Entrepreneurship

Training programmes 
cannot be regarded as  
one-off activities. 
Farmers need to be 
supported after they 
complete the training.
True learning takes 
place only when the 
farmer translates what 
has been learnt during 
training into practice
 
When  making  an  impact  assessment  three  key 
points should be borne in mind.
1.  Behaviour is assessed by action. What is the farmer 
doing differently as a result of the training?
2.  Impact on the farm business is assessed by changes 
in  the  farm  business  systems  and  in  the  overall 
business  performance.  What  business  systems  or 
performance have improved as a result of the training?
3.  This  type  of  assessment  can  be  done  only  after 
sufficient time has elapsed between the completion 
of the training and the impact evaluation.

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Extension support for developing entrepreneurial capacity 
101
training programme, the participants may not have the 
confidence  needed  to  work  independently.  In  practice, 
true learning takes place only when the farmer translates 
what he has learnt into practice. Learning should result 
in a change in behaviour. 
 
Extension  workers  play  an  important  role  in 
providing  this  support  and  in  organising  the  back-up 
support of specialised experts. The aim is to improve farmer 
performance post-training. The key role of the extension 
worker in this is to assist in getting farmers to reflect on 
their performance, help them implement their learning and 
consider the results and improve what they are doing. 
 
An  extension  worker  with  sufficient  skills  and 
experience  could  be  a  mentor  who  supports  farmer-
learning  through  teaching,  facilitating  knowledge, 
challenging  farmers,  steering  them  towards  making 
informed decisions, supporting them in their actions and 
encouraging  reflection.  The  farmer,  however,  remains 
responsible for his decisions.
Figure 14