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This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach in knowledge acquisition, adoption and dissemination of soil management technologies (SMTs) among small-scale farmers in Kenya. Eight technologies were scaledout using the FFS approach and conventional extension methods. A survey methodology with the ex-post facto [...]

This paper illustrates that the transition to promoting farmer innovation systems requires a total change in mindsets and in strategies for conducting formal research.

This paper describes a case study in small producer system in the Petri-urban areas of Kunming city, Yunnan province on an approach of farmer participatory vegetable community IPM development. The vegetable community IPM development was composted of farmer education, technological development, farmers’ self organization, alliance building and policy supporting. [...]

This paper is based on participatory development research carried out in Soroti district of Uganda with the aim to assess the impact of agricultural development among poor farmers. The central argument in this study is that a combination of farmer empowerment and innovation through experiential learning in FFS groups and [...]

What considerations lead policymakers to invest in agricultural extension as a key public responsibility, and what factors and agency incentives explain differences in extension system performance? To help answer these questions, this article provides a framework outlining farmers’ demand for information, the public goods character of extension services, and the [...]

Many technological innovations have been developed to improve agricultural productivity in Sub Sahara. However, the adoption of these innovations has been low. Appropriate extension models are often seen as the missing link between adoption and the achievement of productivity gains. Although, Zimbabwe’s agriculture continues to be a vital cog in [...]

Farmer field school programs incorporating farmer participatory research (FPR-FFS) have the potential to provide important benefits to their participants and to other farmers who benefit from improved cultivars and management techniques. An FPR-FFS program in San Miguel, Cajamarca, Peru, has been in place since 1999 with an emphasis on management [...]

Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are an intensive training approach introduced in the last decade in many developing countries to promote knowledge and uptake of ecologically sensible production approaches, and in particular, integrated pest management which minimises pesticide use. Because of the high training cost, the viability of the program depends [...]

Eight researchers from Ghana and Benin, with different backgrounds but all co-operating within the Convergence of Sciences project, conducted diagnostic studies as a first step of their research aimed at developing technologies together with resource-poor farmers. The purpose of including diagnostic studies was to increase the likelihood that the resulting [...]

The article is an introduction to a series of articles about diagnostic studies carried out by eight PhD students in Ghana and Benin. These studies form a prelude to their experimental action research with groups of farmers to develop technologies that work in local conditions and are acceptable to farmers. A [...]