Late 1990: first national projects

• Introduction in West Africa of the farmer field school (FFS) approach, developed by FAO in South East Asia in 1989. The first training of facilitators (ToF) in the region was conducted in Ghana in 1996, led by master trainers from Indonesia and the Philippines. The (trainee) facilitators came from Mali and Burkina Faso.
• Implementation of pilot projects in Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal. The pilots served to familiarize local agricultural agents with the FFS approach applied to vegetables and rice. The pilots attracted interest among national authorities and farmers' organizations in the three countries.

2001-2006: Phase I of the Programme under the Netherlands’ funded West Africa IPPM project

• Approx. 24 000 farmers were trained in IPPM practices during FFS from July 2001 to December 2006 in Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal.
• The programme focused on the major crops estimated to be using the highest quantities of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, i.e. rice, vegetables and cotton, but other crops (mango, sesame, jatropha, cowpeas), began to be addressed through third-party funding sources.

2006-2011: Phase II West Africa IPPM Programme

• Phase II began in 2006 with the addition of Benin to the Phase I countries, in a continuation of the Netherlands’ funded project.
• An additional 86 000 farmers were trained in IPPM practices during FFS from June 2006 to December 2011 in Mali, Burkina Faso and Senegal, totalling approx. 112 000 farmers.
• The initial approach to IPPM evolved towards a broader systems approach incorporating integrated soil fertility management and some aspects of seed management, processing, marketing and other practices.
• To meet local demands and those of governments and partners, new crops entered the programme – grain legumes (cowpea), mangos, sesame, jatropha, shea, henna, and cereals (maize, sorghum, millet, fonio).
• The list of donors and partners of the programme continued to expand throughout Phase II.
• In addition to in-kind contributions of both personnel and equipment from governments, many activities were co-financed by new partners in the field: for e.g. co-financing of ToFs by ginners’ companies, IPPM FFS funding by local authorities.
• New curricula on product quality and marketing were developed and introduced in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal through the EU-AAACP Programme.
• A summary of the programme and its results up to 2010 is presented in the case study 'The West African Regional Integrated Production and Pest Management (IPPM) Programme'.

2012-2016: Phase III Programme extension in new countries and introduction of new tools

• Climate resilience has become an important theme for which the FFS approach is well suited. The programme provided training, beginning in Mali in 2010, to raise awareness on climate change adaptation methods for stakeholders at all levels.
• New risk assessment methodologies and the piloting of adapted tools to monitor the level of pollutants in waters deriving from agricultural practices provided major advancements to the programme and the region. These advances provided the foundation for increased attention and better governance of pesticide risks in the region and informed decision-making amongst ministries and regulatory agencies.
• Intra- and inter-regional collaborations were strengthened through the promotion of regional exchange visits between countries.
• New countries are gradually trying the IPPM FFS approach – Tanzania and Zambia recently introduced ToFs on cotton production and Burundi is scheduled to design a new CCA/FFS project.
• Current estimates show approx. 180 000 farmers trained in West Africa since the inception of the programme.