Making agricultural extension training practical: From evaluation to curriculum change in Southern Sudan

Abstract

A shortage of adequately trained agricultural extension workers has been one of the limiting factors in establishing a viable agricultural extension service in the southern region of Sudan. In an effort to more effectively train their extension personnel, the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, with US AID support, established the Southern Manpower Development Project. The authors describe one segment of that project—the revitalization of the Rumbek Agricultural Training Centre (RATC). This revitalization process began with an evaluation of existing extension training conditions. The evaluation resulted in six major changes that were implemented at the RATC. The collective impact of these six changes resulted in the emergence of a curriculum which could become a model curriculum for other institutions with similar missions.