8/6/2019 12Farmer Filed Schools - Executive Summary - Godrick Khisa

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8/6/2019 12Farmer Filed Schools - Executive Summary - Godrick Khisa

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The aim of the FFS is to build the capacity of farmers themselves to analysetheir production systems, identify problems, test possible solutions andeventually adopt the practices most suitable to their farming system. Theknowledge acquired during the learning process enables farmers to adapttheir existing technologies to be more productive, profitable, and responsive

to changing conditions, or to test and adopt new technologies. The trainingin FFS seeks to assist farmers in developing their ability to make critical andinformed decisions that will render their crop production systems moreproductive, profitable and sustainable.

In general, Farmer Field Schools (FFS) consist of groups of people with acommon interest, who get together on a regular basis to study the how andwhy of a particular topic. The topics covered can vary considerably - fromIPM, organic agriculture, animal husbandry, and soil husbandry, to incomegenerating activities such as handicrafts. The FFS, however, are particularlyadapted to field studies, where specific hands-on management skills and

conceptual understanding (based on non-formal adult education principles) isrequired.

The central characteristics of FFS include:

hands-on training methods in which farmers test managementmethods for themselves and learn concepts directly;

flexible, non-lecture field study using a group field that allows the fieldto be the teacher;

strong emphasis on observation, analysis, discussion and debate,which allows new ecological concepts to be combined with localknowledge;

the use of a technically competent facilitator who leads groupactivities, but is not seen as the all-knowing source of the rightinformation;

a focus on farmers becoming experts and farmer facilitators in theirown communities.

A typical FFS lasts for one to two seasons and is timed to coincide with theregular cropping season. A group of 20 to 30 farmers sets up a group studyfield to observe the study enterprise (crop or livestock etc) of their choice.The group is responsible for the care and maintenance of the studyenterprise (For crops, covers all aspects of the cropping cycle, from soilpreparation, through planting, weed control, pest and disease control,harvesting, post-storage to marketing of produce). Groups meet weekly forannual crops and monthly for perennial crops. During each meeting, thefarmers, together with their facilitator, make structured observations of theirstudy enterprise and analyse the situation using an agro-ecosystemanalysis method. Group discussion follows and a consensus on requiredmanagement is reached. During this process, farmers make drawings and

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give their own views to reinforce learning. Because the problems anddecisions being studied overlap with similar issues in the participants ownfields, there is a strong learning readiness motivation.

In addition to the field analysis, which takes two to three hours, two special

topics are covered each week. One topic deals with group dynamics, tostrengthen the groups team-building and organizing skills. The other is aconcept-based activity of the farmers choice, usually a special study on aspecific pest or disease, a discussion on varieties that grow well in thecommunity or the preparation of other activities such as rat-managementschemes. The special topics usually take one hour, so the entire FFS sessionlasts for four to five hours.

In Kenya the FFS approach was first introduced in 1995 in Western Kenya,and is now widely applied in the country and is used in a broad range ofenterprises including crop, horticulture, livestock production, soil

management, savings and credit, marketing etc. Currently there are over5000 FFSs that have been implemented in Kenya with over 150, 000 farmersunder the coordination and funding of various agencies.

After FFS graduation the farmers have gone ahead and formed the FFSNetworks. These networks are democratic organisations, which are providinga voice to the needs of farmers for agricultural service from the government,NGO and others. They are increasingly being used by the farmers to linkthem to the markets, provide market information, information on newtechnologies, input supply, organising study tours to research institutionsand linking farmers to credit institutions. The networks are also representing

the views of relatively poor small-scale farmers in public discussions such asthose held during the PRSP process.

FFS experience show strong empowerment impacts at community anddistrict level, demonstrated through strong and cohesive FFS Networks andassociations pushing on marketing and policy issues. These FFS networkshave proved to emerge without external support and have considerablepotential in acting as a platform for community based initiatives/activities.

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