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Introduction to Farmer Field Schools

A Reader for Institutions of Higher Learning

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 44 p.

Author FAO

Publisher FAO and IIRR ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Category Technical book

ISBN 978-92-5-131318-3

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The essence of farmer field schools (FFS) is to empower farmers to learn, understand, and make informed decisions. The FFS approach challenges conventional agricultural extension approaches, which are based on top-down delivery of technology packages. It is estimated that by 2015, millions of farmers and agro-pastoralists in the world had benefited from the unique ability of FFS programmes to address the technological, social and economic needs of smallholder farmers and land users. Because of this success, the demand for FFS programmes has been increasing, and in several countries, the approach is now institutionalized within public extension systems and NGO programmes. An output from an FFS workshop was a proposal by the stakeholders to develop a core reading material on FFS for use by universities as they undertake to institutionalize the approach in their institutions. The FFS Reader provides the audience with a common understanding of the salient aspects of the FFS approach. The document is not meant to be exhaustive but rather introduces the reader to the fundamentals of FFS methodology and provides specific references for further reading. It is expected that the document will contribute to the mainstreaming of participatory and experiential learning processes and knowledge on the FFS approach in tertiary education system in eastern Africa. It is also hoped that academia and especially students interested in researching or learning about FFS will find this Reader intellectually stimulating, informative and resourceful.

Language English

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