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The study assessed the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) activities as a strategy to enhance capacity building of rural smallholder cocoa farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey to enhance the capacity to conduct the research. A purposive sampling procedure was used to select 160 smallholder rural cocoa farmers who participated in the FFS activities in Kwara State. A structured interview schedule was used to collect the data from the respondents. Data were gathered on the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder cocoa farmers and the skills provided by FFS to smallholder cocoa farmers. Data was analyzed using mean, frequency counts, percentages, and chi-square at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that 91.3% were male, while 8.7% were female. The result showed that all the skills needed were provided by FFS. The results showed that FFS activities had a significant relationship with the FFS skills provided and the training needs of the rural smallholder cocoa farmers with a p-value of 0.001 being < 0.05. The findings concluded that farmer field school activities had a positive relationship between the skills provided and the training needs of cocoa farmers and this is because the skills provided by FFS are in line with the training needs of cocoa farmers. The study recommends that the Kwara State Ministry of Agriculture through the FFS should continue to serve as a training base that involves more farmers in the program and encourage extension service delivery to encourage capacity building and increase productivity.

The spread of ill information with or without the intention of deceiving or causing harm has negatively impacted agricultural development both in social and digital spaces. This has led to a lack of trust in adopting new technologies and practices, which has hindered the process of facilitating agricultural development. Although the study of agri-food misinformation is still in its early stages, this paper draws on a scoping review of existing literature and lessons learned from other fields, such as political science and public health, which have extensive experience in combating misinformation in social settings. The article explores how Farmer Field Schools (FFS), a popular participatory and community-based approach, can incorporate media literacy education and how a local agricultural information hub, platform approach and a relatively new approach called technology stewardship in agricultural extension can help those working in the agri-food industry combat misinformation.

The study assessed the levels of usage of conservation agriculture technology in Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo and Angonia, Mozambique. A structured questionnaire was randomly administered to 192 farmers in each study site to collect data through a multistage sampling process. The study employed descriptive statistics and multinomial logistic regression to examine possible relationships among the study parameters. The results showed that land size used for conservation agriculture was a significant predictor in both study sites. Farmers’ intention to adopt depended on the services of vulgarisation of conservation agriculture technology. The results further showed that Kisangani farmers do not use the three-conservation agriculture technology at the same time, but they use crop rotation (54%). However, farmers use the three technologies (30%) simultaneously and soil cover (38%) in Angonia. The results suggest that efforts to promote adoption in Kisangani should be based on equal provision of extension services in all locations, and that the current farmer field schools (FFS) approach should be redesigned for contextualisation. For both study sites, the results imply that the use of FFS should be adapted to the use of farmer-to-farmer extension services, which can improve the upscaling of conservation agriculture to increase food security in a sustainable manner

This study presents an ex-ante cost-benefit analysis of introducing sustainability standards to smallholder oil palm farmers in the province of Jambi, Sumatra, Indonesia. Sustainability standards are defined as a set of oil palm management practices derived from the Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) scheme. Economic and environmental benefits of ISPO are derived from a panel data set from some 185 oil palm smallholders collected in 2010, 2012 and 2013. We explore two basic strategies for the introduction of ISPO namely: (1) a conventional extension campaign and (2) a farmer field school approach. Our calculations show that the farmer field school approach results in a higher economic rate of return compared to conventional agricultural extension campaigns. A major conclusion from this analysis is that the Government of Indonesia should invest if ISPO standards are to be adopted on a large scale by smallholder farmers.

ABSTRACT: The current study determined the factors influencing the perception of tea farmers towards organic tea production in Rulindo District, Rwanda. This study used both qualitative and quantitative data from face to face interviews and questionnaires completed with 156 tea farmers and other key informants in the tea sector who were randomly selected in 2019. Using function step AIC in R’s MASS package, the final multiple logistic regression model showed that generating income from tea production, participation in Umuganda, conveying messages at Ihangari, participation to agricultural shows, and receiving training from Farmers Field Schools (FFS) influenced farmers’ perceptions towards organic tea production. Thus, the results of this study could be useful to stakeholders in Rwanda’s tea sector, such as policymakers and decision-makers. They can act as a source of information when developing a more sustainable research-based tea extension program. Moreover, the results of this study can be used during the capacity building of farmers about organic tea production.

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In recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China’s rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and the public. While the impact of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on crop cultivation has been widely studied, few studies have examined the impact of FFS on hog production. This study uses data collected from 222 hog farmers in Beijing to examine the impact of FFS on the productivity of hog production, focusing on its three main indicators: feed conversion ratio and the mortality of sows and piglets. We found that farms that participated in FFS programs significantly improved the feed conversion ratio of hog production, particularly in small scale hog farms. On average, FFS reduced the feed conversion ratio for herd sizes of 1000, 500, and 200 by 6.8%, 10.7%, and 14.0%, respectively. We did not find evidence that farms that participated in FFS programs had a significant impact on minimizing the mortality of sows and piglets. This study suggests that the knowledge training model of the FFS program could also work in fields other than crop cultivation. Furthermore, we suggest that more attention could be paid to extension services diffusing knowledge of vaccination and disinfection in hog FFS programs.

The increased use of sustainability standards in the international trade in cocoa challenges companies to find effective modes of service delivery to large numbers of small-scale farmers. A case study of the Sustainable Tree Crops Program targeting the small-scale cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire supplying international commodity markets shifts attention from mechanisms of private governance to the embedding of service delivery in the institutional dynamics of the state. It demonstrates that, despite a recent history of violent conflict and civil unrest, the introduced Farmer Field Schools programme achieved a surprising scale in terms of numbers and geographical spread. The analysis of this outcome combines political science and anthropological studies of effective and developmental elements in the state with the interest in institutional work found in organization science. The scaling of a new form of service delivery is explained by the skilful practices of institutional work by managers of a public–private partnership. They have been professionally associated with the sector for a long time and had the capacity to embed new forms of service delivery in persistent pockets of bureaucratic effectiveness in a failed state.

Supporting community food production is a key strategy for all the community-based partners in Food Dignity, a community-university research partnership dedicated to supporting and learning from food justice organizations. Participatory action research (PAR) may develop knowledge and skills for sustainable agriculture, thus building gardeners’ capacities to refine, implement, and share locally appropriate, sustainable food production practices. However, little research has explored the possibilities and challenges of PAR with urban gardeners. In the context of Food Dignity, I examine those possibilities in a case study of a PAR project on cover crops with gar­deners in Brooklyn, New York, USA. I address two questions: (1) How can PAR be designed in an urban community gardening context to achieve positive outcomes for science, education, and communities? and (2) What are the challenges, and how might facilitators address them? Several practices contributed to positive outcomes in our project. First, engaging gardeners in cover crop monitoring strengthened their knowledge of ecological processes (e.g., nitrogen fixation) and adaptive management skills (e.g., systematic observation). Second, facilitating oppor­tunities for participants to share their knowledge (e.g., field days) supported leadership development. Third, sustained, in-person support enabled gar­deners to implement cover cropping practices with benefits for crop production and environmental quality. Key challenges included addressing community-defined priorities within the constraints of a dissertation project and providing sufficient one-on-one research and education support with limited funding for community-based partners. Despite its challenges, PAR in urban gardening contexts may develop knowledge and skills that support improved stewardship practices and com­munity capacities. Implications for inspiring and sustaining more community-university research partnerships include strengthening institutional support for PAR at colleges and universities, funding community researcher/educator positions, and providing professional development for community and academic PAR partners.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a leading complement and alternative to synthetic pesticides and a form of sustainable intensification with particular importance for tropical smallholders. Global pesticide use has grown over the past 20 years to 3.5 billion kg/year, amounting to a global market worth $45 billion. The external costs of pesticides are $4–$19 (€3–15) per kg of active ingredient applied, suggesting that IPM approaches that result in lower pesticide use will benefit, not only farmers, but also wider environments and human health. Evidence for IPM’s impacts on pesticide use and yields remains patchy. We contribute an evaluation using data from 85 IPM projects from 24 countries of Asia and Africa implemented over the past twenty years. Analysing outcomes on productivity and reliance on pesticides, we find a mean yield increase across projects and crops of 40.9% (SD 72.3), combined with a decline in pesticide use to 30.7% (SD 34.9) compared with baseline. A total of 35 of 115 (30%) crop combinations resulted in a transition to zero pesticide use. We assess successes in four types of IPM projects, and find that at least 50% of pesticide use is not needed in most agroecosystems. Nonetheless, policy support for IPM is relatively rare, counter-interventions from pesticide industry common, and the IPM challenge never done as pests, diseases and weeds evolve and move.

Supporting community food production is a key strategy for all the community-based partners in Food Dignity, a community-university research partnership dedicated to supporting and learning from food justice organizations. Participatory action research (PAR) may develop knowledge and skills for sustainable agriculture, thus building gardeners' capacities to refine, implement, and share locally appropriate, sustainable food production practices. However, little research has explored the possibilities and challenges of PAR with urban gardeners. In the context of Food Dignity, I examine those possibilities in a case study of a PAR project on cover crops with gardeners in Brooklyn, New York, USA. I address two questions: (1) How can PAR be designed in an urban community gardening context to achieve positive outcomes for science, education, and communities? and (2) What are the challenges, and how might facilitators address them? Several practices contributed to positive outcomes in our project. First, engaging gardeners in cover crop monitoring strengthened their knowledge of ecological processes (e.g., nitrogen fixation) and adaptive management skills (e.g., systematic observation). Second, facilitating opportunities for participants to share their knowledge (e.g., field days) supported leadership development. Third, sustained, in-person support enabled gardeners to implement cover cropping practices with benefits for crop production and environmental quality. Key challenges included addressing communitydefined priorities within the constraints of a dissertation project and providing sufficient one-on-one research and education support with limited funding for community-based partners. Despite its challenges, PAR in urban gardening contexts may develop knowledge and skills that support improved stewardship practices and community capacities. Implications for inspiring and sustaining more community-university research partnerships include strengthening institutional support for PAR at colleges and universities, funding community researcher/educator positions, and providing professional development for community and academic PAR partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale farmers in developing countries use hazardous pesticides taking few or no safety measures. Farmer field schools (FFSs) teaching integrated pest management (IPM) have been shown to reduce pesticide use among trained farmers. This cross-sectional study compares pesticide-related knowledge, attitude, practice (KAP), potential exposure, and self-reported poisoning symptoms among 35 FFS farmers, 44 neighboring farmers, and 35 control farmers after an IPM intervention in Uganda (2011-2012). The FFS farmers were encouraged to teach their neighboring farmers. Data were based on standardized interviews and were analyzed using a linear trend test and logistic regression. The results showed that FFS and neighboring farmers used significantly fewer pesticide applications (P = .021) and used more safety measures. No differences were found on the hazardousness of pesticides used or self-reported symptoms. The study supports IPM as a method to reduce pesticide use and potential exposure and to improve pesticide-related KAP among small-scale farmers in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study to determine the impacts of farmers field schools (FFS) on smallholders’ adoption of good agricultural practices in tea and to assess sustainability of smallholder tea production was conducted in the highlands of Kenya. Input-output data on tea management and on sustainability indicators (score 0-10) were collected from a sample of 120 FFS participants at the beginning of the study and from 60 randomly selected FFS participants and a comparison group of 60 non-FFS participants at the end of the study, 18 months later. The study showed that the smallholder tea systems are moving towards social sustainability and economic returns were positive. Sustainability indicator scores, for FFS members, increased by 4% from the base period. The FFS participants also attained a significantly higher level of farm sustainability, knowledge gains on good agricultural practices (GAP) and higher yields and farm and tea income than their non-FFS counterparts. These findings indicate that FFS methodology had a positive contribution to enhancing farmer learning and adoption of good agricultural practices in tea and improved farmers’ livelihoods.

Forest benefit analysis is vital in ensuring sustainable community-based natural resources management. Forest depletion and degradation are key issues in rural Zimbabwe and strategies to enhance sustainable forest management are continually sought. This study was carried out to assess the impact of forests on communities from Nyanga, Guruve and Zvimba districts of Zimbabwe. It is based on a Big Lottery Fund project implemented by Progressio-UK and Environment Africa. Itfocuses on identifying replicable community forest and landmanagement strategies and the level of benefits accruing to the community. Analysis of change was based on the Income and Food Security and Forest benefits, which also constitutes the tools used during the research. The study confirms the high rate of deforestation and the increased realisation by communities to initiate practical measures aimed at protecting and sustaining forest and land resources from which they derive economic and social benefits. The results highlight the value of community structures (Farmer Field Schools and Environmental Action Groups) as conduits for natural resource management. The interconnectivity among forests, agricultural systems and the integral role of people are recognised as key to climate change adaptation. Keywords: Forest benefits; sustainability,;livelihoods; farmer field schools

Four FFSs concerning integrated crop–livestock systems were implemented by a R&D project namely “Adaptation to Climate Change in West Asia and North Africa (WANA) Marginal Environments through Sustainable Crop and Livestock Diversification (ACC project)” during the summer season 2013 in three villages namely Village 4, Village 7 and Village 1750 in Sinai Peninsula. This study aimed to do the following: (1) assess the learning impacts of farmer field schools of integrated crop–livestock package and (2) explore the factors that affect the respondents’ learning index. Data were collected from the enrolled farmers (96 farmers) using an ex-post facilitator-made knowledge and implementation test during the period from April to October 2013. Mean, mode, standard deviation, range, frequencies, percentages, Learning Index (LI), and Chi-Square were used for data analysis and presentation. The study revealed that the mean scores of each item of the studied package were raised as a reason of respondents’ attendance of learning modules of FSSs. With regard to learning index, results showed that the mean scores reached about 38.25 for knowledge (KLI) and decreased to 32.98 for implementation (ILI). The majority of respondents (61.5%) have moderate level of KLI. Similarly around one half of respondents (51%) have also moderate level of ILI. With respect to factors affecting respondents’ learning index, the study findings indicated that number of family members, large animal ownership, leadership degree, and tendency to change were significantly related to respondents’ KLI, while large animal ownership, belonging degree, leadership degree, and tendency to change were significantly related to respondents’ ILI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a leading complement and alternative to synthetic pesticides and a form of sustainable intensification with particular importance for tropical smallholders. Global pesticide use has grown over the past 20 years to 3.5 billion kg/year, amounting to a global market worth $45 billion. The external costs of pesticides are $4-$19 (€3-15) per kg of active ingredient applied, suggesting that IPM approaches that result in lower pesticide use will benefit, not only farmers, but also wider environments and human health. Evidence for IPM's impacts on pesticide use and yields remains patchy. We contribute an evaluation using data from 85 IPM projects from 24 countries of Asia and Africa implemented over the past twenty years. Analysing outcomes on productivity and reliance on pesticides, we find a mean yield increase across projects and crops of 40.9% (SD 72.3), combined with a decline in pesticide use to 30.7% (SD 34.9) compared with baseline. A total of 35 of 115 (30%) crop combinations resulted in a transition to zero pesticide use. We assess successes in four types of IPM projects, and find that at least 50% of pesticide use is not needed in most agroecosystems. Nonetheless, policy support for IPM is relatively rare, counter-interventions from pesticide industry common, and the IPM challenge never done as pests, diseases and weeds evolve and move. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmer Field Schools (FFSs) are an adult education and agricultural extension approach designed to empower farmers, increase productivity and improve livelihoods. We systematically review the literature and undertake content analysis, meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis to explore how FFSs are targeted and how the targeting affects participation and performance. Some FFS programs are found to include 'equity' criteria targeting the poorest or those judged to be most in need of the benefits FFSs offer. However, many FFS programs include 'effectiveness' targeting criteria designed to promote inclusion of farmers with more resources, education and social agency, with the aim of maximizing the impact of the program. While programs typically achieved the effectiveness-related inclusion objectives, some failed to fulfil the equity-related inclusion goals. This was because either conflicting targeting criteria and participant-selection mechanisms favored elite capture, or the need for a minimum level of social and economic capital precluded participation for some. There is also evidence that the FFS program participants' characteristics can significantly impact outcomes. Programs with relatively more educated participants may be more effective in improving the adoption of farming practices, increasing yields and passing on FFS learning to neighboring farmers living in the same communities. However, poorer farmers benefit more when they participate directly in programs than when they receive knowledge indirectly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted in 2010-11 to analyze the perception of farmers and extension field staff about the weed control measures under farmer field schools. For this purpose, six districts in the central region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan including Peshawar, Charsadda, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi and Kohat were selected. Data were collected by survey method from 240 randomly selected farmers and 60 extension field staff (EFS) persons. Analysis of the data showed that weed infestation reduces yield of different crops, decreases soil fertility, provides shelter to insect/pests of crops. Farmers responded differently in using cultural, manual, chemical and mechanical measures for weed control on their fields. In addition, the results also showed that yields of various crops were reduced by weeds infestation. Furthermore, farmers and extension field staff perceived that controlling weeds can scarce shelter for insect/pests which prevent crops from the attack of insects and diseases. Finally, it is concluded from the present survey that weeds may be controlled by adopting cultural, manual, mechanical and chemical measures to reduce yield losses in the study areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, pigs and pork have been the central elements of Chinese agricultural systems, food security, and diet. China's rapid income growth has induced a significant change in food consumption patterns, and hog production has received utmost attention from both, the Chinese government and the public. While the impact of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) on crop cultivation has been widely studied, few studies have examined the impact of FFS on hog production. This study uses data collected from 222 hog farmers in Beijing to examine the impact of FFS on the productivity of hog production, focusing on its three main indicators: feed conversion ratio and the mortality of sows and piglets. We found that farms that participated in FFS programs significantly improved the feed conversion ratio of hog production, particularly in small scale hog farms. On average, FFS reduced the feed conversion ratio for herd sizes of 1000, 500, and 200 by 6.8%, 10.7%, and 14.0%, respectively. We did not find evidence that farms that participated in FFS programs had a significant impact on minimizing the mortality of sows and piglets. This study suggests that the knowledge training model of the FFS program could also work in fields other than crop cultivation. Furthermore, we suggest that more attention could be paid to extension services diffusing knowledge of vaccination and disinfection in hog FFS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]