The Educational needs of walnut farmers of Raber township of Kerman provonce

Raber township in Kerman province with 4500 hectares of walnut cultivation is one of the most important hubs of walnut production in the country. Holding extensional training classes based on educational needs can play an effective role in improving the knowledge and skills of walnut farmers for using new methods to increase production and income. The main purpose of the research was to determine the educational needs of walnut farmers in Raber township. The statistical population included walnut farmers (N=1200) and experts of agricultural Jihad management of Raber township(N=15). Due to the limited community of experts, a census was conducted and multi-stage sampling with proportional assignment was used for farmers. This descriptive research was conducted by survey method and the data collection tool was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the opinion of the professors of Tabriz University and the experts of the agricultural jihad who were involved in walnut farming. The reliability of the research questionnaire was acceptable by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient (between 0.72 and 0.96). The educational needs were estimated based on the viewpoint of farmers and experts according to Borich and Quadrant models. The findings of the research using the quadrant model showed that 10 educational needs were placed in the first quadrant (high importance, low skill), which were: building a garden with the right method and system, using suitable modified varieties of walnut, getting to know walnut grafting methods. buying walnut seedlings from a suitable and reliable place, taking care of walnuts against sunburn, getting to know the right ways to sell the product, planting healthy seedlings, proper plowing and its effect on increasing production, observing the proper depth and diameter of the planting hole for walnut seedlings, Observing the proper depth and diameter of the hole for planting walnut seedlings and observing the proper distance for planting walnut seedlings.