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Good and promising practices. Integrating the methodologies of farmer field schools into universities’ curricula: The case of Kenya’s Pwani University

Year of publication 2021

Place of publication Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ;

Pages 9p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Synopsis (short abstract) Farmer Field School (FFS) was introduced by FAO and partners more than 30 years ago as an alternative to the prevailing top-down extension approach. FFS promotes farm-based experimentation, group organization, and local decision-making through discovery-based learning methods. FFS involves season-long learning of field-based groups of 25 to 30 farmers, who meet regularly to learn through discovery, experimentation, and share the experience. FFS combines local and scientific knowledge and aims at making farmers better decision-makers. Whereas the conventional technology transfer approach focuses primarily on developing and transforming technologies that work for farmers, the FFS approach, on the other hand, empowers farmers to become better decision-makers towards developing or adapting technologies that work and are acceptable to them. Farmers, agro-pastoralists, and fisherfolk worldwide have benefited from the unique ability of FFS programs to address their technological, social, and economic needs. As a result of this success, the demand for FFS programs continues to increase. In some countries like Kenya, the approach is institutionalized in extension systems and NGO programs. Since then, member countries in the Eastern African subregion have expressed their interest in scaling up existing FFS initiatives and integrating the methodology in national extension policies, strategies, and programs. In response to this need, the FAO Subregional Office for Eastern Africa (SFE) developed a project, titled, “Institutionalization of Field Schools (FS) in Extension Curricula of Institutions of Higher Learning in Eastern Africa”, aimed at developing and putting into practice a contextualized and practical approach to mainstream FFS into the agricultural extension.

Statutory body / Meeting title FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG)

Cite this content as:

FAO. 2021. Good and promising practices. Integrating the methodologies of farmer field schools into universities’ curricula: The case of Kenya’s Pwani University. Addis Ababa.


Language English

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