COVOID, with support from AWO International/BMZ, is advancing the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach to empower refugees and vulnerable host communities to improve food production through practical, group-based learning. Through FFS, farmers collectively identify and address challenges such as poor agricultural practices, limited knowledge of Good Agronomic Practices (GAPs), pests and diseases, soil infertility, climate change, and inadequate water conservation. Demonstration sites serve as hands-on learning centers where participants practice organic farming, prepare organic pesticides and manure, adopt row planting, apply climate-smart agriculture, and strengthen soil management skills. By promoting exploration, discovery, and adaptation to local conditions, FFS not only enhances productivity but also supports the transition from subsistence to commercial farming, strengthens social capital, fills gaps in government extension services, and increases farmers’ access to new technologies—ensuring that improved practices align both with scientific standards and the realities of the communities they serve.
FFS Principles
- Learning by doing –adults learn better through experience rather than passive listening at lectures and demonstrations.
- Every FFS is unique, as far as content is concerned: Farmers decide what is relevant and what FFS should address.
- Learning from mistakes - each person’s experience of reality is unique and valid.
- Learning how to learn - farmers build their capacity to observe, analyze, and make conscious decisions.
- Problem posing/problem solving - problems are posed as challenges not constraints.
- Farmers’ fields are the learning ground - the field - crop or livestock production system - is the main learning tool.
- Unity is strength - farmers in a group have more power than individual farmers.
- All FFS follow a systematic training process - key steps are observation, group discussion, analysis, decision-making, and action-planning.
