Briefs
/ Project highlights
Institutionalizing field schools in Eastern Africa
The nature of challenges faced by smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Eastern Africa today necessitates a high level of coordinated action and cooperation, if they are to gain voice and access markets for their products. Against this background, the Field School (FS) approach has emerged as a tool to address current gaps and needs in the agricultural sector in a holistic manner. Despite the positive impacts being reported on food security and livelihood improvement, as well as the progress made towards institutionalization in some countries, FS impact assessments and reviews have repeatedly pointed out a large number of challenges and barriers to FS expansion, which are jeopardizing the scale-up of the approach. The project aimed to build synergies and complement existing initiatives in the region, in order to use FS to address livelihood concerns among rural poor, and to link directly into these initiatives within the broader FS community.