Description of the study area
The study had covered 4 districts of Bangladesh namely Rangpur, Rajshahi, Chattogram and Khagrachori. These were purposively selected based on the agro-ecological zones, and production potentials in diversified farming. Rangpur is known as major vegetable growing district situated in northern part of Bangladesh. The district is renowned in crop production for a number of reasons viz., high cropping intensity (251%), acceptance of hybrid crop variety, skilled farmer and availability of modern crop production techniques. Rajshahi is located within Barind Tract, 23 m (75 ft) above sea level and has been built on the alluvial planes of the Padma River. Apart from the usual agricultural products of Bangladesh, such as rice, wheat, potatoes and lentils, Rajshahi is specially suited for various crops such as mangoes, litchis, sugarcane, tomatoes and watermelons. It’s cropping intensity is 190%. Chattogram is a major coastal city and financial center in southeastern Bangladesh. It is situated on the banks of the Karnaphuli River between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Bay of Bengal. Though the economy of Chittagong district is predominantly non-agricultural but it is also enriched with a number of crops such as paddy, betel leaf, potato, corn, turmeric, tea, peanut, mustard, pointed gourd, brinjal, ginger, cucumber and vegetables. Khagrachori is a hilly area and includes a number of ethnic communities such as Tripura, Chakma, Marma and Tanchangya. Most of the people live on Jhum cultivation and 59.92% income come from agriculture (Wikipedia).
Sampling procedure
A multi stage stratified random sampling technique was followed to collect farm level data. From each district one upazila and from each selected upazila one village based on production potential of the different farming system was drawn up purposively for inclusion in the present study. Farmers were selected based on their intimacy with the DAE and BARI to ensure the farmers of this area well exposed about various agricultural development and latest technologies. On consultation with DAE and BARI personnel, a list of farmers representing different categories was prepared for each village. From the individual list of farmers from selected village, five farmers were randomly selected which made twenty farmers from each district. They were different in farming activities, land holding size and also in different socioeconomic attributes. Thus a total of 80 farmers were finally selected for data collection from 4 districts. The identified districts were coming from six agro-climatic zones of Bangladesh.
Analytical procedure
Data collection from randomly selected respondents was done by using pre-tested structured schedule through personal interview method. The duration of data collection was February to March 2016. For analyzing the data, descriptive statistics such as percentages, rank order and scoring techniques were used to achieve the objectives and to get meaningful results. In most cases, tabular method of analysis supported with appropriate statistical parameters was used to present the results of the study. A list of thematic areas and specific and relevant training need items under each area was prepared and collected through different review of literature, discussion with DAE and BARI staff as well as own field experiences. In this study, the farmer’s responses were collected in a 3– point continuum scale as Very Important (VI), Important (I) and Not Important (NI) by assigning scores 3, 2 and 1 respectively. The results were calculated as weighted score for each of the thrust area identified for the training.
Weighted score (WS) = [(No. of VI× 3) + (No. of I× 2) + (No. of NI×1)]/[Total No. of VI + I + NI]
Where,
VI = Very Important, I = Important and NI = Not Important Weighted Score ranged from 1 to 6.