Two Farmers Field Schools starting soon at the El Hamiz perimeter in Algeria

FAO office in Algeria is launching, as part of the regional project on water efficiency, productivity and sustainability (WEPSRNE), two Farmers field schools in Algeria in the irrigated perimeter of El Hamiz, one of the largest perimeters of the country. The perimeter covers an area of ​​18,000 ha and extends over three wilayas of Boumerdès, Algiers and Blida. The Farmers Field schools will focus on greenhouse tomato cultivation and will reach around fifty farmers in the region. As an indication, the cultivation of greenhouse tomato occupies an area of ​​around 4,500 ha nationally, including 173 ha in Algiers, 202 ha in Boumerdès and 35 ha in Blida.

The objective of these two schools is to sensitize farmers on rational and efficient use of irrigation water and to train them on sustainable water management with regards regarding the challenges of climate change and episodes of drought, which are becoming more and more frequent.

The Field School for producers is a meeting and training framework for a group of Farmers, a school "without walls", which takes place in a field, throughout a growing season. It is a place, once created, will allow participants, with the help of a facilitator, to exchange experiences and knowledge and seek the most appropriate solutions to the problems encountered on their farms.

An FFS launch workshop was organized in early April 2021, in partnership with the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The launching event was an opportunity for all partners and stakeholders to confirm their interests and commitments in this new activity.

The WEPSRNE project team is soon organizing a training course on the farmer field school approach which will aim to train the FFS facilitators. They will be selected among the engineers and technicians from the various decentralized structures under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (INSID, INPV, ITCMI, DSA, ITGC, ITDAS and CAW) but also those under the Ministry of Water Resources. (ONID and AGIRE).

The trained facilitators will thus be able to guide, at the level of these FFS, the learning process based on discovery and experimentation and ensure an efficient circulation of information within the group of producers.

The schools themselves are scheduled to start in September 2021 to accompany the tomato season.

This activity is implemented under the regional project “Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in the Near East and North Africa Region”, under the Water Scarcity Initiative. This project is funded by the Swedish International Cooperation and Development Agency (SIDA).