DEVELOPMENT OF A LEARNING PROGRAM TO ENHANCE EXPORT-GRADE DURIAN PRODUCTION SKILLS AMONG DURIAN FARMERS: LANGSUAN, CHUMPHON BASED

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1) To study the current situation, desired situation, and necessary skills for producing export quality durian. 2) To develop a learning program for durian farmers to enhance production skills. and 3) To evaluate the effectiveness of using a learning program for durian farmers. A research and development project using a mixed methods research by a sequential exploratory. Studying by documents, asking questions, and conducting in-depth interviews, the sample group consisted of durian farmers in the large-scale agricultural project in Lang Suan District, Chumphon Province, by selecting specifically. The research tools used were farmer questionnaires, in-depth interviews, satisfaction questionnaires, and data analysis using content analysis, percentages, and averages. Research results found that the current situation is that more than 35 percent of farmers are over 60 years old, have only junior high school, have no land rights document and have insufficient water sources, production cost 32,604.83baht, yield quality 1,042.53 kilograms per rai per year. Desired conditions: Farmers want to get a yield of 3 tons per rai per year, with experts as consultants. There are 6 essential skills: pruning and bush shaping, planting bed management and watering systems, soil fertilizer application and foliar feeding at each stage of production, pruning flowering, pollination, fruiting, tying branches and fruiting, fruit harvesting, disease and pest analysis and prevention and control methods. A learning program has three components: 1) Production skills knowledge set, 2) Learning process, and 3) Partnership. Effectiveness of using the program: Farmers have increased production skills and are most satisfied.