An Evaluation of the Impacts of Extension Training on Rural Households: The Case of Faridan County Livestock Breeders, Esfahan Province

  The purpose of the present study is to identify the impacts of extension trainings on rural households and livestock breeders; the study is a quasi experiment evaluation research, which is carried out in Faridan county of Esfahan province in 2004. The required data are collected from a samples size of 262 from control and experiment groups. The results indicate that extension trainings can promote the level of information, job awareness, level of skills, application of modern livestock breeding, social participation and collective actions. The trainees believe that the trainings have positive impacts on the promotion of their creativity and innovation, general and professional information, management and self-confidence. The study recommends the raising of the time devoted to extension trainings in an organized and consolidated program, the provision of sufficient financial resources for the implementation of the program, more attention to women and their training, and the application of purpose – oriented evaluation model for the assessment of extension trainings.