IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i9p3020-d165719.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Farmer Field Schools (FFSs): A Tool Empowering Sustainability and Food Security in Peasant Farming Systems in the Nicaraguan Highlands

Author

Listed:
  • Esperanza Arnés

    (Dpto. Producción Agraria, Centro de Estudios e Investigación para la Gestión de Riesgos Agrarios y Medioambientales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Carlos G. H. Díaz-Ambrona

    (Dpto. Producción Agraria, Centro de Estudios e Investigación para la Gestión de Riesgos Agrarios y Medioambientales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Omar Marín-González

    (Dpto. Producción Agraria, Centro de Estudios e Investigación para la Gestión de Riesgos Agrarios y Medioambientales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Marta Astier

    (Centro de Investigaciones de Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Morelia, Morelia 581910, Mexico)

Abstract

Farmer field schools (FFSs) emerged in response to the gap left by the worldwide decline in agricultural extension services. With time, this methodology has been adapted to specific rural contexts to solve problems related to the sustainability of peasant-farming systems. In this study we draw upon empirical data regarding the peasant-farming system in the Nicaraguan highlands to evaluate whether FFSs have helped communities improve the sustainability of their systems and the food security of their residents using socioeconomic, environmental, and food and nutrition security (FNS) indicators. In order to appreciate the long-term impact, we studied three communities where FFSs were implemented eight, five, and three years ago, respectively, and we included participants and nonparticipants from each community. We found that FFSs have a gradual impact, as there are significant differences between participants and nonparticipants, and it is the community that first implemented FFSs that scores highest. The impact of FFSs is broad and long lasting for indicators related to participation, access to basic services, and conservation of natural resources. Finally, this paper provides evidence that FFSs have the potential to empower farmers; however, more attention needs to be paid to critical indicators like production costs and the use of external inputs in order to scale up their potential in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Esperanza Arnés & Carlos G. H. Díaz-Ambrona & Omar Marín-González & Marta Astier, 2018. "Farmer Field Schools (FFSs): A Tool Empowering Sustainability and Food Security in Peasant Farming Systems in the Nicaraguan Highlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-24, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3020-:d:165719
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3020/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3020/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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. David Mark Dror, 2018. "Estimating Willingness-to-Pay for Health Insurance Among Rural Poor in India by Reference to Engel’s Law," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Financing Micro Health Insurance Theory, Methods and Evidence, chapter 7, pages 139-149, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. S. lópez-ridaura & H. Keulen & M. Ittersum & P. Leffelaar, 2005. "Multiscale Methodological Framework to Derive Criteria and Indicators for Sustainability Evaluation of Peasant Natural Resource Management Systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 51-69, January.
    4. David Pimentel, 2006. "Soil Erosion: A Food and Environmental Threat," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 119-137, February.
    5. Arellanes, Peter & Lee, David R., 2003. "The Determinants Of Adoption Of Sustainable Agriculture Technologies: Evidence From The Hillsides Of Honduras," 2003 Annual Meeting, August 16-22, 2003, Durban, South Africa 25826, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Clapp, Roger Alex, 1998. "Regions of refuge and the agrarian question: Peasant agriculture and plantation forestry in Chilean araucania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 571-589, April.
    7. Godtland, Erin M & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & De Janvry, Alain & Murgai, Rinku & Ortiz, Oscar, 2004. "The Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Knowledge and Productivity: A Study of Potato Farmers in the Peruvian Andes," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 63-92, October.
    8. Baiphethi, Mompati N. & Jacobs, Peter T., 2009. "The contribution of subsistence farming to food security in South Africa," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 48(4), pages 1-24, December.
    9. Thomas Allen & Paolo Prosperi & Bruce Cogill & Martine Padilla & Iuri Peri, 2019. "A Delphi Approach to Develop Sustainable Food System Metrics," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 141(3), pages 1307-1339, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chin-Ling Lee & Robert Strong & Kim E. Dooley, 2021. "Analyzing Precision Agriculture Adoption across the Globe: A Systematic Review of Scholarship from 1999–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-15, September.
    2. Bolier Torres & Verónica Andrade & Marco Heredia-R & Theofilos Toulkeridis & Kleber Estupiñán & Marcelo Luna & Carlos Bravo & Antón García, 2022. "Productive Livestock Characterization and Recommendations for Good Practices Focused on the Achievement of the SDGs in the Ecuadorian Amazon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Sean McKenzie & Hilary Parkinson & Jane Mangold & Mary Burrows & Selena Ahmed & Fabian Menalled, 2018. "Perceptions, Experiences, and Priorities Supporting Agroecosystem Management Decisions Differ among Agricultural Producers, Consultants, and Researchers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, November.
    4. 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.

    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. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Huanxiu Guo & Sébastien Marchand, 2013. "Is participatory social learning a performance driver for Chinese smallholder farmers?," CERDI Working papers halshs-00878886, HAL.
    4. Paolo Cupo & Rinalda Alberta Di Cerbo, 2016. "The determinants of ranking in sustainable efficiency of Italian farms," RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 141-159.
    5. Beckmann, Volker & Irawan, Evi & Wesseler, Justus, 2006. "The Effect of Farm Labor Organization on IPM Adoption: Empirical Evidence from Thailand," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25711, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    6. Mancini, Francesca & Termorshuizen, Aad J. & Jiggins, Janice L.S. & van Bruggen, Ariena H.C., 2008. "Increasing the environmental and social sustainability of cotton farming through farmer education in Andhra Pradesh, India," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 96(1-3), pages 16-25, March.
    7. Arslan, Cansın & Wollni, Meike & Oduol, Judith & Hughes, Karl, 2022. "Who communicates the information matters for technology adoption," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    8. 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.
    9. Huanxiu Guo & Sébastien Marchand, 2013. "Is participatory social learning a performance driver for Chinese smallholder farmers?," Working Papers halshs-00878886, HAL.
    10. Satoshi Shimizutani & Shimpei Taguchi & Eiji Yamada & Hiroyuki Yamada, 2021. "The Impact of "Grow to Sell" Agricultural Extension on Smallholder Horticulture Farmers: Evidence from a Market- Oriented Approach in Kenya," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2021-020, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    11. Sumberg, James & Sabates-Wheeler, Rachel, 2011. "Linking agricultural development to school feeding in sub-Saharan Africa: Theoretical perspectives," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 341-349, June.
    12. Jinyang Cai & Guanming Shi & Ruifa Hu, 2016. "An Impact Analysis of Farmer Field School in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, February.
    13. Semih Ediş & Özgür Burhan Timur & Gamze Tuttu & İbrahim Aytaş & Ceyhun Göl & Ali Uğur Özcan, 2023. "Assessing the Impact of Engineering Measures and Vegetation Restoration on Soil Erosion: A Case Study in Osmancık, Türkiye," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    14. Alberto Chong & Virgilio Galdo & Máximo Torero, 2005. "Does Privatization Deliver? Access to Telephone Services and Household Income in Poor Rural Areas Using a Quasi-Natural Experiment in Peru," Research Department Publications 4417, Inter-American Development Bank, Research Department.
    15. Sandipta Debanshi & Swades Pal, 2020. "Assessing gully erosion susceptibility in Mayurakshi river basin of eastern India," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 883-914, February.
    16. Abdoul G. Sam & Babatunde O. Abidoye & Sihle Mashaba, 2021. "Climate change and household welfare in sub-Saharan Africa: empirical evidence from Swaziland," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(2), pages 439-455, April.
    17. Andrea Koch & Alex McBratney & Mark Adams & Damien Field & Robert Hill & John Crawford & Budiman Minasny & Rattan Lal & Lynette Abbott & Anthony O'Donnell & Denis Angers & Jeffrey Baldock & Edward Bar, 2013. "Soil Security: Solving the Global Soil Crisis," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 4(4), pages 434-441, November.
    18. Praneetvatakul, Suwanna & Waibel, Hermann, 2006. "Impact Assessment of Farmer Field School Using A Multi-Period Panel Data Model," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25499, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    19. David W. Olivier, 2018. "A Cropping System for Resource-Constrained Urban Agriculture: Lessons from Cape Town," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-12, December.
    20. Majiwa, Eucabeth Bosibori Opande & Lee, Boon & Wilson, Clevo, 2015. "Multi-lateral multi-output measurement of productivity: the case of African agriculture," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212769, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3020-:d:165719. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.