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Institutionalizing Farmer Field Schools FAO/Giulio Napolitano FAO/Giulio © A SHIFT IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE INSTITUTIONALIZING FaRMER FIELD SCHOOL OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON INNOVATION IN FaMILY FaRMING OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON INNOVATION IN FaMILY FaRMING A SHIFT IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE INSTITUTIONALIZING FaRMER FIELD SCHOOL Prepared by Delgermaa Chuluunbaatar and Jennifer Yoo Research and Extension Unit FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS ROME, 2015 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. ISBN 978-92-5-108948-4 © FAO, 2015 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request or addressed to [email protected]. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through [email protected]. CONTENTS Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................................................ v Abbreviations used in the text ...................................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 INTroducTioN ..................................................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER2 BACKGROUND: A ParadiGM SHifT ....................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER 3 Key CHARACTERISTicS of THE FFS APPROACH ................................................................................................7 Main characteristics ..................................................................................................................................................7 Common strenGths ......................................................................................................................................................8 Common CHALLENGES .................................................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 4 OPPorTUNITieS for STRENGTHENING FFS ACTIVITieS THROUGH INSTITUTioNALIZATioN .............................13 TraininG .........................................................................................................................................................................13 FUNDinG .........................................................................................................................................................................14 Support SYstem ..........................................................................................................................................................16 TARGetinG AND Impact .................................................................................................................................................18 MonitorinG anD EVALuation ......................................................................................................................................19 CHAPTER 5 CHALLENGES AND RISKS of INSTITUTioNALIZATioN ......................................................................................21 QuaLitY VS. quantitY ...................................................................................................................................................22 InconsistencY in LeaDership ...................................................................................................................................23 InstitutionaL Limitations ..........................................................................................................................................23 ADVERSE effects of competition for FUNDinG ....................................................................................................24 ConfLicts betWEEN commerciaL interests AND farmers’ NEEDS .................................................................24 NGOS ...............................................................................................................................................................................25 CHAPTER 6 IMPLicaTioNS of INSTITUTioNALIZATioN .......................................................................................................27 GoVERNMENTS ..............................................................................................................................................................27 TertiarY EDucation.....................................................................................................................................................28 PUBLIC-priVate partnerships ..................................................................................................................................28 NGOS ...............................................................................................................................................................................30 OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON INNOVATION IN FAMILY FARMING iii A SHIFT IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE INSTITUTIONALIZING FARMER FIELD SCHOOL CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSioNS .................................................................................................................................................33 CHAPTER 8 RECOMMENDATioNS REGardiNG ROLE of ProjecTS AND PROGRAMMES TO faciLITATE INSTITUTioNALIZATioN .................................................................................................................35 Appropriation ..............................................................................................................................................................35 InstitutionaLIZation ...................................................................................................................................................36 HarmoniZation.............................................................................................................................................................37 References cited .........................................................................................................................................................................38 ANNEX 1. COUNTRY REPorTS ON INSTITUTioNALIZATioN of FFS ..................................................................42 Peru ...............................................................................................................................................................................42 China ..............................................................................................................................................................................44 JorDAN...........................................................................................................................................................................46 Viet NAM.........................................................................................................................................................................48 iv OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON INNOVATION IN FAMILY FARMING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This paper was a collaborative effort between the Research and Extension Unit (DDNR) at FAO and the Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) of FAO. Special thanks to Manuela Allara and Marjon Fredrix for their counsel and recommendations throughout the composition process. Valuable contributions were made by many colleagues in FAO’s decentralized and country offices, as well as other partner organizations in the field. The paper includes case studies by John Preissing, Julian Buitron, Deborah Duveskog, Ashraf Hawamdeh, Hu Xinmei and Le Nguyet Minh, through country case studies. Contributions also included financial support for a consultant from FAO’s country office in Kenya. Final language editing was done by Thorgeir Lawrence. The paper was reviewed by many experts who have been deeply involved in FFS-related activities both inside and outside of FAO; thus the authors would like to thank everyone who has provided valuable inputs and comments to this study. This study benefited a lot from the 2012 FAO Global e-Forum on Farmer Field Schools, thus the authors extend their thanks to the participants. OCCASIONAL PAPERS ON INNOVATION IN FAMILY FARMING v A SHIFT IN GLOBAL
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