A regional workshop on “Institutionalization of Farmer Field Schools at the Local and National Level” was held on 24-27th May 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand, and was attended by 40 participants from 12 Asian countries. Participants included a farmer, FFS facilitators, researchers, extension service providers, academics, government officials, and field practitioners from public and private sectors, NGOs, FAO, and civil society organizations such as the Thai Education Foundation.     

The objectives of the workshop were to share and learn from country experiences on institutionalization of FFS, develop action points for operationalizing FAO’s FFS Guidance Document, and assess needs and interest for establishing regional FFS network in Asia.    

At the end the workshop, participants formulated a resolution urging FAO to take the lead in the institutionalization of FFS learning system at local, national, regional and global levels and set up FFS support centers at appropriate level. The participants also urged their respective governments to approach FAO for its continuous support in the institutionalization process. Likewise, participants urged all other stakeholders at local, national, regional and global levels, including private sector, NGOs, farmers’ networks and development partners, to join hands in the institutionalization of FFS. 

On Friday May 27, a knowledge sharing session called “Snapshots from National Farmer Field School Programmes in the Region: Helping FAO Deliver Results Aligned with Its New Strategic Framework and Regional Initiatives” was organized at the FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. During this session, FAO’s FFS Guidance Document was launched, and the workshop participants presented their resolution to Ms. Kundhavi Kadiresan, Associate Director General (ADG) of the Regional office (FAORAP). Ms. Kadiresan expressed her support for FFS activities, highlighting the importance of FFS institutionalization for scaling up this approach.  

Global Farmer Field School Platform