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The FFS method was introduced and adapted to potato-related problems in Peru by the International Potato Center (CIP) and the NGO CARE-Peru in 1997. Since then, a scaling-up process of the methodology has taken place following three phases: 1) validation (1997-1999) in which CIP and CARE adapted and assessed FFS; [...]

This paper aims to discuss and compare the effectiveness of these two programs (The Training and Visit (T&V) Extension Program and the Farmer Field School -FFS-Program) with reference to rice production in Indonesia. The findings suggest that, for regions where the level of development is still very low, implementing a [...]

he need to increase agricultural sustainability has induced the government of India to promote the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM). An evaluation of cotton-based conventional and IPM farming systems was conducted in India (2002–2004). The farmers managing the IPM farms had participated in discovery-based ecological training, namely Farmer Field [...]

A project in Ghana tried to encourage government extension agents to change their attitudes. Instead of merely teaching new techniques, they were supposed to engage rice farmers in a two-way learning experience. The extension agents accepted some of the project philosophy, but they still thought that the goal of the [...]

This paper describes and highlights lessons learned from several research and development organisations in western Kenya using different community-based approaches to scale up agroforestry and other biological options to improve soil fertility among resource- poor smallholders. The main benefits of such approaches are that the link between farmers, government extension, [...]

The use of synthetic pesticides among vegetable producers in urban and peri-urban Cotonou, Benin, has been increasing to the extent that certain insect pests have developed resistance to the pesticides. This paper assesses the impact of the farmer field school approach in an integrated pest management (IPM) project that aimed [...]

In view of the market failures and the state failures inherent in providing agricultural extension, community-based approaches, which involve farmers‘ groups, have gained increasing importance in recent years as a ―third way‖ to provide this service. The paper discusses the conceptual underpinnings of community-based extension approaches, highlights theoretical and practical [...]

Les dix champs-écoles pilotes installés au Kasaï occidental en 2003 ont permis aux paysans membres d’expérimenter de nouveaux modes de gestion des cultures, et, leurs résultats ont été jugés satisfaisants. L’originalité et la simplicité des procédés utilisés favorisent, non seulement une meilleure appropriation des innovations, mais aussi une participation active [...]