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Cluster Based Farmer Field Schools

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Applications (why, when & where)

Farmer Field Schools

The Farmer Field School approach allows farmers to learn about alternative crop and livestock management practices and technologies with the aim of improving their own productivity; i.e. learning new ways to cope with old problems related to agriculture or livestock rearing (van den Berg & Jiggins 2007). At the same time, the approach allows farmers to investigate for themselves the costs involved and the different benefits of traditional and alternative practices, thus leading to swifter adoption of the successful practices or varieties of crops tested.

The Farmer Field School learning process builds on the existing knowledge of farmers, enabling them to combine and evaluate new and existing technologies in their own fields and to adapt new technologies to their own environments. Once farmers are able to combine and evaluate these technologies they will become more responsive to changing conditions, such as that of Striga and soil fertility, and will thus be able to develop cropping systems that are more productive, profitable and sustainable (van Mourik, et al., Undated).

Farmer-to-farmer video

In West Africa, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) built on experiences gained by the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice) in developing a series of ten farmer-to-farmer videos. The ten films are now being widely shown to support rural learning on practical and affordable ways to control one of Africa's most serious weeds - striga. Strong participation of farmers has been key to the film making process. First and foremost, the knowledge and farming techniques shared in the videos have been developed over a number of years within farmer field schools. ICRISAT and partners established the schools, starting in the early 2000s, to support farmer experiments on a wide range of striga control options. The result was the development of an integrated set of striga and soil fertility management practices (ISSFM) for use in sorghum and pearl millet cultivation.

Brief description

Disseminating the videos for widespread viewing was a challenge. Initially, ICRISAT and its partners used the videos during farmer exchange visits, and several were shown and discussed at community open air viewings. Held in the evenings, these attracted large crowds of children, women and men. Christine Keita, a Malian farmer who features in the video on composting, was excited about how the audiences have responded. "Farmers from different regions came together to learn how we controlled striga," she recalls. "Although our crops were close to harvest we could show them on the video all the different steps needed to make good compost and how to apply it. They were all very excited; they asked me lots of questions. As I had learnt so many things at the farmer field school, I felt really proud and confident to answer them." To further promote the videos, the project has sought to inform and enthuse a large number of agriculture-oriented organizations to share and show the videos in communities where they operate. A key success has been the inclusion of farmer training videos in the communication strategy of the Network of Farmers' and Agricultural Producers' Organizations of West Africa (ROPPA). Early dissemination efforts led to a strong demand for the videos to be translated into local languages. With support from language experts, extension officers and radio broadcasters, this has recently been completed, with the videos now available on multi-language DVDs that include six major West African languages: Bambara, Bomu, Hausa, Mooré, Peulh and Zarma (van Mourik, 2012).

Spatial scale

Single farmer to country and regional.

Complexity

Complex.

For those applying the tool:

For participants:

Outcomes

Need to monitor outcomes of the use of this tool.

Strengths

• Videos are widely distributed and viewed.

Illustrations

Africa Rising

• East and Southern Africa Participatory video and videos (Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease)
• Ten Farmer to farmer video's in integrated striga and soil fertility management translated into local languages of northern Ghana along with a DVD “Fighting Striga” videos, mass-multiplied, and disseminated for project target zones.

Issues

• How to do M&E? How much does it cost?
• Lacks a theory of change.
• Focused on a pre-defined issue.
• No baseline so monitoring impact will be difficult.

Resources

Time:

Human resources:

Costing:

Origins and history

Farmer Field Schools The Farmer Field School is a participatory agricultural extension approach based on ‘learning by discovery’ (van de Fliert 1993). The FFS approach was developed in the 1980s by an FAO project in Southeast Asia as a way for small-scale rice farmers to learn for themselves the skills for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and how to assess the benefits of the practices being tested in their rice paddy fields. The FFS approach was extended to several countries in Africa and Latin America. IPM activities expanded from rice-based systems to other annual crops, vegetables, and cotton. More crop management aspects have been added to the program over the years (Hughes & Venema 2005).

Farmer-to-famer video In 2010, inspired by AfricaRice's rural learning initiative, which managed to reach over 1 million farmers through farmer-centred videos, ICRISAT commissioned the former coordinator of this initiative, Paul Van Mele, to train staff from its own offices and partner organizations in farmer-to-farmer video production. Working with farmer field school groups in Niger, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali, a comprehensive series of ten gender-sensitive films was made under the name 'Fighting Striga'. Each video focuses on a different aspect of ISSFM, including variety testing, composting, intercropping cereals and legumes, crop-livestock interactions, cowpea seed storage and cost-benefit analysis (van Mourik, 2012).

Conditions for use and dissemination

None.

Contacts

Tim van Mourik

Learn more about this topic

References

Hughes, O. and Venema, J.H. 2005. Integrated soil, water and nutrient management in semi-arid Zimbabwe. Farmer Field Schools Facilitators’ Manual, vol. 1. Harare, Zimbabwe: FAO

Nathaniels, N. Q. R. (2005). Cowpea, farmer field schools and farmer-to-farmer extension: a Benin case study. Agricultural Research & Extension Network (AgREN). Network Paper No. 148: 15.

Van de Fliert, E. (1993) Integrated Pest Management: farmer field schools generate sustainable practices. Wageningen Agricultural University Papers, 3-93. Wageningen, The Netherlands

Van den Berg, H. and Jiggins, J. (2007) Investing in Farmers – The impacts of farmer field schools in relation to integrated pest management. World Development, 35, 663-686

van Mourik, T. A., Toure Ir. S., Traoré, S. and. Loeffen, Ir. M.A. Undated. Manual for implementing Cluster Based Farmer Field Schools (CBFFS) for Integrated Striga and Soil Fertility Management (ISSFM). ICRISAT. Accessed 21 December, 2013 at [[1]]

van Mourik, T. A. 2012. Farmers on film in the fight against striga. New Agriculturist, March, 2012. Accessed 21 December, 2013 at [[2]]