PoCRA- FFS

Farm Field School (FFS) app for facilitators.

The FFS is a participatory approach that uses non-formal adult education methods based on experimental learning techniques and participatory training methods.

FFS emphasise learning by doing. The learning process takes place in the field and is normally designed to last for a full growing/cropping cycle. This enables farmers to participate fully in implementation of all components of the technology from planting to harvesting. The learning process accords farmers, opportunity to observe and reflect the merits and demerits of the technologies and thereby make informed decisions of whether to adopt them or not. Farmers Field School (FFS) is a season long on-field interactive learning process recommended by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In this a facilitator, a host farmer and 30 other farmers interact and discuss about constraints in existing crop cultivation of major crop in the locality and together decide plan and strategy to overcome it. It is based on sustainable, environment friendly techniques based on low cost inputs to get targeted optimum/desired yield.

Nanaji Deshmukh Krishi Sanjeevani Prakalp, is a Project on Climate Resilient Agriculture (PoCRA). It is being implemented in 15 districts which are prone to impact of climate change. Hence, to empower farmer to adopt recommended package of practices for the crop cultivation and to take own decisions based on experimental learning techniques, presently over 2000 FFS are being implemented @ 2 FFS per village.

These FFS are being implemented by Facilitators under the technical guidance of Krishi Vighyan Kendra (KVKs). By and large there are 8 field visits (day) where a facilitator, a host farmer and 30 other farmers are going to interact on crop planning, pre-post sowing operations, Integrated Nutrient Management, Integrated Nutrient Management, and harvesting.

As FFS is time bound programme based on field observations, they are to be recorded along with photographs. The activities performed in the FSS are to be noted. Hence to record all these activities in real time and on field, a tool in the form of smartphone application is developed. This will help facilitator to record activities easily and to document the progress of the crop and its comparative performance over the control plot. As these observations are recorded in real time, other stake holders like KVK, officials from Agriculture department can also get feedback whether the FFS visits are as per the schedule provided, presently of other farmers activities performed in a field visit, and will help to take interventions to streamline it. As FFS facilitator, host farmer and other farmers will get connected through smartphone, SMS can also be sent. This will help in passing on timely messages.