Farmer Field School (FFS) and Junior Farmer Field and Life School (JFFLS) as challenges to agricultural extension development and practice in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper discusses Farmer Field School (FFS) and Junior Farmer Field and Life School (JFFLS) as challenges to agricultural extension development and practice in Nigeria. FFS and JFFLS are participatory extension approaches which emphasize participation of local people and their communities working in groups and building upon the traditional or indigenous knowledge that they have acquired. Discovery learning is emphasized on FFS and JFFLS approaches whereby participants learn by doing as well as discovering new ideas by themselves. The paper suggests the need for promotion of these approaches by national extension policy and donor agencies to ensure sustainability. It notes that these approaches which encourages qualitative rather than often used quantitative researches will reduce unrealistic and crooked formal research data and also challenge other methods of extension delivery for better discovery learning. It concludes that developing an appropriate framework for analysis and evaluation of these approaches will help to more accurately measure their effectiveness and impact on the lives of the participants and the society at large.