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Following major initiatives, two Farmer Field Schools occurred during the period August 2003 to September 2004 in the Caura Valley in North Trinidad, West Indies. This paper assesses these schools according to six key issues of Owens and Simpson (2001). A study recorded many observations during the conduct of the [...]

This case examines some of the human – as opposed to technological – factors that have influenced the scaling up of the FFS. Organisational issues such as leadership, policy, human resources and competition help to explain why the IPM field school has taken off in some places and not in others. Examples are taken [...]

A new livestock extension approach for training of trainers (TOT) and smallholders in Farmers’ Livestock Schools (FLS) is gradually being introduced to the national extension system in Vietnam. The approach combines experiences from Farmers’ Field Schools in crops, with other practical, group and field-based, interactive learning methods

This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach in knowledge acquisition, adoption and dissemination of soil management technologies (SMTs) among small-scale farmers in Kenya. Eight technologies were scaledout using the FFS approach and conventional extension methods. A survey methodology with the ex-post facto [...]

What considerations lead policymakers to invest in agricultural extension as a key public responsibility, and what factors and agency incentives explain differences in extension system performance? To help answer these questions, this article provides a framework outlining farmers’ demand for information, the public goods character of extension services, and the [...]

Many technological innovations have been developed to improve agricultural productivity in Sub Sahara. However, the adoption of these innovations has been low. Appropriate extension models are often seen as the missing link between adoption and the achievement of productivity gains. Although, Zimbabwe’s agriculture continues to be a vital cog in [...]

Economic evaluation of the Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) in the Cajamarca Department (Peru) was undertaken to help determine whether agricultural extension via FFSs can contribute to poverty alleviation. Farmer Field Schools involving a number of important crops have already been evaluated at other sites around the world. These studies reported [...]

Agricultural extension systems in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly using participatory approaches to improve technology adoption by smallholder farmers. This approach has been successful particularly in low-rainfall areas, where adoption is traditionally slow. Crop productivity, farm incomes and food security have improved as a result. ICRISAT worked with Zimbabwe’s Department of [...]

The agricultural extension service in Uganda has in the last 40 years used a variety of approaches to disseminate technologies developed by researchers and other partners. These included regulatory, advisory and educational approaches. The regulatory and advisory approaches were top-bottom and non-participatory in nature.