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Farmer Field Schools as a transformative learning space in the rural African setting PDF

135 Pages·2013·5.64 MB·English
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Farmer Field Schools as a transformative learning space in the rural African setting Deborah Duveskog Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences Department of Urban and Rural Development Uppsala Doctoral Thesis Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Uppsala 2013 Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae 2013:47 Cover photo: A Farmer Field School group carrying out field analysis of their crops. (photo: D. Duveskog) ISSN 1652-6880 ISBN 978-91-576-7832-4 © 2013 Deborah Duveskog, Uppsala Print: SLU Service/Repro, Uppsala 2013 Farmer Field Schools as a transformative learning space in the rural African setting Abstract The aims of this research was to understand how education in the rural African faming setting can contribute to development and well-being in a way that is empowering for the poor. The Farmer Field School (FFS) approach provided an empirical frame for the research. By reflecting on experiences of FFS participants in East Africa, the research tried to answer how the FFS learning experience play out in the daily lives of participants and their families and the role that FFS play in assisting participants to take control over their own development and enhanced well-being. Conceptually the research was framed by constructivist line of thoughts, adult education and transformative learning theories. The research applied a mixed methods approach with a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools including participatory identification of indicators of empowerment, large-scale household surveys with a total of 2000 farmers and in-depth interviews. Data analysis from the quantitative survey work indicated a relationship between farmer participation in FFS, empowerment and increased wellbeing in all three countries studied. The study thus argues for an empowerment route to well-being, triggered by group based learning. The research further indicate significant impact of FFS in terms of building the capacity of people to make choices and decisions that ultimately lead to increased uptake of agricultural innovations, access to services and markets as well as collective action. Qualitative data revealed significant social impacts of FFS in terms of changes in everyday life of participants, transformation of self-concept, change in gender roles and relations, customs and traditions, community relations and an increase in household economic development. A number of pedagogical tools applied in the FFS were found to be instrumental in facilitating transformative learning and empowerment. Major conclusions of the study are the need for investment in human capacity and the importance of an appropriate mix of technological and social advancement for development. The implications of the research are relevant within the fields of rural development, gender studies and for transformative learning and adult education theory. Further, the study contributes knowledge on how to measure empowerment in the poverty setting. Keywords: Farmer Field Schools, East Africa, transformative learning, experiential learning, agricultural extension, empowerment Author’s address: Deborah Duveskog, SLU, Department of Urban and Rural Development P.O. Box 7012, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden E-mail: Dedication To all learners and educators in pursuit of knowledge, may your learning journey not be one of domestication, but of liberation. Knowledge is not extended from those who consider that they know to those who consider that they do not know. Knowledge is built up in the relations between human beings and the world, relations of transformation. Paulo Freire Contents Abstract List of Publications 7 Abbreviations 9 1 Preface 11 2 Introduction 13 3 Research overview 17 3.1 Problem orientation 17 3.2 The research aim and questions 19 4 Background 23 4.1 The changing nature and needs of small-holder farming 23 4.2 Community empowerment in the poverty debate 24 4.3 The evolution of agricultural extension 26 4.3.1 The Training and Visit era 26 4.3.2 A “new” extension paradigm 28 4.3.3 Demand-driven extension 30 4.4 Agriculture extension in East Africa, from past to present 32 5 Farmer field schools 37 5.1 Background 37 5.2 The learning processes in FFS 38 5.3 Existing knowledge on FFS 47 6 Theoretical framework 51 6.1 Empowerment 51 6.2 Adult learning 59 6.2.1 A constructivist approach to adult learning 59 6.2.2 Transformative learning theory 64 6.2.3 Situated learning in a community of practice 69 7 Study area 71 7.1 Empirical frame 71 7.2 Research sites 72 8 Methodology 77 8.1 A combined methods approach 77 8.2 Data collection tools and methods 78 8.3 Data analysis 85 8.3.1 Analysis of interviews 85 8.3.2 Statistical analysis of survey data 85 8.3.3 Analysis of secondary data 87 9 Main findings 89 9.1 Change in everyday life among participants 89 9.2 Changing traditions, gender roles, and community relationships 92 9.3 Relationships between FFS, empowerment and well-being 95 9.4 The fostering of transformative learning 99 10 Concluding discussion 103 10.1 How the FFS learning experience play out in the daily lives of participants 103 10.2 The role of FFS in assisting participants to take control over their own development and well-being 105 10.3 The FFS learning process explained though transformative learning theory 109 10.4 Further research 111 11 Implications for development practice 115 12 References 121 13 Acknowledgements 133 14 Paper I-IV 135 List of Publications This thesis is based on the work contained in the following papers, referred to by Roman numerals in the text: I Duveskog, D., Friis-Hansen, E., and Taylor, E. W. (2011) Farmer Field School in rural Kenya: A transformative learning experience. Journal of Development Studies 47(10): 1529-1544. II Friis-Hansen, E. and Duveskog, D. and Taylor E. (2012) Less noise in the household: the impact of Farmer Field Schools on gender relations. Journal of Research in Peace, Gender and Development 2(2): 044-055. III Friis-Hansen, E. and Duveskog, D. (2012) The empowerment rout to well- being: an analysis of Farmer Field Schools in East Africa. World Development 40 (2): 414-427. IV Taylor, E., Duveskog, D., and Friis-Hansen, E. (2012) Fostering transformative learning in non-formal settings: Farmer Field Schools in East Africa. International Journal of Lifelong Education 31(6): 725-742 Papers I-IV are reproduced with the permission of the publishers. The contribution of Deborah Duveskog to the papers included in this thesis was as follows: All papers included in this thesis were produced by close teamwork among all contributing authors. For papers I, III and IV the doctoral student held the primary responsible for all planning and organization of fieldwork in Kenya and was responsible for the collection of secondary data. Sampling and establishment of contacts with respondents in the field as well as interviews 7 with key informant were the responsibility of the doctoral student. All co- authors were involved in conceptualisation of the studies, the interview field data collection, analysis and writing. Most writing was done collectively, however the doctoral student wrote parts of the introduction and background sections alone. The doctoral student held a major responsibility for certain parts of the discussion. For paper I, where the doctoral student is the first author, she student held the primary responsibility for finalization of the paper for journal submission. Paper II was equally prepared by both co-authors who were both involved in all stages of the conceptualisation, analysis and writing. However, major parts of the collection of empirical material were carried out separate by the two authors. The student was solely responsible for the planning and collection of the empirical material in Kenya and Tanzania. In Uganda the doctoral student was responsible for one of the quantitative elements. In all three countries, the student was responsible for method development related to the participatory identification of variables for measurement of empowerment. The analysis in SPSS software was jointly conducted by the two authors, but with the doctoral student taking a lead in the analysis of the data from Kenya and Tanzania while the first author took a lead in analysis of the Uganda data set. Some section were written entirely by the doctoral student. The theory section was designed together by both authors, and writing was done jointly. 8 Abbreviations AESA Agro-Ecological System Analysis ASDP Agricultural Sector Development Programme ASSP Agricultural Services Support Programme FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FFS Farmer Field Schools HIV Human immunodeficiency virus IFAD International Fund for Agricultural Development IPM Integrated Pest Management NAADS National Agricultural Advisory Service NAEP National Agricultural Extension Policy NAEP National Agricultural Extension Project NALEP National Agricultural and Livestock Extension Programme NALERP National Agricultural and Livestock Extension Rehabilitation Project NFE Non-Formal Education NGO Non-governmental organization PRSP Poverty Reduction Support Programmes SIDA Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SRA Strategy to Revitalize Agriculture T&V Training and Visit extension system TL Transformative Learning TOT Training of Trainers UNDP United Nations Development Programme 9

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