Socio-economic Characteristics of ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) Extension Functionaries in Assam and Their Relationship to Their Training Needs

The most prominent step in improving the skills of extension functionaries is to analyse their training needs. The ATMA (Agricultural Technology Management Agency) Extension Functionaries are always engaged in effective transfer of improved agricultural technologies to service agencies for increasing agricultural production. They act as the nervous system in the process of communicating the latest agricultural knowledge from lab to land. So, it is of utmost importance to update their knowledge and skill periodically according to their needs through systematic and continuous in-service training programme. The aim of the present study was to find out the socio-economic characteristics of ATMA extension functionaries and determine the relationship between those socio-economic characteristics with their training needs. The study revealed that age, educational qualification, service experience, length of service in the present place of posting and training exposure had a negative and significant relationship with training needs of the ATMA extension functionaries.