Since 1974, IFDC has held nearly 700 formal workshops, study tours and training programs for nearly 10,000 participants from 150 countries. IFDC helps build human capacity because knowledge and skill are necessary requirements in the efforts of developing and transitional countries to meet the challenges of privatization, globalization and market development. Training is essential to improve the capacity of these countries to compete in world markets for goods and services and to promote meaningful employment in agriculture and agribusiness.
IFDC’s international training, workshop and study tour programs are designed for professionals in private, public, cooperative and non-governmental organizations. Each program is conducted by a multi-disciplinary team from IFDC’s experienced and qualified international staff and invited experts. The latest training technologies are used to promote knowledge transfer and skills development.
To provide hands-on opportunities, training programs include field trips to agro-input manufacturing facilities, agricultural research institutes, handling operations, agribusiness dealerships and small and large farms. These programs meet the diverse needs of organizations engaged in the operation and building of the agriculture sector in developing and transitional countries. The programs cover integrated soil fertility management and fertilizer use efficiency in sustainable agriculture and the impact of fertilizer production and use on the environment. They also deal with policy reform, competitive marketing and distribution systems, production and process technology and investment analysis.
In addition to the well-known international programs and tailored U.S. study tours that have reached nearly 10,000 participants, IFDC offices and development projects overseas annually train thousands of agro-input dealers, trade association members, progressive farmers and others in a wide range of relevant technical, business, marketing and management subjects. A good example of this type of field training is urea deep placement (UDP) technology training in Bangladesh. IFDC has trained more than 6,000 extension staff and over 250,000 farmers in UDP technology. Under the Improved Livelihood for Sidr-Affected Rice Farmers (ILSAFARM) project, IFDC conducted more than 1,000 training programs involving over 43,000 farmers. IFDC has also trained more than 1,100 urea briquette producers. In 2011, IFDC overseas projects trained over 650,000 people, of whom 32 percent are women.
To reach that many, IFDC utilizes the training of trainer’s model through different levels of cascade training. IFDC projects start with the training of master trainers who will in turn train the extension agents or farmers’ representatives and then finally replicate the training at the grassroots level. To ensure faithful replication of training content at each level, attention is paid to the assessment of new trainers’ performances before certifying them and to the quality of trainer’s manuals provided to them.
2013 Training Programs
(Arusha, Tanzania, May 20-24, 2013)
(Sanya, China, June 24-28, 2013)
(Nairobi, Kenya, July 1-5, 2013)
(USA - Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., August 19-30, 2013)
(Bangkok, Thailand, October 7-11, 2013)
- Developing and Managing Profitable Agro-Input Business Through Sustainable Value Chains
(Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, November 4-8, 2013)
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 2-6, 2013)