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Level 4: Results: This measures effectiveness of the program in terms of business objectives

2.7. Institutional Linkage

Training is used to improve the performance of individuals and social purposes in addition to get the job done effectively and for the improvement of productions (Spring, 2002; Pitchai, 2005). Adebebey, et al. (2008) pointed out that FTCs assist farmers to make good decisions, leading to optional use of their resources and efficient use of water and other resources.

Furthermore, training has additional benefits for moral building, individual motivation, financial gain, capacity to develop new technologies and methods, leads to higher productivity or profit, increase the quality of output and customer satisfaction and foster dynamic and forward looking. Training helps a business run better, adds flexibility and efficiencies in processes. Training is essentials for knowledge transfer, gives seasonal work and an investment in a company. It can also give a better service to clients (Pitchai, 2005;

YICDOL, 2008).

2.7. Institutional Linkage

Institutions are, whether organizations or not, complex of norms, rules of conduct and behaviors that persist over time by serving collectively valued purposes. Institutions mediate the rural poor access to knowledge service, market, employment, strategy and livelihood assets. For instance, Debo, Wonfel, Senbete, Mahber, Idir (funeral groups), Jigie (work or labor saving groups), Iquob (saving and loan type of groups), water user associations and other traditional and cultural institutions and informal organizations that help to disseminate and gathering information (Dejene,1999; Ellis, 1999).

22 2.7.1. Types of linkage mechanisms

Joint planning and review process, collaborative of professional activities, resource allocation procedures and communication device are types of linkage mechanisms. Innovation developed without the involvement of farmer has little chance to achieve the actual needs of farmers. Since, 1980s onwards rural development program, farmers participatory research, participatory learning action, participatory technology development, participatory rural appraisal, rapid rural appraisal and recently client oriented research, farmer research groups, farmer field school and farmer extension group are used (BoARD and SWHISA, 2006).

Institutional linkage between FTCs, farmers or groups and different institutions in agricultural sector including rural micro-finance credit institutions, cooperatives, research centers, health clinics, schools, private traders, and entrepreneurs can contribute to give technical, financial and institutional assistances. Institutions have important roles for farming communities. They deliver rules and regulations that can understand the cultural set up of people and strengthen community-based organizations. Institutions can have roles in quality control, pollution regulation, influence human behavior, reduce risk and uncertainty by establishing stable structure and build resilience to shocks that minimize transaction costs and addressing externalities (Ellis, 1999).

2.7.2. Roles of actors and stakeholders

Actor is a role that a system in the environment plays during an interaction with in our system (David, 2002). Actors are all those people who have a stake or share in a particular issue or system. Actors can be at any level or position in a society from the international to the national, regional, household or intra-household level. Actors include all those who affect and are affected by policies, decisions or actions within a particular system (Eshetu, 2008).

Stakeholder is a person, group, organization, or a system that affects or can be affected by an organizational action (Cameron et al., 2003). Stakeholder is a person who holds the stake or stakes in a bet. It is any group or individual, who can affect, or it is affected by, the

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achievement of a corporation purpose (Ramirez, 2001). Stakeholders are persons or groups who are directly or indirectly affected by a project as well as those who may have interests in a project and/or the ability to influence its outcome either positively or negatively. These may include individuals, communities, formal and informal representatives, authorities, politicians, religious leaders, civil society organizations and others.

2.7.3. Knowledge and information sharing

Knowledge is defined as the combination of data and information to which is added expert opinion, skills and experiences (Ermias, 2006). Knowledge sharing is the process of an activity through which knowledge (i.e. information, skill or experience) is exchanged among people, friends or members of a family, a community or an organization. Knowledge sharing activities are supported by knowledge management systems. If knowledge is not shared, negative consequences such as isolation and resistance to ideas occur (Gruber, 1993). There are four knowledge types:

Embrained knowledge: It is Conceptual skills and cognitive abilities. It is also practical and high level type of knowledge. The second type of knowledge is Embodied knowledge. It is an action oriented and consists of contextual practices, social acquisitions and non explicit type of knowledge. The third type of knowledge is Encultured knowledge. It is the process of achieving shared understandings through socialization and acculturation. The fourth knowledge type is Encoded knowledge. Information is conveyed in signs and symbols and de-contextualized into codes of practice. It deals more with transmission, storage and integration of knowledge. Knowledge can be transfer from one part to another part(s) of an individual or organization.

Information sharing: information is fact or understood data while knowledge is flexible and adaptable skills, a person’s unique ability to apply it. Knowledge is tacit and personal, the knowledge one person has difficulty to quantify, store, and retrieve for someone else to use.

Specifically, for knowledge to be made explicit, it must be translated into information.

Hence, information sharing referred to one-to-one exchange of data between a sender and

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receiver. There are four information sharing design patterns, one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many and many-to-one. Formal sources of information are extension workers, NGOs, communications (meeting, interpersonal discussions), radio and the like (Gruber, 1993).