| dc.description.abstract | Farmer training is a key strategy for developing skills that contribute to increased productivity
in the fields of small-scale farmers. Remarkably, the realization of training benefits depends
on farmers applying the training to their fields. However, the factors that determine the
subsequent perceived transfer of training, including those with mediating effects, are not
known. It remains unclear how different factors in the training transfer system interact to
subsequently influence the application of acquired knowledge and skills among smallholder
farmers. This study examined the influence of socio-psychological factors on the perceived
training transfer of agricultural skills training among smallholder farmers in central Uganda.
Specifically, the study aimed to determine: 1) the influence of contextual factors on transfer
system factors; 2) the mediating effects of perceived content validity in the relationship
between perceived trainee motivation and perceived training transfer; 3) the mediating effects
of perceived transfer design in the relationship between farmers' perceived work setting and
perceived training transfer; and 4) whether the predictors of perceived training transfer of soft
and hard skills differed when the skills were offered by the same training organization. A crosssectional study was conducted among 603 randomly selected smallholder farmers one month
after they received agricultural training from two selected NGOs (CARITAS and CEDO)
operating in Rakai, Lyantonde, and Luweero districts. Linear regression results showed that
both situational and demographic variables significantly influenced perceived motivation to
transfer (R2 = .15, p≤.001), Perceived content validity (R2 = .22, p ≤ .001), and perceived
extension worker support (R2 = .33, p ≤ .001). For objective two, perceived intrinsic motivation
directly influenced perceived training transfer (β = 0.246; t = 2.991; P < .05), and its influence
was partially mediated by perceived content validity (β = 0.325; t = 2.693; P < .05). For
objective three, the results show that perceived household resources and support directly
influenced perceived training transfer while perceived extension worker support did not.
Furthermore, perceived transfer design mediated the influence of the two work environment
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factors (perceived household resources and support and perceived extension worker support)
on the perceived training transfer of agricultural skills training. For objective four results
showed that irrespective of the organization conducting the training, the perceived transfer of
either soft or hard skills training was enhanced by trainees’ perceived intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation as well as the expectation of household resources and support from household
members. This study has demonstrated the influence of social-psychological factors on
perceived training transfer, beyond the traditional direct predictors. It is therefore,
recommended to pay particular to both the direct and mediating factors for optimal training
transfer of agricultural training. | en_US |
