By Mamusha Lemma

LIVES coaching and mentoring is helping avocado farmers (photo:ILRILIVES).

Training is often criticized for not making a significant impact on improving performance. Many training managers are increasingly concerned about how to ensure the transfer of learned skills and knowledge from a training context to the work environment. The challenge arises from how training is traditionally planned and implemented. In most cases, training is conducted as a standalone activity, with little focus on skill transfer strategies, which determines the success of training programs. But when training is properly designed and implemented, with an appropriate follow-up strategy, it can significantly influence performance at an individual, organizational and system level.

Farmers often face several constraints in applying knowledge and skills gained from training such as inadequate technical support from development agents, lack of market incentives to enter into new businesses, and shortage of finance to buy agricultural inputs. Coaching and mentoring can be…