Education on agricultural and life skills knowledge

Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS)

an example of social farming

CoP Farming for Health

24-27 May 2009
Pisa, Italy

Hajnalka Petrics
Junior Rural Development and Gender Officer
FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia

Carol Djeddah
FAO Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division
 Contents of presentation
• Objective
• Themes
1. FAO and social agriculture
2. JFFLS
• FFS and FLS
• The concept and first target groups
• The JFFLS approach
3. Relevance of JFFLS in Europe and Central Asia
• Conclusions
 FAO and social agriculture
• FAO’s mandate: alleviate poverty and hunger by
achieving food security

• Target group of FAO assistance: rural poor and other

disadvantaged rural dwellers (indigenous people,
women, disabled, powerless)

• ESW mission: to empower and create opportunities for

the rural poor.

• Target group, final objective – social agriculture-

description Di Iacovo and O’Connor (eds.), 2009
JFFLS – what is the concept about?

A response to the increased vulnerability of

children and young people, especially those
orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.

Process of empowering

through building of skills and

providing relevant knowledge as tools to
help the children to improve their lives and
livelihoods and regain their self-esteem.
 The Start: WHERE
Project started in 2004 in Mozambique:
4 initial schools

• Mozambique – 58 schools
• Kenya – 25 schools
• Zimbabwe – 27 schools
• Namibia – 8 schools
• Malawi – 40 schools
• Zambia – 6 schools
• Swaziland – 20 schools
• Tanzania – 8 schools
• Uganda – 36 schools
• Sudan – 3 schools
• Cameroon – 5 schools
WHY JFFLS for rural orphans?
Scarce agricultural knowledge Deadly cycle
Marginalized – Vulnerable
Hungry and sick
Malnutrition
Isolated and invisible
Food insecurity
Abused and exploited Risk of HIV infection
Poor self-esteem
No vision for the future
 Junior Farmer Field and Life
School

• JFFLS targets children and young people

aged between 12 – 18 years.

• Equal number of girls and boys (15-15).

• E.g.: Orphans, demobilized child solders, children in

refugee camp, children in post-conflict areas,
children of vulnerable ethnic groups (e.g. roma).
 Junior Farmer Field and Life
School
• JFFLS targets rural youth.

• Most of them will settle in rural areas and derive their

livelihoods from agriculture.

• JFFLS seeks to provide vulnerable children and youth

(also) with agricultural skills to improve their future
livelihood opportunities /(self)-employment, food self
sufficiency/.

• Combination of traditional knowledge and modern but

environment friendly techniques (IPM).
 Junior Farmer Field and Life
School
• The learning field is a living
classroom to provide practical skills
• Participatory learning vs.
hierarchical instructional teaching
• Experimenting problems
encountered on the field
• Observe, analyse, present, solve
problems, share knowledge
• Make informed decisions
• Enhanced self-esteem photo credit@ FAO
East Jerusalem
Junior Farmer Field and Life School

• Crop-cycle Life cycle

As children analyse crop growth-related problems as part of

agroecosystem analysis, they analyse problems face during their
childhood.

• HOW?
Each learning module corresponds to the agricultural
cycle topics: preparation, planning, growing up healthy, diversity,
protection, water for life, care and loss, business- and
entrepreneurship skills.
 Junior Farmer Field and Life School
Art, theatre, dance and songs
play a central role in:

• encouraging self-expression
• getting to know local
culture, own identity
• increase
resilience/sensibility
towards others
• learn about gender equality
and children rights
 JFFLS Facilitators

Source: Djeddah, C., Mavanga, R., and Hendrickx , n.a.

 WEST BANK & THE GAZA STRIP

The JFFLS approach is presently used in 12 schools in West

Bank and 4 in the Gaza Strip

The programme in West Bank and the

Gaza Strip was designed to
counterbalance:

• the decline in human and capital

• the consistent decline in socio-

economic conditions, which negatively
affect employment opportunities for
young entrants into the labour market.

photo credit@ FAO East Jerusalem

Training of Facilitators in Jenin – West Bank
 Relevance of JFFLS to the Region
of Europe and Central Asia
• Orphans due to conflict/war (e.g. Western Balkans)
• Children of vulnerable ethnic groups (e.g. roma) in urban slums with
no life skills and no any livelihood options for future (e.g. Serbia) –
Extending JFFLS target group for urban youth offering them
livelihood option in rural area.
• Vulnerable children due to increasing number of death due to
HIV/AIDS (e.g. in Central Asia due to fast growing intravenous drug
use)
• Vulnerable youth due to impossibility to access education and/or
employment; poor quality of education, which does not offer life
and entrepreneurships skills (South-East Europe)
• Girls with limited opportunity to participate in vocational training, to
acquire agricultural knowledge, which leads to long-term
dependence on male counterparts (e.g. Central Asia)
 Other aspects of JFFLS
• Selection of field
• Development of training material
• What is there after for children?
Exit strategies
 CONCLUSIONS
Place of social agriculture/farming for health in a wider
political agenda

Society with
MORAL
ETHIC
EQUITY
PARITY
RESPECT
SKILLS
HEALTHY SELF-ESTEEM AND CONDUCT OF
LIFE
Thank you for your attention!

E-mail: Hajnalka.Petrics@fao.org
 Farmer Field School and
Farmer Life School
• Farmer Field School (FFS): farmers learn by doing and
experimenting the problems encountered in the field.

• Farmer Life School (FLS): Farmers examine the problems

that threaten their livelihoods (poverty, HIV/AIDS,
landlessness, domestic violence, children’s school
attendance) and make informed decisions.
 Junior Farmer Field and Life
School

Field
Structure in
one JFFLS in
Mozambique

Source: Djeddah, C., Mavanga, R., and Hendrickx , n.a.