Farmers Field School is a non formal education imparted to farmer wherein a situation for field oriented, discovery based learning is created. It is a farmer’s participatory approach learning process. Farmers’ field school is a season long training programme to impart training to the farmer for one day in a week throughout the season.
Main approaches:
- Recognises farmers knowledge and valuable experiences
- Field oriented and farmer centred programme
- Learning by doing
- Farmers empowerment by discovery based learning
- Farmer participatory approach
Steps involved in FFS establishment:
- Identification of village
- Collection of village details
- Village visit to meet local leaders
- Selection of interested farmers
- Organize planning meeting
- Conduct FFS session
KVK’s experience on Cotton Farmers Field School:
FFS believes in group activity as the productivity will be maximum within small groups. To inculcate cotton technology to the farmers, four Farmers Field School approach was been adopted at four villages namely Erangattuthottam, Pudupalayam, Thaneerpandal and chellampalayam of Andiyur block of Erode district. Surabi and MCU-5 are the ruling varieties of this region. High cost of cultivation due to excessive use of pesticides and unavailability of agricultural labours were the major issues faced by the cotton farmers at present in this area.
Though a wholistic approach in cotton cultivation was being imparted, IPM technologies were emphasized as mealy bug; stem weevil and green bollworm are the major cause for the indiscriminate use of pesticides. 100 farmers from four different villages were identified and four collaborators were selected from four respective villages. The short studies and long term experiments proposed were carried out in their field (Collaborator field).
Capacity building and demonstrations in all aspects of cotton cultivation viz., suitable varieties for the region, utility of cotton farm implements( Rotovator ,power weeder), land preparation and seed treatment, proper spacing, mulching, skip furrow irrigation ,thinning( 1-2 seedling/hole) ,scattered sowing of maize, fermented castor trap solution, Trichogramma chilonis egg card release, micronutrient spray(for Cotton reddening),plant growth regulator spray(for Square dropping) and NPV application method were imparted to the FFS farmers. The CMRC (Community managed resource centre), a federation of SHGs and farmers group managed by the KVK was highly helpful in locating the active cotton growers of the district and also in organizing the Programme.
20 weekly sessions were held in which AESA (Agro ecosystem analysis) a regular feature was carried out every week in the field with the participation of FFS farmers to analyze the abiotic and biotic stress on the plant. The observations (Biometric and Fauna population) recorded in the field (Sub group) were pooled and the subsequent operations and conclusions were arrived by the farmers themselves.
The following inferences were drawn:
- Farmers were able to take the right crop management decisions at every stage of the crop.
- Farmers developed a regular habit of visiting their field and monitoring crop pest and diseases
- This extension approach(FFS) was found effective in imparting the required knowledge and skill related to cotton cultivation as there was a frequent contact (weekly) between the farmers and the facilitators and the farmers queries were cleared then and there
- 80% of the farmers were able to differentiate the pests and defenders of cotton and realized the importance of conservation of natural enemies.
- Few ITKs (Indigenous technical knowledge which was of low cost and effective) were recorded and the same was replicated in every individual FFS farmer’s field.
- Though controversies on pesticidal vs Non pesticidal management of cotton production arose among the farmers, they ultimately accepted the concept of IPM technology in cotton cultivation.
- Group dynamics, participatory group presentation and discussion were a part of the Programme. As a result, a sense of cooperation and team coordination developed among the farmers which were helpful in spreading and sharing the technologies with each other.
