More than 25 years after the first implementation of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), there is a rich corpus of evidence that participation in FFS improves farmers’ knowledge, skills, and competencies. On the other hand, several studies converge to show that FFS, by strengthening group action, have the potential to build-up social capital among participants and, thereafter, within local communities. However, it is not yet clear if this social capital is reflected in the levels of knowledge gained by FFS participants and to what extent it promotes farmers’ participatory engagement in the process of innovation development. To answer these questions the authors used between and within-subjects approaches. Data were drawn from facilitators and cotton farmers who participated in an FFS project aimed at the development of competencies in three domains: integrated crop management, farm management, and occupational safety. In a first step they developed three measures to assess the levels of social capital among farmers, the degree to which each participant contributed to the co-production of innovations within the framework of the project, and the knowledge gained by farmers. Regression analyses confirmed that the levels of social capital – and especially bonding social capital – do indeed predict both the co-production of innovations by farmers, and the levels of knowledge they gain through their participation in FFS. These findings indicate that cultivating social capital among FFS participants is a key element in facilitating the construction of knowledge and the coevolution of agricultural innovations by farmers, two of the core foci of FFS approach.
The paper was presented during the 12th European IFSA Symposium (Workshop: "Generating spaces for innovation in agricultural and rural development") in 2016.
In this paper, presented at the 12th European IFSA Symposium (Workshop: "Generating spaces for innovation in agricultural and rural development") in 2016, the authors assess the integration of new entrants to small-scale farming into agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS), in...
This report has the aim of contributing to the PRO AKIS overall goal of exploring and identifying the possibilities, conditions and requirements of rural networks to enhance the farmers’ ability to create, test, implement and evaluate innovation in cooperation with other actors.In...
L’objectif de ce guide est de faciliter la planification et la mise en œuvre des
sessions de formation. Il fait partie du cours de Gestion d’entreprises associatives
rurales en agroalimentaire et a été conçu pour les facilitateurs qui...
The privatization of agricultural research and extension establishments worldwide has led to the development of a market for services designed to support agricultural innovation. However, due to market and systemic failures, both supply side and demand side parties in this...
One option for practically applying innovation systems thinking involves the establishment of innovation platforms (IPs). Such platforms are designed to bring together a variety of different stakeholders to exchange knowledge and resources and take action to solve common problems. Yet...