IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v40y2012i2p414-427.html

The Empowerment Route to Well-being: An Analysis of Farmer Field Schools in East Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Friis-Hansen, Esbern
  • Duveskog, Deborah

Abstract

The study explores empowerment and well-being related outcomes of Farmer Field Schools (FFS), an extension approach that has gained popularity with agriculture development programs in many African countries. This is done by examining the empirical relationships between FFS participation and increased well-being; as well as FFS participation and empowerment; and finally between empowerment and enhanced well-being. Data analysis from the two thousand household questionnaires show a relationship between these aspects, despite contextual differences in the three countries studied. It is thereby argued that there could be scope to talk about an empowerment route to well-being. The paper further suggests that the most significant impact of FFS could be viewed in terms of building the capacity of local people to make choices and make decisions that ultimately lead to increased uptake of agricultural innovations, access to services, and market access as well as collective action. A major conclusion of the study is that agricultural development programs should focus more on processes of empowering farmers as opposed to technical solutions that characterize most programs, in order to create an appropriate mix of technological and social advancement for a development process that is sustainable in nature.

Suggested Citation

  • Friis-Hansen, Esbern & Duveskog, Deborah, 2012. "The Empowerment Route to Well-being: An Analysis of Farmer Field Schools in East Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 414-427.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:2:p:414-427
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.05.005
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X1100132X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.05.005?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Van den Berg, Henk & Jiggins, Janice, 2007. "Investing in Farmers--The Impacts of Farmer Field Schools in Relation to Integrated Pest Management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 663-686, April.
    2. repec:wbk:wbpubs:13848 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Kristjanson, P. & Place, F. & Franzel, S. & Thornton, P. K., 2002. "Assessing research impact on poverty: the importance of farmers' perspectives," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 72(1), pages 73-92, April.
    4. Anderson, Jock R. & Feder, Gershon & Ganguly, Sushma, 2006. "The rise and fall of training and visit extension : an Asian mini-drama with an African epilogue," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3928, The World Bank.
    5. repec:wbk:wbpubs:7441 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Umali-Deininger, Dina, 1997. "Public and Private Agricultural Extension: Partners or Rivals?," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 12(2), pages 203-224, August.
    7. Davis, K. & Nkonya, E. & Kato, E. & Mekonnen, D.A. & Odendo, M. & Miiro, R. & Nkuba, J., 2012. "Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agricultural Productivity and Poverty in East Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 402-413.
    8. Alsop, Ruth & Heinsohn, Nina, 2005. "Measuring empowerment in practice: structuring analysis and framing indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3510, The World Bank.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Henk Berg & Suzanne Phillips & Marcel Dicke & Marjon Fredrix, 2020. "Impacts of farmer field schools in the human, social, natural and financial domain: a qualitative review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1443-1459, December.
    2. Smale, Melinda & Byerlee, Derek & Jayne, Thom, 2011. "Maize revolutions in Sub-Saharan Africa," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5659, The World Bank.
    3. Glendenning, Claire J. & Babu, Suresh Chandra & Asenso-Okyere, Kwadwo, 2010. "Review of agricultural extension in India: Are farmers' information needs being met?," IFPRI discussion papers 1048, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Cook, Brian R. & Satizábal, Paula & Curnow, Jayne, 2021. "Humanising agricultural extension: A review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Jinyang Cai & Fengxiang Ding & Yu Hong & Ruifa Hu, 2021. "An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field Schools on Hog Productivity: Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-14, October.
    6. Mohammad Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan & Keshav Lall Maharjan, 2022. "Impact of Farmer Field School on Crop Income, Agroecology, and Farmer’s Behavior in Farming: A Case Study on Cumilla District in Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Hideyuki Kubo & Ichiro Sato & Josiah Ateka & Robert Mbeche, 2025. "Assessing the Contribution of Farm Forestry Farmer Field Schools to Climate Resilience in a Mixed Crop–Livestock System in Dryland Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-20, September.
    8. Chilemba, Joanna & Ragasa, Catherine, 2018. "The impact of a farmer business school program on incomes of smallholder farmers: Insights from central Malawi," MaSSP working papers 23, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    9. Denise Hörner & Adrien Bouguen & Markus Frölich & Meike Wollni, 2022. "Knowledge and Adoption of Complex Agricultural Technologies: Evidence from an Extension Experiment," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 68-90.
    10. Qian Liu & Yongmu Jiang & Carl‐Johan Lagerkvist & Wei Huang, 2023. "Extension services and the technical efficiency of crop‐specific farms in China," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(1), pages 436-459, March.
    11. Shipeng Yang & Wanxiang Xu & Yuxuan Xie & Muhammad Tayyab Sohail & Yefang Gong, 2023. "Impact of Natural Hazards on Agricultural Production Decision Making of Peasant Households: On the Basis of the Micro Survey Data of Hunan Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-19, March.
    12. Jacopo Bonan & Laura Pagani, 2018. "Junior Farmer Field Schools, Agricultural Knowledge and Spillover Effects: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Northern Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(11), pages 2007-2022, November.
    13. Joanna Chilemba & Catherine Ragasa, 2020. "The Impact on Farmer Incomes of a Nationwide Scaling Up of the Farmer Business School Program: Lessons and Insights from Central Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(4), pages 906-938, September.
    14. Hugh Waddington & Birte Snilstveit & Jorge Garcia Hombrados & Martina Vojtkova & Jock Anderson & Howard White, 2012. "PROTOCOL: Farmer Field Schools for Improving Farming Practices and Farmer Outcomes in Low‐ and Middle‐income Countries: A Systematic Review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(1), pages 1-48.
    15. Christopher Sutter & Babita Bhatt & Israr Qureshi, 2023. "What Makes Resource Provision an Effective Means of Poverty Alleviation? A Resourcing Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(1), pages 223-245, January.
    16. Mgendi, By George & Mao, Shiping & Qiao, Fangbin, 2022. "Does agricultural training and demonstration matter in technology adoption? The empirical evidence from small rice farmers in Tanzania," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    17. Tambo, Justice A. & Uzayisenga, Bellancile & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Silvestri, Silvia, 2020. "Plant clinics, farm performance and poverty alleviation: Panel data evidence from Rwanda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    18. Lee Diamond Campbell, 2025. "The Sustainability–Income Paradox: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Economic Disincentives for Integrated Pest Management Adoption among Liberian Smallholders," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science, RSIS International, vol. 10(9), pages 01-18, October.
    19. Larsen, Anna Folke & Lilleør, Helene Bie, 2014. "Beyond the Field: The Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Food Security and Poverty Alleviation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 843-859.
    20. Humphries, Sally & Classen, Lauren & Jiménez, José & Sierra, Fredy & Gallardo, Omar & Gómez, Marvin, 2012. "Opening Cracks for the Transgression of Social Boundaries: An Evaluation of the Gender Impacts of Farmer Research Teams in Honduras," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 2078-2095.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:2:p:414-427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.