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This document focuses on the implementation phase of farmer field school (FFS) programmes and provides guidance and tools that will help farmer field schools to bring about the change expected by the programme and the communities it supports, by setting up a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) system. It also introduces impact assessment as an integral management function linked to monitoring, evaluation and learning in FFS programmes. It is aimed at project and programme designers, managers and staff involved in planning, monitoring, evaluation and learning of project/programmes with a farmer field school component. It also targets those who will be involved in the initial design, planning, follow-up of monitoring, evaluation and learning and impact assessment to improve programme implementation. The document outlines background information and tools to help ensure that implementation of FFS programmes will lead to the anticipated outputs, outcomes and impacts, by setting up a robust MEL system and impact assessment methodology/framework for the improvement of ongoing FFS projects and programmes and the design of new ones.
The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.
This FFS Guidance Document focuses on the process and critical decisions that are necessary when starting a new FFS programme, and guides the reader through the essential steps required to establish a solid basis for such programmes, in tune with the specific local conditions. It also defines the essential elements and processes required to ensure programme relevance, quality, growth and sustainability. The document differs from most of the FFS manuals and guidelines available in that it focuses on providing support to FFS programme managers and formulators, as opposed to FFS field facilitators or trainers, who are the primary target group for most existing manuals.
This study is motivated by the idea that even though participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is widely accepted as a tool to manage development programs to be effective, its application is widely constrained by its high start-up resource requirements in terms of both finance and time. However, this paper argues that after the initial investment is made, the payback from using PM&E is much higher both in terms of grassroots-level learning, empowerment, and capacity building and in terms of higher-level strategic decision making which enhances impact. This is demonstrated using field-level experience of implementing PM&E in farmer field schools (FFSs) under the Agricultural Services Support Program and Agricultural Sector Development Program–Livestock (ASSP/ASDP-L) program in Zanzibar, Tanzania. After describing the major steps followed in designing and implementing a PM&E for FFSs, the major lessons learned and challenges faced in the process are discussed. The study found out that PM&E has enabled the tracking of technology uptake and reasons behind adoption and nonadoption of technologies through detailed data collection. This informed and improved decision making at a higher level to design feasible methods to scale up adoption at other FFSs and to devise solutions for nonadoption. The need for incentives to undertake PM&E was found to be one of the major challenges of implementation, among others.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed this guidance note to assist FFS master trainers and facilitators bring about climate change adaptation in FFS. The guide provides key information on how the climate is changing, and how these changes are impacting the agricultural (crops and livestock), aquaculture and agroforestry systems of smallholder farmers. The note provides guidance to FFS practitioners so that they can better work with individual farmers and communities – using a “climate change lens” – in identifying, testing and adapting new practices that respond to changes and variability in local weather. The guide is not intended as a textbook on climate change but is prepared for easy understanding of basic concepts of climate change to support the interpretation of climate information in specific farming contexts and steps that FFS facilitators “must know” in starting FFS programmes that respond to climate change challenges.
This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.
d) FFS institutionalization, scaling up and policy development, as part of mainstreaming processes.
This book asks how governments in Africa can use evidence to improve their policies and programmes, and ultimately, to achieve positive change for their citizens. Looking at different evidence sources across a range of contexts, the book brings policy makers and researchers together to uncover what does and doesn’t work and why. Case studies are drawn from five countries and the ECOWAS (west African) region, and a range of sectors from education, wildlife, sanitation, through to government procurement processes. The book is supported by a range of policy briefs and videos intended to be both practical and critically rigorous. It uses evidence sources such as evaluations, research synthesis and citizen engagement to show how these cases succeeded in informing policy and practice. The voices of policy makers are key to the book, ensuring that the examples deployed are useful to practitioners and researchers alike. This innovative book will be perfect for policy makers, practitioners in government and civil society, and researchers and academics with an interest in how evidence can be used to support policy making in Africa. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003007043, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license