Monitoring, evaluation and learning in farmer field school programmes

van den Berg, H.; Phillips, S.; Morales-Abubakar, A.L.C.;

Monitoring, evaluation and learning in farmer field school programmes

A framework and toolkit

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 220 p.

Author van den Berg, H.; Phillips, S.; Morales-Abubakar, A.L.C.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-137783-3

Full item page

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cc5160en

Synopsis (short abstract) This document focuses on the implementation phase of farmer field school (FFS) programmes and provides guidance and tools that will help farmer field schools to bring about the change expected by the programme and the communities it supports, by setting up a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system. It also introduces impact assessment as an integral management function linked to monitoring, evaluation and learning in FFS programmes.It is aimed at project and programme designers, managers and staff involved in planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning of project/programmes with a farmer field school component. It also targets those who will be involved in the initial design, planning, follow-up of monitoring, evaluation and learning and impact assessment to improve programme implementation. The document outlines background information and tools to help ensure that implementation of FFS programmes will lead to the anticipated outputs, outcomes and impacts, by setting up a robust MEL system and impact assessment methodology/framework for the improvement of ongoing FFS projects and programmes and the design of new ones.

Last updated 12/04/2023

Cite this content as:

van den Berg, H., Phillips, S. & Morales-Abubakar, A.L.C. 2023. Monitoring, evaluation and learning in farmer field school programmes – A framework and toolkit. Rome.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc5160en

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Language English

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Monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) is an essential component of any programme or project that aims to continuously improve and provide better outcomes. The ultimate purpose of MEL is to track implementation and outputs systematically, measure their effectiveness and allow learning with the aim of improving the quality and effects of Farmer Field School (FFS) implementation while ensuring accountability to beneficiaries and donors. A sound MEL system further helps to track the progress of any project and offers evidence upon which mid-course correction in a programme can be made with a goal of achieving the project objectives and impact targets. This system is built on the premise that the data is of high quality including timeliness, representativeness and reliability; the entire data management process is critical to ensure proper and systematic data collection for decision-making and programme improvement. To ensure systematic high-quality data management processes for MEL systems, the adoption, adaptation and utilization of digital systems becomes critical. Digital systems have proven importance in enhancing real-time data collection, collation and tabulation, which further enables timely evidence-based decision-making and feedback mechanisms. This also contributes to timely learning and quality improvement of the project, as well as accelerated feedback mechanisms to the beneficiaries and various stakeholders, ultimately ensuring improved results.
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Over the last three decades, Farmer Field Schools (FFS) have proven to be an effective discovery-learning-capacity building approach to help rural populations to innovate with more clarity and purpose while building the social skills needed for rural transformation and empowerment. The diverse forestry and agroforestry applications of the FFS demonstrate a high impact on fostering ecological literacy and unlocking creative capacities in problem solving. Producers are encouraged to take ownership of change occurring at the local level. FFSs in forestry and agroforestry can help rural families and producer organizations develop multiple ways of reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture and contribute to rehabilitating ecologies and restoring ecosystems. The experiences of farmer field schools (FFS) around the world show a tremendous potential to advance small-scale forestry and agroforestry. By applying the FFS approach to agroforestry and forestry, it is possible to: Enable family farmers to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and social organization to achieve a more regenerative natural resource stewardship in and through small-scale and family farming, and to collectively contribute to sustainability and climate change targets. Support people-centred forest extension and community-based forestry by demonstrating the key role of better education and ecological literacy in empowering change in rural communities. Develop “response-ability”, i.e. the capacity of small-scale producers to respond to challenges in agriculture, food and natural resources management with renewed creativity, knowledge and technological development. Develop multiple ways of reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture while ensuring food security and nutrition and contributing to ecosystems restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation as well as biodiversity conservation.