Building Climate Resilience: Competency-Based Training Needs Assessment of Extension Workers in Pakistan

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Syed Mufeed Hadi Naqvi
Raheel Saqib
Department of Agricultural Extension, Education and Communication, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan.
10.48311/jast.2026.16862
Abstract
Extension Field Staff (EFS) is the group of people who are responsible for managing activities related to agricultural information dissemination and farming community is the recipient or audience of that knowledge by implementing this knowledge on farm. The present study was based on primary data, collected from agricultural EFS using interview schedule in cotton belt of Punjab Province. EFS workers (359) were selected from population of 540 by using Cochran sampling technique. Moreover, Borich Needs Assessment Model was implied to prioritize the training needs of EFS about climate adaptation. Our study found that the majority of the EFS seek trainings in specific areas regarding climate variability. These included skills to use meteorological instrument, ability to comprehend early warning system, serving and mapping of climatic variability areas, management of ICT tools for weather forecasting, disaster management skills, and integrated soil management skills. By acquiring these competencies, EFS can effectively and efficiently work for minimizing the consequences of climate variability on cotton crop. There was significant positive correlation of 0.608 between specialization and the possessed competencies regarding climate adaptation, which showed that specialized extension staff possessed competencies regarding climate adaptation. The findings suggests that the training needs of the extension workers should be assessed regularly and suitable training sessions be arranged for them in the cotton belt.
Keywords
Borich Need Assessment Model
Climate variability
Cotton belt
Extension field staff
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 28, Issue 3
May and June 2026
Pages 493-504