Agricultural Training in Myanmar: Extension Agents’ Perceptions of Training Needs
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the agricultural training programme in
Myanmar could be improved by analyzing the perceptions of extension agents towards their
needs of further training. Although the agricultural university and institutes provide courses on basic sciences and various aspects of agriculture in their curriculum, faculty only teach agricultural extension subjects during the students’ final year of study. These training institutions have a vital role to play in the development of agricultural knowledge. A number of in-service training programs for extension agents conducted at the Central Agricultural Research and Development Training Centre and the Central Agricultural Research Institute were mostly crop production oriented trainings. Training in extension education has been scarce. Much of these training programs emphasized new technical knowledge and one-way communication skills needed for the transfer of technology. There was continuing emphasis on theory rather than practice and a lack of training needs analysis. The lack of skilled and welltrained personnel in agricultural extension is the main problem of current agricultural extension services in Myanmar.