Farmers teaching farmers: What motivates volunteer farmer trainers?

摘要

This paper assesses the motivation behind the decisions of smallholder farmers to volunteer as farmer trainers despite the fact that they are not paid for their services. Volunteer farmer trainers (VFTs) are trained in livestock feeds and feeding methods by extension officers. They in turn train other farmers within their community without pay but receive training and seeds for setting up demonstration plots. Data collection was through a combination of focus group discussions and individual interviews with 99 VFTs from seven East Africa Dairy Development (EADD) sites in central and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. Findings of the study showed that VFTs were motivated by altruism, gaining knowledge/skills, social benefits, financial benefits and increased demand for training from farmers. Financial benefits were not only from sale of seed, seedlings, planting material but also VFTs have diversified into other business opportunities such as charging for services which include silage making, hay baling, training, ear tagging, chaff cutter hire and dehorning. The findings point to the fact that investments in human, social and financial capital are crucial to keeping VFTs motivated. These factors are key to ensuring the sustainability of farmcr-to-farmer extension programs beyond project lifespans.