Training Needs and Preferences of Small-Scale Farmers in Maryland

Authors

• Lila B. Karki, University of Maryland Eastern ShoreFollow
• Prem Bhandari, University of Maryland Eastern Shore
• Enrique N Escobar, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Volume

64

Issue

1

Abstract

This study examined small-scale farmers' (N = 124) current needs, emerging priorities, and training preferences from a Farmers' Needs Assessment in Agriculture. They reported marketing agricultural products as the most important activity for building capacity, followed by certification for good agricultural practices; low-volume, high-value crops; agribusiness and enterprise development; specialty and ethnic vegetable production; and developing value-added products. The most preferred educational materials were hands-on exercises and digital learning videos. They preferred weekend programs over weekdays (afternoon, evening, and virtual) and shorter sessions over daylong sessions to benefit most from the educational events.

Authors’ Contribution Statement

Study conceptualization, L. Karki; data collection, L. Karki and E.N. Escobar; analysis, L. Karki and P. Bhandari; writing-original draft, L. Karki; writing-review and editing, P. Bhandari and E.N. Escobar. All authors, P. Bhandari and E.N. Escobar, read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data Availability

The data are not publicly available due to privacy/ethical restrictions, as they contain information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Karki, L., Bhandari, P., & Escobar, E. (2026). Training Needs and Preferences of Small-Scale Farmers in Maryland. Journal of Extension, 64(1), Article 16. https://doi.org/10.66752/1077-5315.5480