Farmer field schools on land and water management in Africa Proceedings of an international workshop in Jinja, Uganda, 24-29 April 2006 FAO 2008

Land and water management farmer field schools have been piloted since 2001 in East Africa and Zimbabwe in order to respond to increasing demands for improved field-level capacities and targeted materials for use by extension staff and facilitators. From 2004 to 2006, activities were expanded through capacity building and mainstreaming farmer field school approaches on land and water management in the region. In East Africa, farmer field schools are being scaled out and institutionalized, including on land and water management. Establishing a strong farmer field school support capacity in general requires close collaboration with country teams and mechanisms such as improved networking, knowledge and information sharing, and training skills development to ensure that farmer field school principles are maintained and quality service delivery is maintained.

It is against this background that over 70 participants involved in developing and promoting farmer field schools on land and water management attended a 5-day workshop in Jinja, Uganda. Participants included farmers, farmer field school coordinators, project managers and staff, researchers, extension personnel, and managers and staff of government, international and non-government organizations. Eleven African countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) were represented.

The workshop concluded that farmer field schools on land and water management have many benefits, particularly:

·         Livelihoods and food security. The land becomes more productive and farmers produce more. They have more to eat, and are better able to deal with risk. In Agule, Pallisa District, for example, yields of groundnuts have quintupled – from 400 kg to two tons per hectare.

·         Improved long-term land management. The soil is healthier and more fertile, and it retains more moisture, so crop production is more reliable. There are more trees and soil cover to control erosion.

·         Better planning. Farmer field schools enable efficient community action planning. Farmers become more aware of their farming environment, so can plan better for drought, pests and other problems.

·         Knowledge and innovation. Farmers are encouraged to experiment and innovate. They learn how to build on and use their own knowledge.

·         Faster adoption. Farmer field schools involve many people within a watershed area, so speed up adoption of improved land management techniques.

·         Extension services. Extension services become more demand-driven, and farmers can tell if they are getting value for money.

·         Stronger leadership and voice. Farmer field schools strengthen the farmers’ “voice” for advocacy and enable strong leaders to emerge.

·         Networking. Groups of farmers are able to further benefit through exchange of information with each other and with research and extension agencies.

The workshop formulated the following follow-up recommendations:

Invest in land and water management. Investment in land and water management at the community, district and national levels must be a priority to sustain the resource base that produces food and livelihoods. Local people can neither invest nor bear the burden by themselves. The government must provide incentives for communities to improve their management of natural resources, so benefiting the nation and the world.

Scaling up. The farmer field school approach in general, and its use for improving land and water management, should be scaled up so it can reach a larger number of farmers. It should be incorporated into the national extension system rather than implemented on a project-by-project basis. Extension staff can play a key role to initiate and backstop farmer field schools. Close collaboration between government and NGOs will assure success.

Design appropriate training. Trained facilitators and technical support are vital. Farmer field schools and land and water management should be incorporated into the curricula of universities and training institutions. Facilitating a farmer field school is not easy and cannot be learned overnight. Training must include extensive on-the-job experience. Training materials are needed for all levels: extension staff, facilitators and farmers.

Build on experiences. A scaled-up programme can draw on the valuable experiences of existing farmer field schools, and of their facilitators who have already been trained and have gained invaluable practical experience. More skilled facilitators are needed!

Link to other education modes. Farmer field schools should be linked to other adult education approaches – such as literacy programmes, primary schools and “farmer life schools”. Collaboration between the ministries of agriculture and education is needed for this to succeed.

Build long-term resilience. Extension efforts should focus more on practices that build long-term soil fertility and the efficient use of every drop of water – rather than focusing only on commercial enterprises. This will help farmers benefit from sustained provision of ecosystem goods and services, and cope better with drought, floods and other challenges.

Funding. Adequate funding support is needed if farmer field schools are to succeed. For individual groups to be sustainable, they need to develop their own sources of funding – through revolving funds, group-owned businesses and other self-financing mechanisms. Strong farmer organizations can reduce costs because they can buy inputs at lower prices, and can sell their output for more. Farmers must manage (and contribute to) their farmer field school grants so they can demand good facilitation and make their own decisions.

Mass media. Radio, television and other mass media should be used to promote improved land and water management and popularize the farmer field school approach.

Policies and regulations. Policies must be strengthened and applied effectively to promote appropriate land and water management practices. Policies on land use and soils currently being discussed by the government should be finalized quickly. Byelaws to conserve and make more productive use of land and water must be developed and enforced, with the full participation of local stakeholders.

(from the Executive summary)

Contents

Executive summary

1 Introduction

2 Country and regional reports

• 2.1 Ethiopia: Review of farmer field school  experience in Ethiopia
• 2.2 Kenya: Land and water management  farmer field schools application  in Kenya
• 2.3 Tanzania: Farmer field school experiences  in improved land, water and  agro-ecosystems management for sustainable livelihoods and food security in Tanzania
• 2.4 Uganda: Review of land and water  management farmer field schools experiences in Uganda
• 2.5 West Africa: Review of land and water  management farmer field schools experiences in West Africa
• 2.6 Zambia: Farmer field school experiences  in sustainable land management  in the Zambian miombo woodlands ecosystem
• 2.7 Zimbabwe: Review of land and water  management farmer field school experiences in Zimbabwe 

3 Major issues in farmer field schools for land and water management

• 3.1 Mainstreaming and institutionalization of farmer field schools for land and water management
• 3.2 Sustainability of farmer field schools
• 3.3 Capacity building
• 3.4 Impact assessment of the farmer field school approach
• 3.5 |mpact assessment of land and water management technologies

4 Keys for successful farmer field schools on land and water management

• 4.1 Overview of technical issues and need for an integrated ecosystems approach
• 4.2 Policy recommendations

Published 2008 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

ISBN 978-92-5-106094-0

Role of Paul Mundy: Editing, layout