Training for Agribusiness Bridge Program Instructors Training Report June 6 June 15, 2015 Training Facilitated By: Purdue University USWDP Venue: American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), Kabul Don Breazeale, Ph.D. Senior Manager Agriculture dbreazeale@uswdp.org Phone: 0785-854-634 Hamid Faisal Senior Program Office - Agriculture USAID / USWDP Kabul, Afghanistan hfaisal@uswdp.org Phone: 0798-987-200 June 28, 2015
Introduction USWDP / Purdue conducted the agribusiness bridge training program at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) from June 6 through June 15. The training lasted for nine days. The bridge program is an extra-curricular activity for both faculty and student participants to gain knowledge, information and skills related to agribusiness topics. Balkh, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz and Nangarhar universities are participating in the overall bridge program. Fourteen faculty members representative of all five institutions participated in the training. (See list in Appendices 1). Overview and Purpose The bridge program is a temporary effort to introduce agribusiness topics while faculty are studying for their M.Sc. degrees at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bangalore, India. The newly faculty should return to Afghanistan in late 2018 and assist in establishing a new agribusiness degree at their respective institutions. Each of the five respective institutions has nominated two candidates for M.Sc. training. The topics that were covered during the training included two broad areas: agribusiness management and using Excel spreadsheet. (See agenda in Appendices 2). The participants were first of all given an orientation to the USWDP project, the bridge program, and industry survey and a pre-test of the participants knowledge with certain agribusiness topics. AUAF provided the participants with a tour of the campus which allowed the participants to see first- hand a functioning university. The agribusiness topics included: (1) planning, organizing, and operating an agribusiness; (2) economics principles, stages of production, diminishing returns, input-output relationships, and marginal analysis; (3) enterprise budgets, income statement, balance sheet with ratios; (4) marketing management approaches, planning and consumer trends; (5) components of a business plan, importance and use; (6) the AGRIMASS industry skills survey review and update; and (7) building an agribusiness curriculum: what to include? The Excel spreadsheet portion of the program covered the following topics: (1) creating, saving and sharing workbooks; (2) formatting cells, modifying columns and rows: (3) worksheet basics, page layout and printing; (4) simple and complex formulas; (5) relative and absolute cell references and Excel functions; (6) freezing panes, view options and sorting data; and (7) tables and charts.
Results Pre and Post Tests Pre and post-tests related to agribusiness topics were given to the fourteen participants. A Likertscale instrument of 1 to 5 (1= not familiar and 5 = very familiar) was utilized to measure the participants pre and post-test scores. (See Appendices 3). Table 1 shows the pre and post test results for each of the 23 individual topics as well as an overall pre and post-test average score. The overall pre-test score for all topics was 2.6 and the post-test score was 4.1 Twenty of the 23 individual items showed an improvement of 1 placing or greater. The three remaining items showed improvements of.5,.6 and.9. TABLE 1 Pre-Post Training Assessment
Pre-Assessment Post-Assessment Rating: 5- Very Familiar 1- Not Familiar / 5- Very willing 1- Not very willing 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 Total # Questions Very Not Total Average of Very Not Familiar Familiar Score Score answers Familiar Familiar 1. How familiar are you with the agribusiness portion of the USWDP project? 2 2 1 4 5 34 2.4 14 10 4 66 4.7 14 2. How familiar are you with conducting industry needs assessments? 2 4 5 3 33 2.4 14 3 4 3 3 1 47 3.4 14 3. Are you knowledgeable concerning the skills needed by agribusiness in your area? 4 5 3 2 39 2.8 14 3 9 2 57 4.1 14 4. Do you incorporate this knowledge into your teaching? 1 2 6 2 3 38 2.7 14 9 4 1 63 4.5 14 5. How familiar are you with agribusiness planning, organization and operation? 5 3 3 3 38 2.7 14 4 8 2 58 4.1 14 6. How familiar are you with the different forms of business ownership? 2 1 3 5 3 36 2.6 14 2 4 3 4 1 44 3.1 14 7. How familiar are you with the stages of production and diminishing returns? 3 2 3 3 3 41 2.9 14 6 4 2 2 56 4.0 14 8. How familiar are you with input-output relationships, and marginal analysis for decision-making? 1 3 3 3 4 36 2.6 14 9 3 1 1 62 4.4 14 9. How familiar are you with cost concepts and their application in economics (fixed, variable and total costs)? 5 2 1 4 2 46 3.3 14 7 6 1 60 4.3 14 10. How familiar are you with enterprise budgets and their use? 1 2 3 3 4 32 2.3 13 2 7 2 2 1 49 3.5 14 11. How familiar are you with partial budgets and their use? 1 4 4 5 30 2.1 14 7 4 3 46 3.3 14 12. How familiar are you with cash flow budgeting and its use? 3 2 4 5 31 2.2 14 3 5 5 1 52 3.7 14 13. How familiar are you with income statements and their use? 2 4 5 3 33 2.4 14 5 5 4 57 4.1 14 14. How familiar are you with balance sheets and their use? 1 2 4 3 4 35 2.5 14 7 5 2 61 4.4 14 15. Are you familiar with balance sheet ratios and the information they provide? 1 3 2 3 5 34 2.4 14 3 7 2 2 53 3.8 14 16. How familiar are you with the marketing process of market analysis, marketing-mix planning and marketing control? 1 5 2 3 3 40 2.9 14 4 8 1 1 57 4.1 14 17. How familiar are you with agribusiness management planning, decision making and market planning? 5 3 5 1 40 2.9 14 2 6 5 49 3.5 13 18. How familiar are you with developing and writing a business plans? 2 5 3 4 33 2.4 14 2 8 3 1 53 3.8 14 19. How familiar are you with lesson plan development and teaching methodologies? 1 2 3 7 1 37 2.6 14 8 2 4 60 4.3 14 Total Score Average Score Total # of answers
20. How familiar are you with MS. Excel spreadsheet program? 1 2 6 1 4 37 2.6 14 8 4 2 62 4.4 14 21. How familiar are you with the University Workforce and Development Project (USWDP)? 1 1 3 3 6 30 2.1 14 7 6 1 62 4.4 14 22. How familiar are you with the Agribusiness Bridge Program? 1 3 6 4 30 2.1 14 8 5 1 63 4.5 14 23. Are you willing to serve as an instructor for the student portion of the bridge program? 7 4 1 2 56 4.0 14 12 2 68 4.9 14 TOTAL 30 56 74 82 79 36 2.6 321 124 123 49 21 4 57 4.1 321 4.5 Pre/Post Assessments 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 2.6 1 2 4.1
The Excel spreadsheet portion of the bridge training also measured the participants pre and posttest scores. As can be seen in Table 2, the pre-test score for all participants averaged 58% and the post-test score was 86%. The participant with the greatest improvement went from 23% on the pre-test to 92% on the post-test. Table 2 Participant's Name Pre-test % Post-test % Atiqullah 8 61% 13 100% Sayed Mohammad Kabir 7 53% 13 100% Mohd. Arif Shamsi 6 46% 8 61% Mohd. Yousuf Fakoor 10 76% 12 92% Zarir Sharaf 6 46% 10 76% Sayed Mahbobullah 4 30% 10 76% Abdul Khalil Bizhan 3 23% 12 92% Mujeeb Rahman Karimi 9 69% 11 84% Abdul Khalil Afghani 9 69% 11 84% Ghulam Nabi Sayedi 6 46% 12 92% Mohammad Tayeb 10 76% 10 76% Rafiullah Rahimzai 11 84% 11 84% Shafiqullah Shafiqi 8 61% 12 92% Mohd. Ismail Hashimi 10 76% 13 100% Average 8 58% 11 86% Results Course Evaluation A course evaluation was also completed with input from the fourteen participants. Table 3, with five parts provides an in depth review of the participants feedback. Part 1 and 2 of Table 3 were based on a five point Likert scale (1 = not at all prepared and 5 = very prepared). The nine topics in Part 1 close follow the agenda items previously described. The computer portion of the training was rated the highest with a 4.4 and the introductory section was rated the lowest with 3.6. The overall average for the course was 4.0 Table 3 Part 1: Course Topics Average USWDP Project, Bridge Training overview and program, industry survey, orientation and pre-test 4.3 Introduction to Agribusiness, planning, organization and operation, forms of ownership 3.6 Economic Principles, stages of production, diminishing returns, input-output relationships, marginal analysis for decision-making 4.1
Finance, enterprise budgets, income statement, balance sheets with ratios 3.9 Marketing management, approaches, planning, and consumer trends 4.0 Business Plan Templates, importance and use 4.0 Industry survey skills reviewed by participants with comments and suggestions for change 4.1 Agribusiness curriculum reviews and tentative course selections for potential degree program 3.9 Computer Lab ( Use of Microsoft Excel 2013 spreadsheet application in Agribusiness) 4.4 Average 4.0 Part 2 of Table 3 provides feedback for the logistics of the course. Length of program, facilities, meals and refreshments and teaching team were rated from a low of 4.2 to a high of 4.7. The overall average was 4.5. It is important to recognize, that although the length of the program, facilities and meals may be important to the participants, the teaching team (rated 4.7) is most important for those actually providing the teaching. Part 2: Length of the program, Facilities, Meals and Teaching Team Average Length of program 4.2 Facilities 4.6 Meals and Refreshments 4.4 Teaching Team 4.7 Average 4.5 Part 3, 4, and 5 are from the USWDP evaluation form and include four-point Likert scales. The topics in Part 3 are somewhat repetitive given the earlier information provided, but do provide some feedback for the organizers. Part 4 and 5 also provide some information, but are also repetitive. Part 3: Workshop/Training Average The workshop/training objectives were met. 3.4 The length of the workshop/training was appropriate. 3.3 The content of this workshop/training was relevant to your job. 3.8 The overall quality of the workshop/training was good. 3.6 You received enough information before the workshop/training. 3.2 The facility where the workshop/training was held was appropriate 3.8
Part 4: Workshop/Training Materials: Average The workshop materials were useful. 3.9 You are likely to use the workshop materials in the future. 3.7 The quantity of the training materials was appropriate. 3.4 Part 5: Workshop/Training Trainers: Average Dr. Donald Breazeale 3.6 Dr. Khyber Khishki 3.6 Hamid Faisal 4.0 Results AGRIMASS Industry Survey The AGRIMASS skills survey was introduced to the fourteen faculty participants. They found it fairly compatible with the situation in Afghanistan, although they elected to reduce the number of items it contained. Below is the draft version assembled by the training participants. Hopefully it is now less complicated than before. DRAFT Afghan AGRIMASS Survey A. Business and Economic Skills 1. Marketing Administration (Systems, Strategy, Organization, Structure, Subject: Management) 2. Consumer behavior analysis (economics) 3. Professional selling techniques 4. Financial statement analysis 5. Identify, monitor and evaluate key performance areas and progress toward the objectives and goals of the firm 6. Develop business policies and programs for the firm 7. Coordinate human and physical resources 8. Corporate finance (capital structure, formation, and budgeting) 9. Human resource planning and control 10. Accounting concepts and procedures 11. Inventory Management Systems 12. Process and product layout and design B. Computer, Quantitative and Management Information Skills 1. General business computer software (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, data bases) 2. Computerized accounting systems 3. Interpret and use math and statistical methods
4. Use computers in managerial decision-making 5. Communicate with computer programmers 6. Use quantitative techniques for managerial decision-making (e.g. linear programming, business forecasting) 7. Understand expert systems C. Technical Skills 1. General crop production systems 2. Specialized crop production systems 3. General livestock / meat production systems 4. Soil fertility, chemistry and characteristics 5. Food science, post-harvest and processing technology 6. Food transportation and distribution systems 7. Engineering technology of production / processing machinery 8. Bio-science, bio-technology and bio-chemistry 9. Computer-controlled mechanical processes D. Communication Sills 1. Listen to and carry out instructions 2. Express creative ideas verbally 3. Express create ideas in writing 4. Professional telephone skills and etiquette 5. Give clear and concise instructions to others 6. Listen to and summarize lengthy oral presentations 7. Speak clearly and concisely on technical information 8. Write technical reports, memos and letters 9. Foreign skills (specify the language) 10. Read and understand specific technical information E. Personal Qualities 1. Loyalty to the organization 2. Positive work attitude / personality / ability to work hard 3. Work with others and be a team player in problem solving situations 4. High moral / ethical standards 5. Self-motivation 6. Work without supervision 7. Self-confidence and ability to take a chance and handle stress / failure / rejection 8. Work under varied conditions 9. Recognize a business opportunity 10. Take a position and defend it, sell your ideas
11. Provide leadership and make decisions 12. Manage people and delegate responsibility and authority 13. Apply technical skills and information in problem solving situations F. Employment and Work Experience 1. Employment in International Agribusiness firm 2. Employment in financial institution 3. Farm work 4. Employment in non-agricultural retail business 5. Employment in domestic agribusiness firm 6. Government / public affairs positions G. General Higher Education Experiences 1. Foreign internship experience 2. Foreign study experience 3. Local industry internship experience 4. Experience in developing a business plan and organizing a business 5. Extra-curricular activities in university including leadership positions in student clubs and functions 6. Work as student teaching assistant or part-time in university H. Open-Ended Questions Given the current needs of your company / NGO / Ministry, how likely would you be to hire a recent University graduate from one of the following discipline areas? Circle the number that indicates your company needs (1 = Not Needed, 5 = Highly Needed) 1. Agricultural Economics / Extension 1 2 3 4 5 2. Animal Science 1 2 3 4 5 3. Agronomy 1 2 3 4 5 4. Soil Science 1 2 3 4 5 5. Bio-Technology 1 2 3 4 5 6. Forestry and Natural Resources 1 2 3 4 5 7. Horticulture 1 2 3 4 5 8. Plant Protection 1 2 3 4 5 Results Agribusiness Courses and Comments The last day of the training was spent brainstorming about potential course that should be included in a new agribusiness degree for the respective universities. The following list was developed.
Potential Agribusiness Courses as Per Participants Recommendations Agricultural Finance Principles of Management Agricultural Marketing Principles of Accounting Introduction to Cooperatives Cooperatives and Agribusiness Management Principles of Macroeconomics (not sure why they insisted on macro and not micro) Farm and Ranch Management Comments for Discussion in Moving Forward with an Agribusiness Degree During the bridge training the instructors tried to emphasize the need to truly understand the needs of the private sector. While some of the participants have tangential relationships with private sector entities, none of them indicated a real understanding; in fact, they often stated that they didn t know what the private sector required in employees. Given this gap in understanding of the private sector, it is understandable that the participants would also have little understanding of agribusiness curriculum requirements. For example, with one exception, none of the participants had any knowledge of double entry accounting methods and financial statements such as balance sheets and income statements. None of the participants was familiar with an enterprise budget and the majority had few Excel spreadsheet skills. It was also learned that none of the universities represented were teaching computer applications / spreadsheets courses even though a couple of the universities had access to computer labs. University infrastructure, or a lack there of, was also a problem that was brought up. Some of the universities have unreliable power systems and requested funding for fuel to run generators. In addition, some of the participants indicate spotty internet service. One of our discussions centered on how the universities might move forward with the establishment of an agribusiness degree program. The participants, while enthusiastic about establishing an agribusiness degree at their respective institution, were aware of several challenges for moving forward. The following are ideas and suggestions for incorporating agribusiness topics into the existing curriculum during the time an actual degree is being developed. On option is to change existing agricultural economics courses to include agribusiness content. This may in the short run, be the easiest method to start teaching agribusiness topics. Although there may be some MOHE approval required, it might be easier than starting an entirely new course.
Another option mentioned involved adding new agribusiness courses as part of the general agricultural curriculum that all students take their first and second year. Spreadsheets in particular, should be taken by ALL students from the Faculty of Agriculture at every university. It was also suggested to hold a curriculum development meeting for all agricultural economics professors. A meeting for 3 5 days would be sufficient to come up with a realistic agribusiness curriculum which could then be submitted to MoHE for approval. However, there must first be input from industry before developing a new curriculum. Industry Needs students with knowledge related to accounting (double entry), capital budgeting, and spreadsheets would be more competitive in the job market. Summary and Conclusions The USWDP / Purdue Agribusiness Bridge Training event appears to have been a success. The participants all reported increased levels of knowledge related to the topics covered in the training. This was especially true with the Excel spreadsheet portion, but also with the agribusiness topics as well. On the last day of the course, the participants were presented with certificates of completion and received their per diem and travel costs. There is now greater understanding concerning the USWDP Project and the agribusiness bridge program. As the USWDP / Purdue agribusiness component moves forward there are several challenges to overcome. One of the main challenges is how to change the current curriculum? Suggestions ranged from making small incremental changes such as adding new courses, changing the content in existing courses, and developing a complete brand new curriculum for agribusiness. Each of these alternatives has some advantages and disadvantages. Another challenge is to send the new faculty to India for M.Sc. training and then incorporate them back into the faculty upon their completion. Given the current security situation in Kabul, it is recommended that the USWDP / Purdue program move its base of operation to Balkh Universty in Mazar-e-Sharif. Balkh University can become the base of the agribusiness program and all future training and other meetings can occur there. Balkh has a new campus and the Faculty of Agriculture has a new computer lab which will be essential for a new agribusiness program. This move will allow daily contact with at least one faculty. The other four universities can utilize Balkh as the hub for their own agribusiness efforts. It should not be assumed that the faculty members have adequate training, skills or expertise to smoothly start teaching agribusiness courses. Based on our (the instructors) interaction with the participants, it will be necessary to also address such issues as continual in-service training, administrative and program development support, and student support services. It will require a concerted, long-term effort to bring the five Faculties of Agriculture, and any resulting agribusiness programs up to speed if they are to be expected to produce agribusiness graduates desired by the Afghan private agribusiness sector.
However, through the bridge training program, the five universities and USWDP / Purdue have established a connection that appears to be favorable to all parties. We will continue to push for the partnership agreements to be signed with each institution and move forward with a second bridge training that will focus on the industry survey and determining needed work force skills.
Appendices 1 List of Training Participants S# Name Job Title / Academic University Qualifications E-mail Ranking 1 Abdul Khalil Afghani Dean of Faculty Khost University MS in Botany from Aakhalil2007@gmail.com Peshawar University 2 Mujib Rahman Karimi Head of Agriculture Khost University MS in Agricultural Mujib.karimi@gmail.com Economic department Economics 3 Shafi Gul Shafiqi Head of Agronomy Khost University MS in Agronomy shafigulshafiqy@yahoo.com department 4 Sayed Mohammad Faculty Member Kandahar University BSc in Agricultural kabiragha2010@gmail.com Kabir Economics and Extension 5 Mohammad Ismail Hashimi Faculty Member Kandahar University MS in Agricultural Economics/ Agribusiness 6 Rafiullah Rahimzai Faculty Member Nangarhar University MS in Agricultural rafirahimzai@yahoo.com Economics - Purdue Uni 7 Mohammad Tayeb Faculty Member Nangarhar University MS in Agricultural Economics mismailhashime@gmail.com mohammadtayeb99@gmail.c om 8 Ghulam Nabi Sayedi Head of Agriculture Nangarhar University PhD in Agriculture ghulamn5180@yahoo.com Economic department 9 Mohammad Yousuf Faculty Member Balkh University MS in Agronomy - India fakoor.1968@gmail.com Fakoor 10 Mohammad Arif Shamsi Head of Agriculture Economic Balkh University MS in Agronomy sharaf.zarir3@gmail.com department 11 Zarir Sharaf Faculty Member Balkh University MS in Agronomy - India sharaf.zarir3@gmail.com
12 Abdul Khalil Behjan Dean of Faculty Kunduz University BSc in Agronomy Bizhanparsa9@gmail.com Parsa 13 Atiqullah Siddiqi Faculty Member Kunduz University MS in Horticulture - India atiqullahsediqy@yahoo.com 14 Sayed Mahboobullah Akbari Appendices 2 Training Agenda Faculty Member Kunduz University BSc in Agricultural Economics mohbob.akbari@gmail.com Day Time Topic Instructor Day 1 - Saturday, June 6 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 USWDP Project, bridge training overview and program, industry survey, orientation and pre-test Dr. Don Breazeale Hamid Faisal 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Introduction to Excel 2013, Creating and Opening Workbooks Hamid Faisal Day 2 - Sunday, June 7 Day 3 - Monday, June 8 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Introduction to Agribusiness, planning, organization and operation, forms of Dr. Don Breazeale ownership 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Saving and Sharing Workbooks, Cell Basics Hamid Faisal 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Economic Principles, stages of production, diminishing returns, input-output Dr. Don Breazeale relationships, marginal analysis for decision-making 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Modifying Columns, Rows and Cells, Formatting Cells Hamid Faisal 8:30 9:00 Registration
Day 4 - Tuesday, June 9 9:00 12:00 Finance, enterprise budgets, income statement, balance sheets with ratios Dr. Don Breazeale 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Worksheet Basics, Page Layout, Printing Workbooks Hamid Faisal
Day 5 - Wednesday, June 10 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Marketing management, approaches, planning, and consumer trends Dr. Khyber 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Simple Formulas, Complex Formulas Hamid Faisal Day 6 - Thursday, June 11 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Business Plan Templates, importance and use (Dr. Khyber). UMN Ag Business Plan software. (Don). Dr. Khyber Dr. Don Breazeale 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Relative and Absolute Cell References, Excel Functions Hamid Faisal Day 7 - Saturday, June 13 Day 8 - Sunday, June 14 Day 9 - Monday, June 15 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Introduction to Lesson Plan Development. Participants will prepare teaching Dr. Don Breazeale plans on an agribusiness topic (in-class exercise). 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Freezing Panes and View Options, Sorting Data Hamid Faisal 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Lesson Plan group presentations, reviews and critiques Dr. Don Breazeale 12:00 01:00 Lunch & Prayer 1:00 03:30 (Computer Lab) Tables and Charts Hamid Faisal 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 12:00 Post-test, course evaluation, certificates, and reimbursements Dr. Don Breazeale Hamid Faisal
Appendices 3 Pre-Post assessment Agribusiness Bridge Training Pre-Assessment 1. How familiar are you with the agribusiness portion of the USWDP Project? 2. How familiar are you with conducting industry needs assessments? 3. Are you knowledgeable concerning the skills needed by agribusinesses in your area? 4. Do you incorporate this knowledge into your teaching? Very Much: : : : : : Not Very Much 5. How familiar are you with agribusiness planning, organization, and operation? 6. How familiar are you with the different forms of business ownership? 7. How familiar are you with the stages of production and diminishing returns? 8. How familiar are you with input output relationships and marginal analysis for decision making? 9. How familiar are you with cost concepts and their application in economics (fixed, variable and total costs)?
10. How familiar are you with enterprise budgets and their use? 11. How familiar are you with partial budgets and their use? 12. How familiar are you with cash flow budgeting and its use? 13. How familiar are you with income statements and their use? 14. How familiar are you with balance sheets and their use? 15. Are you familiar with balance sheet ratios and the information they provide? 16. How familiar are you with the marketing processes of market analysis, marketing-mix planning and marketing control? 17. How familiar are you with agribusiness management planning, decision making and market planning? 18. How familiar are you with developing and writing a business plans? 19. How familiar are you with lesson plan development and teaching methodologies? 20. How familiar are you with MS Excel spreadsheet programs?
21. How familiar are you with the University Workforce and Development Project (USWDP)? 22. How familiar are you with the Agribusiness Bridge Program? 23. Are you willing to serve as an instructor for the student portion of the bridge program? Very Willing: : : : : : Not Very Willing
Training Photos