Evaluating Capacity Building Programme for Livelihood and Micro-Enterprise Development in Agriculture

Micro-enterprise plays a critical role in the economic development of any economy, particularly in context of India where around 85% of the population is dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. For economic prosperity of the rural population it is important that agriculture must undergo a transition from the traditional subsistence to a modern industrial system. In India, the micro and small industries sector has a long historical tradition and since independence has contributed significantly to the overall economic development of the country. Given its employment pattern, growth, geographical dispersion and contribution to total industrial output, the micro-enterprise sector will continue to play a significant role in eradicating poverty and promoting higher levels of gainful employment. This gives adequate impetus for its scope in agricultural sector too. Hence it is inevitable to tap the opportunities for promoting micro entrepreneurship in agriculture, which in turn can address the challenges related to agricultural productivity, profitability and unemployment. Trainings to develop capacities of farming community goes a long way to enhance human resource capacities for self-employment through micro-enterprise development. At IARI two training programmes were designed to train 50 agricultural professionals from various ICAR Institutes/SAUs and KVKs and extension personal from state Department of Agriculture Horticulture Animal Human and Fishery from 16 states. The training content was divided into three phases i.e. stimulation phase, technological options and management phase. The training was conducted in participatory way by using methods like interactive lectures, participatory discussion, group discussions, case studies, games and exercise and field visits. The experiences of the participants were also used during adaptation of these methods. The participants had undergone pre and post training evaluations. The performance of the participants in the post training evaluation showed a marked improvement in their knowledge and understanding of the subject matter dealt in the training programme. The trainees’ evaluation revealed that majority of them (70%) found the sessions highly interesting and 22% found the sessions as interesting. The feedback received from the participants revealed that the theory sessions were most useful (56%) and the rest found that the theory sessions were useful. All the participants evaluated practical sessions as very effective in learning new skills. Majority of the participants suggested for such trainings to be organised in future. The Paper discusses the evaluation of training module for micro-enterprise development.