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Book (stand-alone)Technical bookHow 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
2022The key to implementing farmer field schools (FFS) is to trigger an experimentation process based on collaboration between a group of farmers and a facilitator. The purpose of this document is to provide project managers, technicians and designers with practical information on how to use the FFS approach and adapt it to their context of intervention to support the agroecological transition (AET). It also will be useful for research staff, leaders of farmers' organizations (FOs), teachers and students interested in using the FFS approach or better understand its benefits. The findings and recommendations proposed in this document are the result of a partnership between three institutions working to support AET in the Global South: CIRAD, FAO and the NGO AVSF (Agronomists and Veterinarians Without Borders). This document has four parts: - Definition of the FFS approach and its principles, and characterization of the advantages of this approach to supporting family farm AET in the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. - Presentation of several important points for a successful FFS, i.e. to strengthen farmers' skills to practically and collectively solve the problems they encounter. This second part is aimed specifically at development project managers and field technicians and facilitators. - Recommendations for project designers and managers for including FFS in development projects. - Proposal of ways in which FSS could evolve to better take into account the needs of farmers and other actors engaged in AET. -
Book (stand-alone)HandbookFarm Business School handbook: Training of farmers programme for South Asia 2011
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No results found.Dramatic changes are taking place in farming worldwide as a result of globalisation, liberalisation, and rapid urbanisation. Farmers are intensifying existing patterns of production and diversifying their farm enterprises in an attempt to improve their livelihoods. Technical know-how is not enough. In order to be competitive and take advantage of the new opportunities that are arising, farmers increasingly have to adapt their farm business to market changes and improve efficiency, profitabilit y and income. Farmers' skills and capacity can only be built through a process of learning and practice. The Farm Business School (FBS) has been developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to help farmers learn how to make their farming enterprises and overall farm operations profitable and able to respond to market demands. The learning takes place at the village level and farmers' capacity in entrepreneurial and management skills is built via a "learning by doing" approach. Extension officers and lead farmers are trained as facilitators and then organise seasonal training courses, where farmers work in small groups at their own pace using materials that have been specially designed for the schools. The Training of Farmers Programme consists of two parts: 1) the manual which provides the facilitator with step-by-step guidelines to the Farmer Training Programme and 2) the handbook which is a reference book for farmers to use during and after the FBS meeting s and outlines key concepts as well as experimental exercises to help facilitate farmers' learning. This publication presents the handbook. -
Book (stand-alone)Training materialFarm Business School manual: Training of farmers programme for South Asia 2011
Also available in:
No results found.Dramatic changes are taking place in farming worldwide as a result of globalisation, liberalisation, and rapid urbanisation. Farmers are intensifying existing patterns of production and diversifying their farm enterprises in an attempt to improve their livelihoods. Technical know-how is not enough. In order to be competitive and take advantage of the new opportunities that are arising, farmers increasingly have to adapt their farm business to market changes and improve efficiency, profitability and income. Farmers' skills and capacity can only be built through a process of learning and practice. The Farm Business School (FBS) has been developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to help farmers learn how to make their farming enterprises and overall farm operations profitable and able to respond to market demands. The learning takes place at the village level and farmers' capacity in entrepreneurial and management skills is built via a "learning by doing" ap proach. Extension officers and lead farmers are trained as facilitators and then organise seasonal training courses, where farmers work in small groups at their own pace using materials that have been specially designed for the schools. The Training of Farmers Programme consists of two parts: 1) the manual which provides the facilitator with step-by-step guidelines to the Farmer Training Programme and 2) the handbook which is a reference book for farmers to use during and after the FBS meetings and outlines key concepts as well as experimental exercises to help facilitate farmers' learning. This publication presents the manual.
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MeetingMeeting documentScaling up inclusive digitalization in agricultural value chains
Thirty-sixth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC 36)
2022In Asia and the Pacific, digital transformation occurs at all stages of the value chains, from food production to consumption. The ongoing food e-commerce revolution is happening at the same time that mobile-based business models are emerging to provide advisory, marketing and financial services at scale to smallholder farmers. A parallel revolution in Industry 4.0 technologies is taking agro-industries to new levels of efficiency. Digitalization offers great potential for improving the efficiency and sustainability of value chains, and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2 and 13 (No Poverty, Zero Hunger and Climate Action). There are, however, several risks associated with digitalization, from potential job losses to environmental degradation and data governance concerns. Different value chains, and actors within them, digitalize at varying speeds and would therefore require tailored digitalization strategies to leave no one behind. Policymakers in the region need to facilitate the scaling up of digital innovations along agricultural value chains in an inclusive and sustainable manner, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Members are invited to provide guidance on how FAO can best support them in fostering the inclusive digitalization of agricultural and food value chains. -
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheetBrochureThe 10 elements of agroecology
Guiding the transition to sustainable food and agricultural systems
2018Today’s food and agricultural systems have succeeded in supplying large volumes of food to global markets. However, high-external input, resource-intensive agricultural systems have caused massive deforestation, water scarcities, biodiversity loss, soil depletion and high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite significant progress in recent times, hunger and extreme poverty persist as critical global challenges. Even where poverty has been reduced, pervasive inequalities remain, hindering poverty eradication. Integral to FAO’s Common Vision for Sustainable Food and Agriculture, agroecology is a key part of the global response to this climate of instability, offering a unique approach to meeting significant increases in our food needs of the future while ensuring no one is left behind. Agroecology is an integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of food and agricultural systems. It seeks to optimize the interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment while taking into consideration the social aspects that need to be addressed for a sustainable and fair food system. Agroecology is not a new invention. It can be identified in scientific literature since the 1920s, and has found expression in family farmers’ practices, in grassroots social movements for sustainability and the public policies of various countries around the world. More recently, agroecology has entered the discourse of international and UN institutions. -
Book (stand-alone)GuidelineVoluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security 2012The guidelines are the first comprehensive, global instrument on tenure and its administration to be prepared through intergovernmental negotiations. The guidelines set out principles and internationally accepted standards of responsible practices for the use and control of land, fisheries and forests. They provide guidance for improving the policy, legal and organizational frameworks that regulate tenure rights; for enhancing the transparency and administration of tenure systems; and for strengthening the capacities and operations of public bodies, private sector enterprises, civil society organizations and people concerned with tenure and its governance. The guidelines place the governance of tenure within the context of national food security, and are intended to contribute to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food, poverty eradication, environmental protection and sustainable social and economic development.