Gender and equity in rural societies

Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools

Supporting AIDS orphans with active learning programmes relevant to farming, income generation and nutrition

Related links

FAO Newsroom, Responding to the orphan crisis

What problem did it address, where?

More than 14 million children under the age of 15 have lost one or both parents to AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. By 2010, it is estimated that this figure will have risen to 20 million, comprising about half of all orphans sub-Saharan Africa. When parents fall sick and die as a result of HIV/AIDS, their children are often marginalized and vital agricultural knowledge and life-skills are not passed down, leaving them vulnerable to hunger, malnutrition and illness. In response to this crisis, Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) were developed to improve children's agricultural and life skills for livelihood support and food security. Piloted in Mozambique in 2003, the programme has now expanded to Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

To date, over 1000 girls and boys in southern and eastern Africa have acquired new skills for farming, income-generation, proper nutrition, the value of medicinal plants, heath and hygiene, biodiversity and natural resource conservation, and other topics. These children have also learned about the importance of sound and informed decision-making during the crop cycle as well as in their own lives. Discovery learning and active problem-solving are emphasized through the JFFLS learning year. At the end of this process, many children who were formerly withdrawn and timid begin to open up, interacting with other children and facilitators. As they participate in cultural activities and see their efforts in the field come to fruition, children are increasingly confident and proud.

How?

The JFFLS approach is an adaptation of successful practices for developing knowledge and life skills among farmers in difficult circumstances such as Farmer Field Schools and Farmer Life Schools, combined with creative and expressive activities rooted in local culture.

At each JFFLS site, specifically trained extension workers, teachers and social animators use a participatory methodology to pass on agricultural knowledge and life skills to boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 17. The one-year learning programme follows the crop cycle; links are established between agriculture, nutrition, gender equality and life-skills knowledge so that young participants learn to grow healthy crops while making informed decisions for leading healthy lives. Participatory field activities include crop selection and cultivation, land preparation, pest management, cultivation of medicinal plants and income generation; local theatre, art, dance and song are also integral aspects of each JFFLS day. The programme seeks to include equal numbers of boys and girls in all schools and stresses gender equality as well as child rights and protection.

Strategic partnerships play an important role in this multi-sectoral approach: WFP provides children with nutritious meals during the JFFLS day through its school feeding programme and UNICEF is utilizing its comparative advantage of providing technical expertise and learning materials in the areas of life skills and child protection. NGOs, CBOs and faith-based organizations also contribute their knowledge, skills and support to JFFLS at the local level.

Where next?

Ongoing JFFLS in Mozambique, Kenya, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.