Farmer Field School Manual
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The Technology Transfer Section in collaboration with the Research and Development Section is responsible to improve cane yields, the cost-effectiveness and net returns for the cane farmers implementing an efficient extension network, training courses, on-farm trials and demonstrations, field days and information dissemination. The main objective of this section is to establish an efficient and effective Field Advisory Service Network throughout the sugar belt.
Technical assistance is under the Action to strengthen Technology Transfer Agents (formerly extension) to be capable of advising farmers on “best practice” cane husbandry methods, including land preparation; clean seed cane; fertilizer recommendations; weed, pest and disease management; water management; harvesting; entrepreneurship etc., using SIRDI standards developed and benched marked by the Research and Development Section.
In 2011 SIRDI was confident that the methodology of the farmer field school was ideal to assist in reaching to farmers in a way that is effective and promoting change through innovation and for farmers to experience it, be convinced and become agents of promotion and change.
SIRDI developed its work activities primarily focused on support to cane farmers through technical assistance. The objective was to initiate a program with recommendation and implementation of good planting and management practices to improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.
The sessions are spread in a period of time as a normal crop cycle, particularly to coincide when the timely activities are due in a normal field management program. The training package was developed to address the topics of a complete production cycle which included from site selection to post harvest management which is executed in modules.
The Farmer Field School training program is centered around the practical hands on methodology and sharing of experiences and is proving to be an excellent program and there is a growing interest from other farmers to participate. Each module is developed with approx. 25 farmers from different villages gathered in one acre plots here farmers learn about the new options and apply them .The practical exercises are the main training and learning component for the content of the modules.
The curriculum is developed with the farmers having a total of nine (9) modules being the following:
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