out of Social Media series, created for Florida professionals, business owners and individuals interested in understanding how to strategically use social media. The following sections will outline how to develop a plan to successfully adopt and maintain social media platforms for agriculturalists and Extension personnel. Minor revision by Lauri Baker, Caroline Warwick, Jessica Fernandez, and Joy Rumble.

Lessons from a Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program in Miami Dade County

We calculated savings in outdoor water uses from 37 properties in Fisher Island, Florida, that were retrofitted with smart Evapotranspiration-based irrigation controllers through the Miami Dade County’s Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program. We found average water savings of 11.4 million gallons per year from the 37 properties on the island. We discuss the roles of extension personnel in developing and effectively managing an irrigation rebate program and the implications of results from this program for large scale efforts towards efficient use of freshwater resources.