3.c) The organization of intensive training

It has been experienced that many development Programmes tend to stagnate because of lack of technical skill and knowledge at village level. In order to overcome this bottleneck, it was assumed that neither short courses nor increased extension activities would suffice, but only a continuous process of training of the influential Part of the peasantry. Therefore, a sort of Farm leader school was established. The managers and model farmers of the village cooperatives were requested to assemble once a week for intensive traininq. Over the years, they thus received a continuous theoretical as well as practical training in the modern techniques of agriculture and were supposed to convey this knowledge to their fellow farmers in the course of speeches held at the weekly night meeting of the village cooperatives. The teaching is done by the available staff of the departments at Thana level. These departmental staff members had to change their conception of their job. Instead of being mere administrators, they had to think of themselves as teachers in the First place.

The continuous process of training the organizers of the villages, i.e., the model Farmers and the cooperative managers, by weekly meetings is supplemented by cooperative inspectors who are the technical representatives of the centre in charge of a number of villages. They are trained technicians who assist the organizers in their work but also ensure a proper performance. This combination of training and control exerts a continuous pressure an the villagers and increases the impact to a considerable degree.