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December 2003 Announcement of a new publication Addressing extension and training needs of farmers with physical disabilities
3 December marks the International Day of Disabled Persons, an opportunity to focus attention on over half a billion individuals with disabilities worldwide and to spotlight their achievements; SD-Dimensions is pleased to introduce this study addressing the needs of farmers with disabilities. This study examines the extension and training needs of disabled farmers in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The idea for the study arose when extension workers in the region noted the large number of Iran-Iraq War-disabled veterans returning to their villages to continue their earlier activities in the agricultural sector. In speaking to local extensionists, it became apparent that there was no special training for extension workers to assist these farmers with disabilities with their adjustment back to the agricultural sector. Some findings resulting from the Iran study include the need to consider the geographic distribution of farmers with disabilities when devising extension strategies. The disabled are scattered over wide rural areas in the surveyed regions. This will have important implications in setting up centrally located extension centres and programmes and will require effort to ensure that the farmers will be able to reach these training centres. It was also shown that extension agents will require special training for working with farmers with disabilities; this will include the use of special farm equipment, specifically designed for the disabled, to allow them to successfully undertake their work. The findings of this study may be helpful to other countries devising strategies and special programmes to serve the extension needs of farmers with physical disabilities. This study includes a questionnaire used in the Iran study as an annex for use by individuals conducting similar studies in other countries.
Click here to see the publication (pdf format).
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