UTZ GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

TRAINING OF GROUP MEMBERS

(Version 1.0 | August 2016)
Guidance on how to set up your training program, as required in the UTZ Certified Core Code of Conduct for group and multi-group
certification (version 1.1).

This guidance document is part of a set of documents designed to assist with implementation of specific topics within the UTZ
Core Code of Conduct. This document is intended for use by farmer groups and the technical assistants supporting them in the
certification process.
 UTZ & TRAINING OF GROUP
MEMBERS
Training is at the core of the UTZ program. Farmer training
leads to better farm and business management, safer
working conditions and better protection of nature – making
farming more economically, socially and environmentally
sustainable.
The UTZ Code of Conduct requires groups to train their members on all
relevant aspects of the UTZ Code of Conduct (G.A. 19). Groups must also raise
awareness about good working conditions among their group members, the
Box 1 group member workers and their families (G.A.20).
GOOD TO KNOW
What is training? Training is only effective if it is adapted to the needs of the group members
The term ‘training’ refers to
being trained. If training is to result in a change in performance, the training
transferring knowledge and
improving skills. It aims to improve should be led by a competent trainer and be conducted at a time which fits
performance. the living circumstances of the group members.

What is awareness raising?
Awareness raising is ultimately
focused on changing attitudes on
a particular topic. It is a first step
towards changing the behavior of
the farmers.
The aim of this document is to explain UTZ’s requirements on farmer training. It
aims to:
•• describe how training of group members should be carried out
•• provide guidance to groups on how to set up, implement and document
effective training in line with the UTZ Code of Conduct.

Box 2
TRAINING OF GROUP MEMBERS, WHAT DOES THE CODE OF CONDUCT SAY?
According to the UTZ Code of Conduct (G.A. 19):
•• Training must be carried out by competent persons.
•• Training must be clear and easy for group members to understand.
•• Checks must be carried out to confirm the topics of the training have been understood.
•• Training must be provided on topics relevant to group members to produce better crops and comply with the UTZ
code.
•• Training must be sufficient in number and duration to provide group members with the knowledge, skills and
attitudes they need to comply with the UTZ Code of Conduct.
•• A minimum of two topics from the list in the UTZ Code of Conduct (G.A. 20) must be covered every year and all
the topics must be covered within four years.
•• A Training should be attended by those responsible for the activities addressed in the training. This can be group
members, their family members, tenants or workers.
•• Measures must be taken to ensure equal opportunities for women to participate in training and awareness raising
(G.A. 21)

2 - © UTZ Version 1.0 - August 2016

WHAT TO HAVE IN PLACE?
Setting up training for group members.

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3 YEAR 4

Appoint a training manager

(G.A. 8).

This is a person (or a committee) responsible for the training of group staff and group members as part of the Internal
Management System (IMS) (G.A. 8). The training manager may be the same person as the IMS manager or someone
else qualified for the position and working closely with the IMS manager.
What makes a good training manager?
A training manager should have experience with:
•• identifying the training needs of producers
•• preparing, implementing and monitoring training
•• supervising a pool of trainers
Assess what kind of training is
needed (G.A. 19).

Carry out a training needs assessment (for more information see the chapter on training needs assessment) – (G.A. 19).
(recommended)
Identify and train a pool
of trainers to carry out
the training for group members.

How can I be sure that prospective trainers have the right qualifications?
Training has to be carried out by a ‘competent person’ (G.A. 219), meaning someone with an official qualification or relevant
experience in the topic he delivers training on. The qualification could be a diploma from a school, vocational training institute
or university; government accreditation or evidence of attended trainings (such as training for farmer field school facilitators); or
proven relevant work experience.

Develop a training schedule.

The schedule should indicate the date, location and topic of each training. It should also state the objectives of and the target
group (that means the intended participants) for the training, based on the results of the training needs assessment.
Keep records of your training
activities.
Groups need to set up a process for keeping records of all training activities and training participants.

Update the training

schedule.
The schedule should be part of the group management plan, and take into account
the results of risk assessments, internal inspections and audits, and monitoring of
training in the previous year.

Guidance to the Core Code of Conduct for group certification version 1.1 - 3

Box 3
REMEMBER THAT
Group staff (such as IMS staff) also
has to be trained (G.A. 18). This is
covered by a different guidance
document: the IMS guidance
document.
4 - © UTZ Version 1.0 - August 2016
IN PRACTICE: CREATING A GOOD
TRAINING PROGRAM
Creating a pool of trainers
Link up with national agricultural extension services, NGOs and community-
based organizations to identify possible trainers. Engage independent
consultants, in-company trainers or work with lead farmers in your community.
As the UTZ Code requests training on very different topics (from agricultural
practices to environmental and social issues to business management), you
might link up with several organizations to cover all, e.g. also health centers,
labor unions, and specialist government agencies.
• The training manager runs the training sessions for the trainers
IMS or training
of the group members
manager
• He should be a master trainer with training skills. UTZ offers
‘training of trainers’ on the UTZ program, for more information
Trains and
check: www.utzacademyonline.com
sets up
Pool of • lead farmers, or master farmers
qualified • consultants, farmer trainers
trainers • extension services...
Trains
Group • group members
members • their families
• their workers
Selecting the topics
Topics should be drawn from the list of training topics in the Code of
Conduct (G.A. 19). They may also derive from other activities that the IMS
is implementing (e.g. training needs assessment, monitoring of previous
trainings, internal inspections, external audits, risk assessment) to ensure that
training provides group members with the knowledge and skills they need.
Training should cover at least two of the topics from the Code of Conduct
each year so that after four years of certification all topics have been
covered. The table below lists the topics.
Training of group members Awareness raising
(G.A. 19) (G.A. 20)
•• Traceability
•• Good farm maintenance and
productivity
•• Integrated Pest Management
techniques
•• Crop diversification
•• Safe handling and use of permitted
pesticides, including pre-harvest
intervals and re-entry times
•• Harvest and postharvest practices
•• Product quality and food safety
•• Record keeping skills
•• Occupational health and safety •• Workers’ rights
•• Child labor, including hazardous
work and trafficking
•• Importance of education
•• Equal rights and opportunities for
women
•• Sexual harassment, diversity and
discrimination
•• Family health and nutrition
•• Other relevant topics
•• Protection of local water resources
•• Protection of flora and fauna
•• Climate change
•• Waste management
Conducting a training needs assessment
Before you develop your training program and start to implement training, we
recommend to conduct a training needs assessment. Here, you will identify Box 4
who needs to be trained, what they need to know and what they should
REMEMBER THAT
be able to do differently by the end of the training. Based on the training Not all the needs of your group
needs you will know how the training should be designed. This enables you members can be met through
to tailor the training to the needs of your group members and deploy your training.
resources efficiently. As not all your group members have the same needs,
we recommend to form smaller training groups to better meet the needs Think about providing or
facilitating:
and make your training effective. You may already have identified some
•• access to agricultural inputs or
training needs based on your own experiences or the outcomes of your risk
finance
assessment. Often the training manager is in charge of the training needs •• information on quality, prices,
assessment, but also somebody else can be appointed by the IMS to conduct etc.
it or support the training manager. •• incentives such as higher prices
for better quality produce
The training needs assessment should answer the following questions: •• access to experts hired to
perform a high-skilled task.
•• What is the target group? Who needs to be trained on what?
Group members may not need to take part in all training sessions, only This support can often be offered
those of direct interest. For example, in share cropping arrangements in conjunction with training and
the landowner might be registered as the group member but the tenant can make your program more
performing the actual farming activities should be the one participating in effective.
the training.
•• What is the current level of knowledge and current practices?
You need this information to determine the level of training required and
subsequently to monitor the effectiveness of your training program.
•• What subjects should the training cover?
Box 5
The UTZ Code of Conduct gives a list of topics. Set priorities for the first and
following years of training. REMEMBER THAT
if a training needs assessment
•• How intensive should the training be and how long should it last? Is a one-
is missing, you might incur the
off training session sufficient or do you need several sessions? following:
•• Your training program might
UTZ recommends to take participatory approach to identify the training focus on the wrong target
needs. This might involve some of the following: groups.
•• Your training program might
put wrong emphasis on
•• interviews and group discussions with group members and target groups
subjects so that too much time
•• observations of the actual practices of group members, internal inspection might be wasted on things
and previous audit reports participants already know or
•• discussions within the IMS team don’t need to know.
•• consultation with experts (e.g. agricultural extension services, pesticide •• You might use methods which
experts, NGOs working on child labor or nutrition) do not motivate the group
members to participate or
•• consultation with buyers and other actors in the supply chain to clarify
enable them to implement the
quality specifications, market requirements, international regulations, etc. new knowledge and skills.
•• You can monitor the impacts of
Document the findings of your training needs assessment so that you can use your training, if you don’t know
them to develop your training schedule and monitor the effectiveness of your your starting situation.
training program.

Guidance to the Core Code of Conduct for group certification version 1.1 - 5
 Developing a training schedule
A training schedule should include the details of each training session.
covered Here is an example for a training schedule:
/ topics
Title of training

Summary

Target group

person
responsible
Trainer /

materials used
Training

understanding
check or test
Method to

duration
Date, time or

training
Place of
#

1 Good fa rm Discuss th e Fa rm ers i n Mart i n, Fa rm e r Practica l 2. Ma y (2 Mart i n’s

ma int enanc e: b e n efi ts and Mart i n’s lead fa rm e r Fi eld d emons tration hrs) fa rm and
p ru n ing lea rn how to grou p (10) School s u rround ing
p ru n e ma nua l fa rms of grou p
m e m b ers

2 Record Ke e p ing Und erstand Fa rm ers and Dais y, Record Qu iz 7. Se p. (3 Comm u nit y
w hic h th e i r fa m i l y bus i ness k e e p ing hrs.) ha l l i n Forest
records to re m e m b ers tra i n e r booklet Vi llage
k e e p for respons i b l e
c ert ification for record
and lea rn k e e p ing i n
how to us e Forest Vi llage
th e record (15)
k e e p ing

3 ...and so on ....

When you are developing the training schedule, ensure that:

•• training dates and times take into account the work, culture and social
events of group members and the other responsibilities they fulfil (being a
parent, a community chief, etc.).
•• training on technical or agricultural topics coincides with real-world
activities, so the new knowledge can be applied immediately.

Box 6
TRAINING FOR WOMEN
The Code of Conduct requires groups to facilitate the participation of
women in training (G.A. 21). Reaching women farmers and labourers
with training can be more challenging because they may not be
the registered group member, often have family and childcare
responsibilities which can prevent them from travelling and attending
training and are more likely to have low literacy levels. When conducting
your training needs assessment, ask yourself - how can you encourage
women to participate in the training? What measures can you adopt to
encourage their participation? For some examples and advice, consult
the guidance document on gender.

6 - © UTZ Version 1.0 - August 2016

Designing your training sessions
When you design your training sessions, you have to select the training
method best suited to the topic and the group members. Keep in mind that Box 7
your group members bring a wealth of experience with them and like to GOOD TO KNOW
immediately apply what they have learned to solve their problems. To learn more how adults learn,
have a look at the concepts of
There is a large variety of methods available and you should select one that the Experiential Learning Cycle
of David Kolb, an American
will make the training understandable and interesting to those attending.
educational theorist, and the
characteristics of adult learners
The table below lists the most common methods used. of Malcom Knowles for example
following this link: http://tribehr.
In practice, alternating several approaches gives a training session variety com/blog/workplace-training-
and will keep group members engaged. and-education-how-adults-learn.

TRAINING METHOD DESCRIPTION

Lecture or A lecture or a presentation may be given on a specific topic by the trainer, an external expert
presentation or one of the group members. It can be solely oral or use presentation slides, a short film clip,
pictures, posters or hand-outs. The purpose of a lecture is to transfer knowledge, which can then
be deepened during the training in Q&A, discussions and exercises etc.
Question and Typically a lecture is followed by a Q&A in which the group members can ask questions about
Answer (Q&A) the lecture which are answered by the presenter, trainer or fellow group members.

Discussion A discussion allows group members to share their experiences and ideas or to solve a problem.
Discussions can be done in smaller sub-groups or with the whole group in plenary.
Brainstorming A brainstorming session is meant to collect a lot of ideas in a short time, and not to discuss each
idea in detail. There are different ways of carrying out a brainstorm individually or in groups.
Demonstration A demonstration is a presentation of a method for doing something, e.g. how to use spraying
equipment. You can do a demonstration in a training environment or in the field.
Role play In a role-play two or more participants act parts in a scenario. It encourages participants to
think about issues from a different perspective and helps to change attitudes. After the role-
play, you should reflect with the group on what they have experienced and observed.

Case study A real situation or series of events is presented to the group members for their analysis and
consideration of possible solutions to the problems identified. Can be used to discuss common
problems in a realistic situation.

Field visit A field visit can be organized to enable group members to see desired practices in action. Field
visits are typically organized to plots of model farmers, processing facilities or nurseries.
Exercise Exercises are given to individuals or small groups to practise and reflect on what has been
taught in the training.
Developing an Allows your group members to apply what they have learnt in the training to their situation with
implementation opportunities for them to receive help and guidance.
plan
Quiz With a quiz you can assess the understanding of the participants in a fun way and energize your
participants by having them competing against each other individually or in groups.
Examination or test An examination or test is typically done at the end of a training to assess if the group members
understood the content of the training and are able to implement it.
Energizers / Icebreakers and energizers are short fun games that help participants to get to know each
Icebreakers other and can create a welcoming, open atmosphere that helps people to learn. They can also
be used to provide new energy after a heavy meal or intense work session. You can use these
games throughout a training session.

Guidance to the Core Code of Conduct for group certification version 1.1 - 7
 Planning each training session
Making a detailed plan for each training session provides a script for the
trainer and will help you keep track of the training given and the methods
used. An example is shown below.

Title of training: Trainer: Date, time or duration: Location:

Pests and Mr. Moha med 1 Ap ri l, morn ing d emo p lot
th e i r (2.5 hours) i n Big
treat m ent Vi llage
Participants: 15 fa rm ers from Big Vi llage

Objective: Ens u ring that th e fa rm ers know how to id en tify and t reat
most of th e common pests

Agenda point: Topics to be covered: Method & materials Time

used: required:
In troduction • In troduction of • s p eec h 30 m i nutes
tra i n e r • ga m e /
• Self-in troduction ic e b rea k e r
of partic ipants • lect u re wi th
• Ov e rvi e w of th e post e r
tra i n ing session
Typica l pests • Typica l pests • lect u re wi th 30 m i nutes
• How to id en tify post e r on pests
pests

Pre v en tion Integrated Pest Visit to d emo p lot s 60 m i nutes

and t reat m ent Manage m ent Agri-eco syst e m
of pests ana lysis…
• ex ercis e:
partic ipants
id en tify pests on
th e fa rm
Test/c hec k Fa rm ers d emons trat e Eac h fa rm e r gets 30 m i nutes
that th e y know how a card wi th th e
to id en tify and t reat pict u re of a pest
pests and is as ked to
id en tify th e pest,
find it on th e fa rm
and e x pla i n to his
col leagues how to
t reat it

We recommend that you look for existing training materials which are
applicable to your region and crop. It is often more efficient to use materials
that have been developed by governmental, non-governmental or private
organizations active in sustainable farming rather than developing everything
yourself from scratch.

Monitoring the impact of training

At the end of a training session, check that the participants have understood
what they have been taught. You can set an oral test, run a quiz or ask
for a practical demonstration of the tasks taught, such as pruning a tree
or identifying pests on a tree. Later on, you should also check that the
participants have correctly implemented what they have learnt for, example
through a farm visit. If you find out that the participants did not understand the
training content, you should take action: provide additional support to repeat
the content (e.g. advice, follow up training) and adjust your training materials,
so the next time you provide training on the topic, the participants understand
it.

Please make sure to include the findings from your monitoring into your future
training, so you continuously improve your activities, ensure that the training
needs of your group members are met and their performance improves.

8 - © UTZ Version 1.0 - August 2016

DOCUMENTING YOUR TRAINING &
AWARENESS RAISING ACTIVITIES
The UTZ Code of Conduct requires you to keep records of
your training activities so the certification body can check
your compliance. These records will also help you to monitor
and report on the training that has been completed and the
progress made.
The documentation should include the following:
•• Records of the training sessions (G.A. 19), with a note of the topics covered,
participants, trainer and date, time and place of the training. An example
of a basic training record is given below. Please remember that you can
use your training schedule or your plan of the training sessions for that.
# Date Topics Summary Time or # of Name of
duration participants trainer(s)

1 2. Ma y Good fa rm Discuss th e 2 hours 10 Mart i n,

ma int enanc e: b e n efi ts and lead
p ru n ing lea rn how to fa rm e r
p ru n e

2 7. Record Und erstand 3 hours 15 Dais y,

Sept e m b e r k e e p ing w hic h bus i ness
records to tra i n e r
k e e p for
c ert ification
and lea rn
how to us e
th e record
k e e p ing
booklet

•• Attendance lists (G.A. 19) need to be kept for each training session from
year 1 onwards. The lists should include, as a minimum, for each participant
- name, gender and a signature or thumb print. We advise you to also
include a unique identification characteristic, such as a group member
ID or date of birth, address and contact details (e.g. phone number) and
location of the training. An example of a simple attendance list is shown
below. In cases where training participants are not group members (for
example tenants or spouses of group members), you should also include
the name or ID number of the relevant group member.
Title of the training: Date, time or Trainer:
Pests and th e i r treat m ent duration: Mr.
1st Ap ri l, Moha med
9-11a m
# Name of the Group member Gender: male / female Signature or
participant ID or name of thumb print
group member
the participant
represents
1 Ma ria 001 Fema l e
Maria
2 Pat ricio 002 Ma l e Patricio
•• Records of your measures to facilitate the participation of women in
training and awareness raising activities should be kept from year 2 (G.A.
21). See the guidance document on gender for advice and ideas.
•• Evaluation records that show group members have understood the content
of the training (G.A. 19). This can include the materials you used for testing
(such as a questionnaire, a quiz or practical assignments).
•• Trainer qualifications (G.A. 19) should be recorded from year 1 to prove
that your training is carried out by qualified trainers. Keep copies of their
(training) certificates, diplomas, government accreditation or CVs.

Guidance to the Core Code of Conduct for group certification version 1.1 - 9
 FURTHER READING
UTZ training materials:
•• UTZ Certified guidance documents. Hands-on information on the
implementation and understanding of the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct.
Available at: https://www.utz.org/resource-library/
•• UTZ Academy Online, the online training platform of UTZ for implementers
and Certification Bodies. Materials related to the UTZ program, training
methodologies and information on live and online training can be found
on the platform. Please register to have access to the platform:
http://www.utzacademyonline.com/

Training materials of other organizations:

•• Solidaridad, Training methodologies for rural producers – general aspects
(in English and Spanish). Useful insights, with broad application.
•• Solidaridad, Methods and training tools for rural producers (in English
and Spanish). Practical advice on how to plan and conduct training for
smallholder farmers.
•• CCE training materials (in English and French). On training smallholder
cocoa farmers in West Africa.

These training materials and many more are available at:

https://www.utz.org/resource-library/

10 - © UTZ Version 1.0 - August 2016