What is a Farmers' Learning Centre?
A Farmers’ Learning Centre is a location where farmers come together regularly to share farming techniques amongst themselves and also learn new farming practices from an extension worker to improve their yield.
What makes up a Farmers' Learning Centre?
Farmers’ Learning Centres are primarily made up of demonstration farms. Each demonstration farm consists of two equal sub-plots: a best practice plot and a common practice plot. On the best practice plot, as the name implies, the farmers are led by an extension worker to implement a set of recommended best practices for the crops in the region. Similarly, on the common practice plots, they are required to implement the most common set of practices in their community. The two plots are maintained side by side in order to enable the farmers carry out a proper observation and comparison of the crops on both of them over the planting season.
Who participates in the Farmers Learning Centre?
The participants in the Farmers’ Learning Centre session include one extension worker and thirty selected farmers from the target communities. These farmers comprise of representatives from every group that plays an active role in the community’s farming activities such as elders, youths, farm owners, sharecroppers and farm labourers. They are selected by members of their communities with the expectation that they will enrich their communities with the knowledge they gain from the Learning Centre. In addition to the thirty participants, interested residents and non-residents of the community are welcome as observers during the Learning Centre sessions.
What is the cycle of a Farmers' Learning Centre?
The Farmers’ Learning Centre lasts for 4-5 months during the life cycle of the crops that are under observation. It usually begins at the peak of the rainy season (between March and June) and continues until the crops are harvested. During this period, the participants have weekly meetings to implement the practices on both sub-plots and also observe the happenings on each plot. Each weekly meeting which lasts for about three and a half hours is known as a learning session. A typical agenda of a learning session includes a review of the lessons learnt from the previous session, observation and collection of data on the sub-plots, discussion of individual farming experiences, implementation of appropriate farm activities, planning the activities of the next session and taking attendance of the participants.
How will the knowledge from Farmers' Learning Centre spread to non-participants?
There are two principal channels employed in sharing the lessons learnt at the Farmers’ Learning Centre with non-participating farmers:
1) Farmer-to-farmer diffusion where each participant shares the knowledge he has gained with three to four neighbouring farmers by word of mouth as well as by implementing the practices on his farm for them to see clearly.
2) Field days during which non-participating farmers within and outside the community are invited to a special learning session. During these sessions, the participants educate them on the two sub-plots and explain the practices to them. Field days are held on two strategic days when the farmers can clearly observe the differences between the best practice and common practice plots.
Who is benefiting from Farmers' Learning Centres?
Notore Farmers' Learning Centres for 2009 are located in key rice and maize farming communities in 16 states across Nigeria. About 120,000 smallholder farmers are currently learning about how to improve their farms from the Learning Centres.
