Assessment of the Training Needs on Climate Smart Agriculture by SIWES Students in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State

This paper seeks to assess the climate smart technology training needs of SIWES students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia state. The specific objectives described the socio-economic characteristics of the SIWES students in MOUAU Abia state; ascertained SIWES students training needs on climate smart agriculture in MOUAU Abia state and identified the constraints to training activities in climate smart agriculture by SIWES students in MOUAU Abia state. The hypothesis testing was that there is no significant relationship between the socio-economic characteristics of SIWES students and their training needs. A random and purposive sampling methods was used to sample 120 SIWES students from whom data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data was analysed and interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings from this study revealed that the majority of the students (51%) were males between the age of 21-30 years (96.67%), were single (90.83%) and were from CASAP college (39.17%). Further results showed that the majority of the students needed training on the use of drought resistant crops (x̄=4.48) and Limited collaboration between the university and external agricultural organizations was a major constraint to having effective training on CSA. The hypothesis testing showed that at P < 0.05, age (2.968) was significant and positively associated with the training needs of SIWES students. The study concludes that SIWES students in MOUAU need more training in CSA and recommends collaborations between the university and external agricultural organizations to improve the quality of training received by the SIWES students.