A farmer field school is a school without walls. A group of farmers gets together in one of their own fields to learn about their crops and things that affect them. They learn how to farm better by observing, analysing and trying out new ideas on their own fields.

FAO and other development organizations have been promoting farmer field schools – an innovative approach to adult education first developed in Southeast Asia for pest management – to improve land and water management in Africa. Unlike traditional approaches to agricultural extension, which rely on extension workers providing advice to farmers, farmer field schools enable groups of farmers to find out the answers for themselves. That means the farmers can develop solutions to their own problems.