Shortages of adequately trained extension personnel in farm management limit the effectiveness of extension services worldwide. Training is an integral part of farm management extension work and is important also for long term development and sustainability. Training is the catalyst to provide front line extension workers and farmers with the skills needed to enhance farm business profitability and competitiveness. This translates into an urgent need to develop appropriate training materials and build technical capacity for extension staff and farmers in farm business management.

The service has been involved in the development of training materials for trainers of extension workers in farm business management. This in response to extension worker needs, taking into account the global trends and regional differences between the Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, the Pacific Islands and Africa . The training programmes aim at providing agricultural extension workers with an understanding of the principles of economics; procedures for identifying technical and economic constraints on the farm; methods to analyse the performance of individual farm enterprises and the whole farm system; skills in farm planning and management to assist farmers to respond to new market opportunities.

Pacific

An important priority for most of the Pacific Islands Countries (PICs) is the enhancement of small farmer livelihoods. Small farmers can benefit from understanding farming as a business and, as a result, make a good livelihood based on the application of sustainable agriculture techniques, sound farm management, and good planning and marketing decisions.

This manual attempts to address the needs of a large and diverse group of people in the Pacific: farming families living and working on small farms. It is published by the FAO Sub-regional Office for the Pacific and aims to show how facilitators can help farming families make beneficial decisions as they consider producing for the market. It is designed to be used by those who are training or supervising facilitators, but it may also be useful for others who are working with farmers.

(To download click here)

Caribbean

Two types of farm holdings dominate this region of the globe: small family farms and plantations. The latter are quite significant in terms of production (i.e. sugarcane), but not in the numbers of farmers involved. Most family farms are small (less than 2.5 hectares) and, often on scattered plots.

This manual addresses the current challenges facing small-scale farmers in the region, their need for a market-oriented approach to farming and the development of management skills to enhance their competitiveness in both domestic and global markets.

The manual is intended for trainers of agricultural extension workers employed by Ministries of Agriculture and other front line change agents working through local government, non-government organizations, civil society and the private sector. The manual covers a broad range of topics dealt with through a combination of classroom instruction, practical exercises, participatory group discussions and field work.

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Asia

The farming population in Asia is largely made up of small scale farmers who cultivate most of the cultivated land. These farmers cultivate small plots and have a limited supply of family labour and access to credit. As a result of these structural difficulties, farm incomes are low.

The manual is based on work conducted over the last few years in the region and a comprehensive training workshop was conducted in the Philippines where the materials were developed and adapted with a particular focus on the countries of Southeast Asia .

The manual is intended to assist trainers of agricultural extension workers employed by ministries of agriculture and other front-line change agents working through local government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and the private sector, and it is to

this target group that the manual is directed.

(To download click here)

For the training package for participants click here

For the training slides click here

Africa

Farming has, in general, not been approached as a profit-making undertaking in this region of the globe. Sub-Saharan Africa has many smallholder farmers who for years have farmed primarily for household food consumption with only some surplus offered randomly to market. Yet Africa is moving more and more to a cash economy, where there is an increased demand for food. This presents an excellent opportunity for these same smallholder farmers to consider ways and means to exploit the opportunities presented.

Sub-Saharan Africa has many smallholder farmers who for years have farmed family farms primarily for household food consumption with some surplus offer randomly to the market. Farming has, in general, not been approached as a profit-making undertaking.

This manual is built around the concept of experiential learning. The general format of the programme is a combination of individual readings providing technical information about a given topic followed by a group review, followed by a variety of exercises to reinforce learning or to practice a skill.

(To download click here)

A manual for Latin America is currently in preparation and will be available soon.