wrapper.cdr 6335 Research Article Journal of Extension Education Vol. 31 No. 3, 2019 DOI:https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2019.3.31.6335-6337 1 Subject Matter Specialist (Agril. Extension), 2 Subject Matter Specialist (Agril. Engineering) and 3 Head, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University, Nashik- 422 222 (Maharashtra), India Received : 19-11-2019; Accepted : 29-01-2020 Impact of Greenhouse Production Technology Training on Knowledge of Farmers Thoke Niteen1, Rajaram Patil2 and Raosaheb Patil3 ABSTRACT The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Centre), Nashik, Maharashtra organizes trainings regarding Green House Cultivation Technology for aspiring entrepreneurs willing to venture into this area. This study was undertaken to measure the impact of a training programme on knowledge of the farmers. Findings concluded that most of the respondents had shifted from low knowledge level category to middle and higher knowledge level categories after the training. There was not a single respondent in high knowledge level category before the test. There was a highly significant and positive relationship of knowledge gained by respondents with education, media exposure and risk orientation. Keywords: Green House; Risk Orientation; Entrepreneurs; KVK, Knowledge; Maharashtra INTRODUCTION Nashik District is recognized as “Fruit and Vegetable bowl” of Maharashtra. Commercial floriculture has been added to the crops list in the recent years. Training programmes are generally organized with the goal that the respondents after being trained will translate the knowledge into action. Training includes understanding the basic needs of a greenhouse, its site selection process and major inputs, its erection, production process management of few popular greenhouse crops, etc. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Nashik organizes an innovative vocational training on Green House Cultivation Technology for aspiring entrepreneurs periodically. As these are highly technical but compact trainings they require use of different training methods & tools to help participants comprehend the technological intricacies and management. The study was conducted to measure the impact of the training on knowledge of the farmers and to ascertain relationship of socio-economic factors of the trainees with knowledge gained by them. METHODOLOGY The ‘One Group- Before and After’ experimental design was used for conducting the present study to find out the effectiveness of the Green House Production Technology 6336 Training in terms of gain in knowledge. Data from 42 respondents from Nashik District were collected with the help of a specially structured pre and post training questionnaire. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Training was conducted using a combination of various teaching tools including lectures, video presentation, discussions, exposure visit and hands on sessions in the field. The combined effect of this on the knowledge level of the respondents in the ‘before and after tests’ has been tabulated for a comparative study in Table 1. The above depicted tabulation represents knowledge level of the respondents in the context of Greenhouse Production Technology before attending the training and after the training. More than half of the respondents (57 per cent) of respondents belonged to the low knowledge level category while 42 per cent respondents belonged to the medium knowledge level category. In the after test not a single respondent was placed in low knowledge level category. Almost 24 per cent respondents could be included in the high knowledge level category of scoring. Moreover, 76 per cent respondents had managed to score well and be included in the medium knowledge level category. Overall, it is apparent from the data presented in Table 1 that that 57 per cent of the respondents had shifted from low knowledge level category to middle and higher knowledge level categories. Above discussed points suggest that training and the teaching techniques used were proved successful with regard to knowledge gained by the respondents. The association between the independent variables namely age, education, experience and mass media exposure and risk orientation with the dependent variable, Knowledge Gained during the Greenhouse Production Technology training was tested by computing correlation coefficients (r). The observations of correlation analysis are presented Table 2. It is evident from Table 2 that, there is significant positive relationship of ‘Education’, ‘Mass media exposure’ and ‘Risk orientation’ of respondent farmers with ‘Knowledge gain’ at 1% level of probability, while relationship between ‘Age’ and ‘Knowledge gain’ of the respondent farmers was found non- Table 1. Distribution of the Respondents on the basis of their Knowledge Gain (n=42) Sl. No. Category (Score) Number Percentage Before After Before After 1. Low (0 to 17) 24 00 57.2 00.0 2. Medium (18 to 36) 18 32 42.8 76.2 3. High (37 and above) 00 10 00.0 23.8 Journal of Extension Education (Conference Special) 6337 significant. However, The ‘experience’ factor showed negative as well as insignificant correlation with the Knowledge gain. CONCLUSION The pre-and post assessment of the training had showed that more than half of the respondents shifted from low knowledge category to high and medium knowledge category. after the training. There was significant positive relationship between ‘Education’, ‘Mass media exposure’ and ‘Risk orientation’ of respondent farmers and ‘Knowledge gain’. From this, it can be inferred that, for trainings like green house technology with technical, scientific and management intricacies, the selection of participants should be done with some criteria regarding education, exposure and risk orientation for better impact of the training. Secondly, the ‘experience’ factor showed negative as well as insignificant correlation with the Knowledge gain. This might be due to the fact that Green House Technology involves high level of precision and scientific crop management which evolved with the time and progress of technology and was not in practice in conventional & traditional agriculture. Hence, experience of participants in conventional agriculture may not be considered as important criterion for selection of participants. Thus, respondents with better educational background, more risk orientation ability and more mass media exposure are bound to gain more knowledge. Table 2 Correlation between Socio-Economic Profile of the Farmers and Knowledge Gained during the Greenhouse Production Technology training Sl. No. Independent variables Correlation with Knowledge Gain 1. Age of respondents (X1) 0.211 NS 2. Education of Respondents (X2) 0.421** 3. Experience of Respondents in Agriculture (X3) -0.014 4. Mass Media Exposure of Respondents (X4) 0.493** 5. Risk Orientation(X5) 0.528** Note ** Significant at 1% level of probability, NS: Non Significant, Impact of Greenhouse Production Technology Training on Knowledge of Farmers