The presentation outlines the changing prospects for rural advisory services and opportunities for business and market orientation, with an overview of the Farm Business Schools experience in Lebanon. Contribution made to the panel session on "Accelerating innovation in agriculture" during the high-level forum organized in Beirut by the Lebanese MoA in collaboration with FAO and the World Bank, under the patronage of the Prime Minister of Lebanon, on 4 October 2019.

2. 18 May 2015 This is the name of the Conference 2

3. Innovative approaches in
agricultural EAS to promote
business and market orientation
May Hani
Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division
4 Oct 2019 - Beirut, Lebanon

4. Outline
1. Accelerating innovation – what it takes
2. Accelerating innovation – implications for EAS
3. Facilitating business and market orientation
4. Farm Business Schools Approach
5. FBS experience in Lebanon
6. Way forward
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5. 1. Accelerating Innovation: what it takes
 Harnessing advancement in agricultural and digital
technologies
 Facilitating institutional and social innovations, and
capacity to innovate
 Engagement of state and non-state actors
 Market access and profitability for farming population
 Viable choices for youth in agriculture
 Conducive policies and investments
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6. 2. Accelerating innovation: Implications for
Extension & Advisory Services
 Facilitating change and fostering capacity to innovate
 Engaging the plurality of actors and service providers
 Addressing productivity AND profitability
 Going beyond production practices to market
orientation
 Moving from farming as a habit towards farming as a
business
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7. 2. Accelerating innovation: Implications for EAS
 Broader scope of services:
Knowledge and information, inputs and technologies, organizational and business
development, post-harvest and market links
 Pluralistic services:
Range of services by different actors and funded by different sources - public agencies,
private sector, civil society and producer organizations
 Business and Market-orientation
Services that go beyond increasing productivity to address market-orientation and
profitability of farming as a sustainable business –
Advisory services, Credit and finance, business and market support
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8. 3. Facilitating business and market orientation
Facilitating business, market orientation and innovation of
smallscale farmers requires:
 Understanding business and profitability concepts, and
improved farm management
 Advice on advanced production techniques and market
opportunities
 Supporting informed decisions on what to produce, for
whom, how to sell it, where to sell and to whom
 Information on what inputs to buy and from whom
 Developing essential knowledge and skills to be competitive
and access markets
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9. 4. Farm Business Schools - Approach
FBS promotes business and market orientation in EAS, through:
 A shift of focus from production to farm business
management, focused on profitability
 A curriculum-based tool for engaging farmers to develop
capacities in essential business concepts and farm
management
 A specialized training package for training of service providers
and farmers on running profitable market-oriented farm
businesses
 A ‘learning-by-doing’ approach to support farmer’s transition
towards understanding and practicing farming as a business
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10. 4. Farm Business Schools - Objectives
FBS aims to support small- and medium-
scale farmers to:
 Understand and practice basic
business concepts to improve
profitability
 Develop entrepreneurial skills and
competencies to make informed
decisions
 Transition towards market-orientation
and farming as a business
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FBS - Boudai (North Bekaa), 9th August

11. 4. Farm Business Schools – Pathway
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12. 4. Farm Business School – Characteristics
 Established at community level
 Provides practical exercises
 A ‘curriculum-based’ approach
 Based on experiential learning
 A facilitated process by an extensionist
 Designed around selected farm enterprise
that can be produced locally
 Covers production cycle – from planning
to marketing
 Learning is linked to real farm settings for
immediate impact
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4 Oct 2019 – Beirut, Lebanon
FBS – Mristi (Mount Lebanon), 5th July 2019

13. 5. Farm Business Schools - Timeline
 Developed by FAO and piloted in Malawi in
2006,
 Training package adapted for Africa and Asia
in several countries
 Institutionalized by Extension Departments in
Philippines, Sri Lanka, others
 Taken up and adapted for commodities and
markets by international agencies, GIZ, IFAD,
CARE, ADRA, others
 Adapted to Arabic and launched in Lebanon
in 2019
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14. 4. FBS Experience in Lebanon
 FAO Lebanon launched the FBS approach for the 1st time in Arab
countries and the Region
 Under the framework of the Dutch funded project “Promotion of
Agricultural Livelihoods and Employment through Investment in
Land Reclamation and Water Reservoirs”
 Close collaboration with the MoA Extension Service and the
Green Plan
 Aiming to add value to the farmers investments by assisting small-
farmers to uptake a business approach to farming, make informed
decisions and take advantage of new market opportunities
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15. 5. FBS Experience in Lebanon - timeline
 February 2019, Training of Trainers
 March 2019, contextualizing FBS
material
 April 2019, Training of Facilitators
 June-July 2019, roll out of FBS in
Lebanese Regions
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16. 5. FBS Experience in Lebanon
 The rollout of 9 Farm Business Schools in different regions so far:
o Karm Chbat – Akkar-Hermel
o Aydamon – Akkar
o Qayteh – Akkar
o Aley
o High Shouf – Mresteh
o Middle Shouf – Baakline
o Jezzine
o West Baalbeck – Boudai
o Rachaya – Mhaydseh
More regions to follow
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Karm Chbat (North)

17. 6. The way forward
 Roll out of FBS in new regions
 Coaching by core team to reinforce learning
 Expand on financial literacy components
 Digitalization and mobile technology options for
FBS tools
 Adapting FBS for working with and
appropriation by cooperatives
 Promote national and regional level exchange
and learning on FBS towards business and
market orientation
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19. Thank you
Contact us
FAO-Lebanon@fao.org
May.Hani@fao.org
Dany.LichaaElKhoury@fao.org
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