| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of farmer training on cane productivity in lb. Mumias Sugar Company scheme. The study was guided by the following objectives: to , find out the influence of training methods on cane productivity, to determine the influence of training technology on cane productivity, to assess the availability of training personnel on caneproductivity and lastly to establish the influence of transfer of training on cane productivity in . the Mumias Sugar Company zone.
Mumias Sugar Company scheme has a total of 107,951 farmers, in the year 2010; 5,460 farmers were trained and this was the target population of the study. The study employed the following sampling methods: stratified, convenient, purposive and simple random sampling. A sample of 400 farmers was used for the study. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the main respondents while the key respondents were interviewed. The data was then analyzed by use of descriptive statistics constituting frequencies and percentages. The result of the study indicated that the most popular training method used was classroom sessions which were held under trees in farmers homes or at market centers' where there was a lot of noise and as such the concentration was low.
The study also revealed that despite technology use being on the rise in Kenya, training technology has not been embraced in the Mumias sugar zone with the only training technology used being the telecentre at the company premises where very few farmers access. The study also shows that the training personnel are few and farmers rate their efficiency as average and lastly the study further revealed that farmers did not transfer the knowledge gained during training to their farms because there was no follow up. The study recommends that more training methods and teaching aides be used during training, secondly it recommends that training technology be embraCed during training. The study also recommends that more qualified training personnel be hired and other stakeholders such as government parastatals involved in sugar industry issues and consultants be included in the training. Last but not least the study also recommends that regular follows ups on trainings be done to ascertain whether farmers are utilizing the knowledge gained. This research thus provides useful information to be used in decision making by organizations in the sugar industry sector in Kenya. | en_US |
