Peasants\u27 Attitudes Towards a Professional Education in Agriculture

The author’s starting point was a presumption that for a successful progress of Croatian agriculture, particularly that a family households (family farms) as a predominant form and way of its organization, so called knowledge capital is needed, shaping of new evolutive abilities of human resources founded upon knowledge and skills in technology, organization and running business, but them being enough flexible for quick accommodation and adoption of changes. This statement is corroborated by a small number of Croatian peasants who have acquired specialized, professional education in agriculture as well as undeveloped additional resources and sectors for intellectual services for family farming. The importance of proffesional education in agriculture is particularly emphasized by the process of transition, by the fact the a great part of Croatian rural areas are exhausted, weakened but also vulnerable, as well as by professionalization of the occupation agriculturist. Researches in the process of post-socialist rural and agricultural transition as well as those on the factors of development of exhausted and weakened countyside (rural areas) in developed countries point at necessity of human resources shaping, and at local cultural resources promotion and use. But, this presumes in the first place a professional education in agriculture for the members of peasant’s family households through a researching tuition. Following these presumptions the authors give in this work the results of the research of the ways the leaders of vital peasant’s family households (vital family farms) acquired their personal professional education and experience in agriculture. They also give peasants’ evaluation of the importance of professional education of agriculturists (peasants) and on favourable forms of professional knowledge transfer. A survey research carried out by means of enquiry made by post on a sample of leaders of vital family households (64,5% farmers replied) showed that most of peasants are aware of necessity and importance of professional education in the process of agriculture modernization and of their insufficient (inadequate) knowledge, as well as that their own permanent professional perfection is indispensable. Judging the most favourable form/way of professional knowledge transfer and information communication in agriculture, the peasants gave high priority to the role of agricultural-advisory service (agricultural extension), and the self-education through professional literature they considered the least important