1. The Use of Farmer Field School to Drive Agroforestry
Innovation Adoption.
THE JAMAICAN EXPERIENCE
Ja REEACH CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE SYMPOSIUM | JUNE 16, 2014 | JAMAICA

2. About Farmer Field School
(FFS)
• An extension training methodology that
focuses on learning through facilitation.
• Conducted in the field where discovery
and experiential learning are promoted
around a specific focus problem
• Farmer centered
• Training is guided by a competent
facilitator
Facilitation
Discovery
Learning
Adult
education
Group
dynamics

3. Context: About The Focus
Problem
• Much of the land occupied by small farmers is located on
steep slopes (in upper watershed areas)
• Inappropriate farming practices.
• Farmers sometimes advance further upland and clearing
forested.
• Farmers in degraded watershed are more vulnerable to
the impacts of climate variability.

4. Integrating Agroforestry Innovations
• Agroforestry was selected by the Ja REEACH Project as
the land use alternative of choice to reduce
vulnerability and improve both the livelihoods and the
adaptive capacity of rural families to climate change
• To achieve this Ja REEACH designed the Agroforestry
Farmer Field School (AFFS) and Agroforestry as a
Business (AfaaB) training programs that transferred
agroforestry technologies based on local assessments

5. Case Study - Implementing the Agroforestry Farmer Field School
(AFFS) ith Jamaican small-farmers

6. Process of AFFS Implementation
Curriculum
Development
• Jamaica specific agroforestry curriculum based on
stakeholder consultation and diagnosis and design
Training
• Training of Trainers followed by in-field delivery of
Technical Modules
Practical
Application
• Farmers Practise and implement agroforestry and land
husbandry innovations on the learning or DEMO plots
Best Practice
Diffusion
• Members of the field schools apply the innovations on
their farms.

7. List of Innovations implemented (linked to GCC
challenge)
Climate Driven Challenge Agroforestry Innovations & Climate-smart BMP Climate Change Benefit
Drought • Rainwater harvesting
• Fire Boundary / Breaks
• Mulching
• Fodder Bank
• Integration of drought tolerant crops
• Adaptation
More intense rainfall
(flooding/ soil loss)
• Individual Basins
• Gully Plugs
• Contour farming (using barriers)
• Riparian Strips
• Spot filling
• Adaptation
Temperature & Increased
Pest and Disease
• Integrated Pest Management
• Shade house
• Adaptation
Stronger and more
frequent high wind events
• Wind break
• Pruning
• Line Planting
• Adaptation &
Mitigation

9. Practicing Innovations

10. Highlighting Innovations

12. Fodder Bank

13. Pennisetum
purpureum
Gliricidia
sepium

14. Apiculture as agroforestry

15. Apiculture as agroforestry

17. Figure 1. AFFS members with seedlings in hand as they move to planting

18. Taungya

22. Pineapple Barrier Planted on Contour

23. Management of citrus greening

27. Program Results
• 14 AFFS were established across seven parishes that
reached over 700 farmers including youth and women:
• 12% were in the 18-25 age group (42% of those are female)
• 35% of all AFFS participants were female
• Over 74 hectares of watershed areas applying agroforestry
innovations as per D&D and farm plan were improved.
• Over 45,000 seedlings for economic tree crops were planted
including, cocoa, coffee, ackee, citrus, breadfruit and exotic
fruits
• Pre and post training assessment determined that farmers
demonstrated a 33% increased in knowledge.
• GIS data collected from farmers’ plot showed that all
participants implemented one or more innovations. Most
popular being spot planting.

28. Lessons Learned
• The AFFS is an effective training approach to stimulate group
learning and adoption around a focus problem and group dynamic
• The strength and effectiveness of a FFS group depends greatly on
the existing;
 Organization structure,
 Human resource skills available
 leadership
 Management of resources and conflict.
 Competency of the facilitator
• Effective implementation of AFF requires institutional and value
chain partner support. (Pluralistic extension)
• Participants showed more interest in plants that provide services
to the ecosystem and also generate timely economic returns.
• Land tenure influenced agroforestry and land husbandry decision

31. Thank You

32. AFFS CURRICULUM
Module 1: Welcome to AFFS
Module 2: Climate-Smart Agroforestry
Module 3: Agroforestry Ecosystem Analysis for Agroforestry
Module 4: Agroforestry Farm Planning
Module 5: Tree Nursery Management
Module 6: Land Husbandry
Module 7: Windbreaks
Module 8: Tropical Home Gardens
Module 9: Fodder Banks
Module 10: Shade Management
Module 11: Planting & Protecting of Seedlings
Module 12: Life After AFFS

33. INFORMATION SHARING