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How can the farmer field school approach be used to support agroecological transitions in family farming in the Global South?

Recommendations for farmer field school facilitators, agricultural development project designers and managers









Bakker, T., Dugué, P., Roesch, K., Phillips, S. and Poisot, A.S. 2022. How can the farmer field school approach be used to support agroecological transitions in family farming in the Global South? Recommendations for farmer field school facilitators, agricultural development project designers and managers. Rome, FAO. 




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    Book (stand-alone)
    Methodological recommendations to better evaluate the effects of farmer field schools mobilized to support agroecological transitions 2022
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    The farmer field school (FFS) approach, based on group experimentation of innovative practices and/or farming systems, is in line with participatory farm advisory efforts. This approach has an ambitious goal: strengthening farmers’ skills so that they can adapt their practices, or even invent new ones, and move towards more agroecological farming systems. Assessing such an advisory intervention poses significant challenges. The purpose of this document is to propose fresh ways to update FFS assessment methods, notably the study of changes in farming practices and the detailed analysis of FFS outcomes. Project designers, managers, and evaluators are the target audience for this document, which may also interest teachers, researchers, students, and policymakers. The elements of the FFS assessment methodology presented here stem from the collaboration between three institutions, CIRAD, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and the NGO AVSF (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders), and fieldwork carried out in cotton-growing areas of Burkina Faso and Togo between 2018 and 2019. This document is divided into four parts. We first define FSS and the principles of the approach, then we detail the methods commonly used to assess FSS and the challenges involved. We then present a comprehensive assessment method using a case study in northern Togo. The final part of the report provides a basis for placing the proposed method within the process of designing an assessment for a project involving FSS.
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    Book (series)
    Evaluation of the project "Integrating climate resilience into agricultural and pastoral production for food security in vulnerable rural areas through the farmers field school approach
    Project code: GCP/BKF/054/LDF GEF ID: 5014
    2020
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    Burkina Faso's socio-economic characteristics and geographical location make it vulnerable to disasters in general and climate change in particular. According to the country's projections, climate change will lead to: a decrease in groundwater recharge; the disappearance of certain surface watercourses and forest tributaries; disruptions in the plant growth cycle as well as in crop, livestock and natural resource management systems. The project, implemented by FAO from May 2015 to August 2020, aimed to “enhance the capacity of Burkina Faso’s agricultural and pastoral sectors to cope with climate change, by mainstreaming climate change adaptation (CCA) practices and strategies into on-going agricultural development initiatives and agricultural policies and programming and upscaling of farmers adoption of CCA technologies and practices through a network of already established farmer field schools (FFS)”. The project has satisfactorily contributed to building the capacity to adapt to climate change in the agricultural and pastoral sectors and in the populations of vulnerable areas of Burkina Faso. More specifically, the project has contributed highly to the sustainable management of 20 432.75 ha of land, including 15 632.75 ha of cultivated land and 4 800 ha of pasture. The project built the capacities of 29 201 beneficiaries, including 10 528 (57 percent women) in farmer field schools/agro-pastoral field schools. However, this result is weakened by the lack of anticipation in formalising collaboration with co-financing partners involved in these activities.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Farmer field schools, gender equality, social inclusion and community empowerment
    Experiences from Uganda - Karamoja sub-region, case study
    2020
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    The main objective of this exercise has been to collect and analyze the experiences of Farmer field schools (FFS)/Agro-pastoralist field school (APFS) members, graduates, and practitioners in relation to gender equality, social inclusion, and individual and community empowerment, as well as changes to these as a result of participation in an FFS/APFS. Furthermore, the purpose of the initiative is to make farmers’ experiences more visible, and not only demonstrate the impact of FFS/APFS programs but also use these experiences in future implementations of the FFS/APFS approach. By identifying gaps in knowledge and opportunities, achievements and challenges, and best practices and lessons learned, this exercise aims to provide an insight into and deeper understanding of the FFSs’/APFSs’ gender and social dimensions. It offers the opportunity to reflect on this cross-cutting issue to allow these aspects to be better incorporated into the broader FFS/APFS discussion and its wider work. The exercise also identifies the needs of FFS/APFS facilitators in their work with issues of gender equality, social inclusion and community empowerment, and examines the relevance of related concepts and approaches and its modalities . A review of the existing work on strengthening gender equality and improving access for vulnerable groups within the context of FFS/APFS programs has also been conducted. The exercise’s main thematic areas of the exercise are gender equality and women’s empowerment, social inclusion and community empowerment, with additional areas including nutrition-related decision-making and sustainable agricultural production, and in some cases, access to and control over natural resources.

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