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The Farm Business School consists of a package of training materials intended to inform policy makers, train FBS facilitators and train farmers. The Training of Facilitators Programme is classroom-based and of a short 15 day duration. The Training of Farmers Programme consists of a series of meetings that take place [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Recently the Government of KP has introduced a new extension approach i.e Farmers’ Field Schools (FFS) to build the capacity of farmers through discovery based learning. The present paper is based on the study designed to analyze the participation of farmers in the FFS as an alternative extension strategy to [...]

This study performed an economic impact analysis of the Farmer Field Schools (FFS) training program in three major cotton producing countries in Asia; namely China, India and Pakistan. The training program is based on the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach launched by the “FAO-EU IPM Program for Cotton in Asia”. In the three [...]

Government of KP introduced a new extension approach called Farmers’ Field Schools (FFS) in 2004 in the 24 districts of the province. The present paper is based on the study designed to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of FFS as perceived by farmers. The analysis shows that FFS improved knowledge of [...]

This paper aims to ascertain why farmers are not accessing information and where information gaps exist, despite the variety of extension approaches in India. Using information provision and access as the basis for analysis, the paper reviews some of the major agricultural extension programs in India by considering their ability [...]

Sixty-five farmers reported on pesticide use and the signs and symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning when using two different plant protection strategies: in 2003 using chemical controls and in 2004 using an approach to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) based on an ecological analysis of the field conditions. Exposure to organophosphates was [...]

IPM Programs in Asia, including on rice, cotton and vegetables, have been broadly based on three dimensions. First is a solid IPM science basis including ecological interaction, plant physiology and soil-plant interactions. Second is policy for IPM, especially elimination of pesticide subsidies which cause over-use of pesticides and disrupt natural enemies [...]

This chapter explores intensive hands-on occupational education for farmers in selected European, African, Latin American countries and in south India. An Indian case study of Farmer Field Schools for Integrated Pest and Production Management (IPPM) to ensure food security and livelihood improvement is presented, to introduce discussion of the role [...]