Sub-Regional Support for Farmer Training
Project / Programme Summary
I.Basic data
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II. Project / program description
Objectives
Building on the experience gained in Asia with Integrated Pest Management (IPM), this grant will support the ongoing pilot initiative to replicate IPM in Africa in three countries. The overall objective of the programme is to develop and provide knowledge to farmers for making decisions regarding the application of new technical, organizational and marketing options, and to help them know what to demand from research and extension systems. The specific objectives are:
(a) to increase the competency of extension systems to provide farmer education relevant to local conditions and resources;
(b) develop a capacity to exchange small farmers experiences within and between countries;
(c) assess the replicability and effectiveness of the Farmer Field School approach as an alternative to previous extension methods.
Activities
The programme will be implemented in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and the type of activities to be supported build of the work done over the past two years in the each of country. The principal activities will include: planning workshops for trainers; support to Farmer Field Schools; farmer-to-farmer training; Action-Oriented research on specific crops of relevance to smallholders; follow-up meetings to assess previous crop season results; exchange visits within and between countries; and monitoring and evaluation.
Expected outputs / beneficiaries
Experience both with the socio-economic aspects of the Farmer Field School approach in Africa and with the appropriate technical approach for specific crops.
This experience will then be used to develop extension activities to reach a much larger number of farmer under IFAD-financed development projects.
III. Contact point:
Ms. Marian Bradley, Economist, Africa II Division
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