Developing a Methodology for Assessing the Impact of Farmer Field Schools in East Africa

Abstract

Although farmer field schools (FFS) have been used worldwide in extension education for almost 20 years, most studies of their impact have been limited as to scope or rigor. This paper presents a methodology for better understanding how FFS have evolved in three countries in East Africa in response to various factors, and to see what the impact of FFS has been on poverty, innovation, empowerment, gender, productivity, and sustainability of agriculture. This methodology includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis, and incorporates propensity score matching and double difference approaches to improve the design to show impact of the FFS.