Prioritisation of training needs of extension personnel in brackishwater shrimp aquaculture of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Shrimp farming is the fastest growing food producing sector in the world. India stands at second position in shrimp farming. Amongst all the states, Andhra Pradesh ranks first and Maharashtra occupies sixth position. Maharashtra has a huge potential for the development of shrimp farming as out of 10,400 ha suitable farming area, only 13% is presently used. Regulation of shrimp farms is done by Department of Fisheries (DoF) and Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA). The DoF has a mandate to provide extension services, conducting training and demonstration for farmers and fishers. Training need assessment and subsequent capacity development are important for the efficient and effective performance of extension personnel. In this context, a study was undertaken with the objectives of assessing and prioritising training needs of fisheries extension personnel working in brackishwater shrimp aquaculture in Maharashtra. Out of the 72 fisheries extension personnel, information was collected from 55 fisheries extension personnel from the DoF, Maharashtra who were involved in brackishwater aquaculture development. Borich Need Assessment Model which relies on the extension agent’s judgments about their own performances was used to assess the perceived level of importance and perceived level of competency for each training area using five point scales. Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores (MWDS) were used for prioritisation. The prioritised training areas with reference to technical skills were shrimp disease management (MWDS=10.28), followed by shrimp farming with biofloc technology (MWDS=9.85) and biosecurity management (MWDS=9.65). In extension skills, the top three training areas were ‘organising and managing trainings’ (MWDS: 5.40), conducting demonstrations (MWDS: 4.27) and regulatory guidelines and standard practices in farming (MWDS: 4.10). In order to have sustainable shrimp farming development, it is necessary to design scientific capacity development programmes for the extension personnel based on training need assessment performed in a scientific manner.