Farmer Field Schools for Improving Farming Practices and Farmer Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Waddington, Hugh; Snilstveit, Birte; Hombrados, Jorge García; Vojtkova, Martina; Phillips, Daniel R.; Davies, Philip; White, Howard

doi:10.4073/csr.2014.6

Cited by 144 publications

(177 citation statements)

References 223 publications

(548 reference statements)

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“…The meta-analysis of literature on the FFS conducted by Waddington, et al shows that experimentation is not a prominent feature of the FFS approach [30]. None of 92 impact studies included by Waddington et al in their metaevaluation of FFS provided information on experimentation.…”

Section: Looking Back At Farmer Participatory Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergies at the interface of farmer–scientist partnerships: agricultural innovation through participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras

et al. 2015

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Background:The article describes the institutionalization of farmer participatory research and plant breeding that has occurred in Honduras over the past 22 years and demonstrates how this approach can offer a positive response to climate change and sustainable agricultural development. In Honduras, participatory plant breeding (PPB) involves the collaboration of farmer researchers organized in local agricultural research committees (CIALs), plant breeders, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). While earlier debates often questioned the role of farmers in agricultural research, particularly the synergistic effect of this role with regard to scientific research, little empirical evidence was provided to settle this debate. Nor was the contextualization of farmer research adequately addressed. The article responds to calls for studies that detail what actually happens in development practice. Results:The article provides detailed cases of farmer-NGO-scientist collaboration in the development of new bean varieties in Honduras. The documented cases of PPB-generated bean varieties demonstrate how and why this collaboration has produced synergies for scientific research and positive benefits for poor farmers in the Honduras context. Very high adoption rates of PPB varieties compared to unimproved local and conventional scientist-developed varieties show the importance of this approach for regions of the world where agro-biodiversity is high and agricultural research budgets are inadequate to address this diversity.Conclusions: PPB provides a means to improving food security in poor and agro-biodiverse countries, such as Honduras. Nevertheless, to incentivize farmers to engage in PPB research over the long term, seed regulatory systems must allow for the development of small seed enterprise. Research support must also be long term. PPB in Honduras has been successful because donor support to both scientists and NGOs for farmer participatory research has been sustained allowing for trusting partnerships to evolve between the different players.

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Section: Looking Back At Farmer Participatory Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergies at the interface of farmer–scientist partnerships: agricultural innovation through participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras

et al. 2015

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“…Although traditionally considered a top-down approach to training, extension services have over time become more participatory in nature (Waddington et al 2014). Farmer field schools in particular, which may be one component of broader agricultural extension services, use a more bottom-up approach to training and knowledge transfer.…”

Section: Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmer field schools in particular, which may be one component of broader agricultural extension services, use a more bottom-up approach to training and knowledge transfer. Farmer field schools aim to be participatory, empowering and experiential in nature, focusing on problems and priorities identified by the farmers, rather than on issues and challenges determined by outsiders (Waddington et al 2014). Initially developed to tackle an overreliance on pesticides, field schools have aimed to address a range of different issues across over 80 countries (van den Berg 2004).…”

Section: Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additional research syntheses into the effects of smallholder farming interventions is available (Waddington et al 2014) or forthcoming (Dorward et al 2013). At this stage, we believe that funding primary evidence gathering will give a greater return on investment.…”

Section: Implications For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 2013 Africa Agriculture Report singles out the 'increased use of agricultural inputs, modern farming techniques, and reduced market inefficiencies' (AGRA 2013) as necessary to improve agricultural productivity in the region. Recent systematic reviews present farmer field schools and land property rights as promising interventions to increase agricultural productivity (Waddington et al 2014;. Specific examples of technological innovations to improve the efficiency and output of smallholder famers include: treadle pump irrigation technology (Adeoti et al 2009); bio-fortification and health information (de Brauw et al 2013); and adopting export crops and marketing techniques (Ashraf et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of training, innovation and new technology on African smallholder farmers’ economic outcomes and food security

Stewart¹,

Langer²,

Silva³

et al. 2016

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The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) is an international grant-making NGO promoting evidence-informed development policies and programmes. We are the global leader in funding, producing and synthesising high-quality evidence of what works, how, why and at what cost. We believe that better and policy-relevant evidence will make development more effective and improve people's lives. 3ie systematic reviews 3ie systematic reviews examine available high-quality evidence on the effects of social and economic development interventions in low-and middle-income countries. These reviews follow scientifically recognised review methods, and are peer reviewed and quality assured according to internationally accepted standards. 3ie is providing leadership in demonstrating rigorous review methodologies, such as using theory-based designs, for combining different types of evidence suited to respond to the complex and dynamic contexts and challenges of development. 3ie also publishes summary reports based on the full reviews that are designed for use by policymakers and programme managers. About this summary report AcknowledgementsThis review was made possible thanks to the generosity of many individuals and organisations. It was funded by Global Affairs Canada (formerly Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Canada), managed through the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). 3ie also offered additional financial support for this review. In addition, the Centre for Anthropological Research at the University of Johannesburg generously allocated additional staffing to the review. We would also like to thank our international advisory group and peer-reviewers for their input to this review. ii SummaryThe majority of the rural poor in Africa engage in smallholder farming as a livelihood strategy. At the same time, supporting the practice of smallholder agriculture holds the potential to improve farming households' level of food security as well as local economies in rural areas. Agricultural productivity in Africa stands at one-third to half of global productivity and, although the Green Revolution has rapidly improved social and economic livelihoods in other former developing regions, it is by and large absent from the continent.Programmes that support African smallholder agriculture by implementing training programmes and introducing new technologies and agricultural innovations aim to help release the untapped potential of the African agricultural sector. But we know little about which programmes and approaches are most effective at improving smallholders' food security and economic outcomes. This is the first systematic review of the available research evidence to address this issue. Our objectives were to systematically review the evidence on the effects that training, innovation and new technology have had on African smallholder farmers' economic outcomes and food security. InterventionsThis review assessed the effects of two types of interventions on the livelihoods of Africa...

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Interactive social media interventions for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population

Welch

Petkovic

Simeon

et al. 2018

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

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Farmer Field Schools for Improving Farming Practices and Farmer Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Cited by 144 publications

References 223 publications

Synergies at the interface of farmer–scientist partnerships: agricultural innovation through participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras

Synergies at the interface of farmer–scientist partnerships: agricultural innovation through participatory research and plant breeding in Honduras

Effects of training, innovation and new technology on African smallholder farmers’ economic outcomes and food security

Interactive social media interventions for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population

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