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Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Adoption of Soil Water and Nutrient Management Technologies in Dry Areas of Zimbabwe: Global Theme on Agro-Ecosystems Report no. 14

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/3776/
 
Title Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Adoption of Soil Water and Nutrient Management Technologies in Dry Areas of Zimbabwe: Global Theme on Agro-Ecosystems Report no. 14
 
Creator Rusike, J
Masendeke, D
Twomlow, S J
Heinrich, G M
 
Subject Watershed management
Food and Nutrition
Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
 
Description Agricultural extension systems in sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly using participatory approaches to improve
technology adoption by smallholder farmers. This approach has been successful particularly in low-rainfall areas,
where adoption is traditionally slow. Crop productivity, farm incomes and food security have improved as a result.
ICRISAT worked with Zimbabwe’s Department of Agricultural Research and Extension to pilot-test the effectiveness
and efficiency of one such participatory approach – Farmer Field Schools, FFS – for delivering extension messages
on improved soil and water management technologies in drought-prone areas.
FFS are costlier to implement than traditional Master Farmer and community-based Participatory Extension
approaches; but they provide more opportunities for experimentation, and collective learning-by-doing and learning-
by-using. This improves farmers’ understanding of new technologies, their capacity to effectively use the technologies
and to make better decisions, and improves adoption rates. To introduce FFS more widely into national programs
and make them sustainable, the study recommends that part of the government extension budget be re-allocated
from Master Farmer training to FFS; and that NGOs and commercial agribusinesses be encouraged to target their
investments towards developing a nation-wide FFS system.
 
Publisher International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
 
Date 2004
 
Type Monograph
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/3776/1/674-2004.pdf
Rusike, J and Masendeke, D and Twomlow, S J and Heinrich, G M (2004) Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Adoption of Soil Water and Nutrient Management Technologies in Dry Areas of Zimbabwe: Global Theme on Agro-Ecosystems Report no. 14. Monograph. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics , Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.