Since the development of the farmer field school (FFS) approach in the late 80s in Asia, thousands of FFS have since been implemented across the world, in over 90 countries and across a varied range of contexts and thematic areas. Demand for FFS programmes is increasing, and in...[more]

The Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of climate Resilience of farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP) was developed in 2013 with the aim to help smallholder farmers and pastoralists assess their climate resilience and facilitate discussion between community members on ways...[more]

The Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of climate Resilience of farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP) was developed to address the needs of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to assess their climate resilience at the level of individual households and communities. The...[more]

Farmers Field Schools (FFS) employ participatory learning processes to enhance capacities of rural communities to improve food production and livelihoods, tailored to local needs. FFS were initiated in Asia over 20 years ago in the context of FAO and Government led efforts on...[more]

New FAO tool to empower farmers in self-assessing their climate resilience [more]

FAO will host an International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition from 18th to 19th September to explore recent scientific research and knowledge and promote open dialogue while showcasing existing experiences and programs on Agroecology. The event brings...[more]

Farm machines have revolutionized agriculture and reduced drudgery for millions of farm families and workers, but the machinery of tomorrow will have to do more than that – it will also have to contribute to agriculture that is environmentally sustainable. A new FAO book,...[more]

Perennial agriculture, including perennial grains, oil seeds and legumes as well as forages and trees can take sustainable intensification to the next level and achieve productivity goals as well as social benefits and functioning ecosystem processes and services. It has...[more]

This publication details the development of Agro Pastoral Field Schools (APFS) in Africa from FFS, first developed in Asia. The publication describes the unique challenges of pastoralists and the APFS program itself which  addresses these problems through a multi-functional...[more]

The world needs to produce food for a population of 9 billion by 2050, while coping with soil and biodiversity losses, water and energy scarcity, and the risks of climate change variability. Perennial crops provide a way to reduce environmental impacts and labour while...[more]