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Policy briefWhat have we learned from trees? Three decades of farmer field schools on agroforestry and forestry 2022
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No results found.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. -
Policy briefEnabling farmer-led ecosystem restoration
Farmer field schools on forestry and agroforestry
2023Also available in:
No results found.Agricultural expansion is responsible for almost 90 percent of deforestation worldwide, making it a leading driver of biodiversity and habitat loss. Cropland expansion is the main driver, causing almost 50 percent of global deforestation, followed by livestock grazing, which accounts for 38.5 percent. This situation of great concern presents a critical question: How can agriculture continue to feed growing populations while contributing to the urgent restoration of the planet's ecosystems? Climate change mitigation programmes mostly aim to reduce emissions, protect natural forests and afforest abandoned areas. However, it is also important to adequately address the issues of the 2 billion family farmers who cultivate a third of the planet's surface area. About 550 million family farms – 84 percent of which are less than 2 ha – produce a significant share of the world's food. These smallholder farmers are especially vulnerable to climate and environmental change because their livelihoods often depend primarily on agriculture. Over the last 35 years, farmer field schools (FFS) have demonstrated their relevance in answering the growing international call for a re-direction in agriculture. FFS on forestry and agroforestry-related areas have helped rural people to deepen their knowledge of trees and forests, and stabilize and increase food, fibre and energy production while rehabilitating soils and pastures, and restoring biodiversity, shade trees, watersheds and landscapes. It emerged from an FAO stocktaking that FFS partners and programmes across Africa, Asia and Latin America have gained substantial knowledge in advancing small-scale forestry and agroforestry in an inclusive way. FFS on forestry and agroforestry can enable smallholders across the globe to advance the understanding, skills and social organization needed for more regenerative natural resource stewardship. -
Book (stand-alone)Farmer Field School curriculum on Climate Smart Agriculture in central dry zone, Myanmar 2019
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No results found.The FAO is implementing a project entitled “Sustainable Cropland and forest management in priority agro-ecosystems of Myanmar (SLM-GEF)” in coordination with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MoNREC) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation (MoALI) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The project promotes climate smart agriculture (CSA) policies and practices at different levels in Myanmar. In the field, the project is active in five pilot Townships from three different agro-ecological zones implementing various relevant CSA initiatives mainly using Farmer Field Schools (FFS) models. In order to implement FFS effectively in a proper way, the project has made efforts to develop FFS Curricula for each of the above mentioned three agro-ecological zones with support from AVSI Foundation as a Service Provider. Accordingly, the FFS Curriculum has been developed for central dry zone agro-ecological zone to be used by FFS Facilitators, Extension Workers and FFS Committee/farmers to implement FFS on CSA techniques and practices in systematic ways. As per the initial need assessment and value chain analysis, seasonal crops of groundnut, green gram, chickpea and pigeon pea have been identified as the priority crops in central dry zone of Mandalay Region based on technical feasibility, the crops already being grown in the area and have high market demand and contribute to improved nutrition of men and women and their households, especially children, the elderly and the disabled. Therefore, the FFS module and FFS activities will cover those three prioritized crops. Similarly, the project focus in the central dry zone areas is also to promote agro-forestry practices and hence, the prioritised crops will be grown with some perennial crops such as mango, shaw-phyu (Sterculia versicolor) etc under agro-forestry concept. Saplings of multipurpose Gliricidia sepium will also be planted as windbreaks. Based on the needs and crops prioritized, prevailing cropping systems and discussion with the respective DoA Offices in Townships, there are seven major cropping systems identified for both the Townships. Therefore, the FFS implementation will cover all the seven cropping systems. The curriculum has identified several modules of FFS meetings/trainings to be held at the FFS sites for the FFS Committee members, usually in every month, in addition to a Pre-FFS Introductory Meeting held before starting the formal FFS programme. There are some technical topics identified in the curriculum to be covered in every FFS meeting/training. It is expected that the FFS curriculum will help the FFS Facilitators, Extension Workers and FFS Committee/farmers to implement FFS on CSA techniques and practices in systematic and proper ways
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