Farmer's attrition and completion in the farmer-scientists training program: the case of two selected municipalities in Luzon, Philippines

Farmers' attrition and completion of training programs were assessed in the context of the Farmer-Scientists Training Program. A multiple qualitative case study was used to examine two cases representing municipalities with high and low training attrition. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion were conducted using questionnaire and guide questions among the farmer participants to describe their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, discuss the program's implementation, assess the drivers and barriers in training completion, and propose strategies to reduce attrition and enhance training completion. Key informant interviews and a review of secondary data were conducted to triangulate the findings. The results of the study show similarities in the program's implementation in both cases, were adjustments were made to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics: sex, age and non-farm activities indirectly affect attrition. Both cases share similar drivers and barriers to training completion: the difference lies in the degree of impact. External barriers include problems during training (COVID-19, unfavorable weather conditions, and pest infestation), training conflicts (due to non-farm activities and family responsibilities), and personal issues (health). Internal barriers encompass training design (on-farm experiment, training site accessibility, length of training) and communication issues. External drivers involve family and organizational support, whereas internal drivers include social integration (good relationships in training, adaptive trainers) and factors related to the participant's motivation (goal attainment, satisfaction, value, and relevance of the program to their needs). This study suggests a thorough program planning to overcome the barriers to training completion and capitalize on factors that have been found to increase farmers' motivation to complete their training.