Livestock Services and the Poor: A global initiative - IFAD

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74 LIVESTOCK SERVICES AND THE POOR Learning both among professionals and among livestock keepers developed specific and relevant demands for the advisers and benefited from the related interventions. Learning processes are needed A fresh approach should be undertaken to enhance learning both among livestock keepers and among professionals. Livestock professionals usually lack experience in a poverty-focused setting. The challenge is to develop the traditional extension agent into an adviser and key partner for the farmers in development decisions concerning their farms and farming systems. The adviser in this case should be in constant dialogue with the farmers. The objective is to optimize the returns for the farmers given the particular resources available, while raising the knowledge and management capacities of the farmers. For poor livestock keepers with little access to resources, standard extension packages are rarely appropriate. A flexible technology and learning processes that enable these people to apply general principles to their own situation and modify solutions in line with their special needs are required. Along with the development of the technical skills, the learning processes must also contribute to the empowerment of Box 3.3: Farmers field schools for integrated pest management in Indonesia Groups of up to 25 farmers meet once a week during the 12-week ricegrowing season to compare the results achieved on an integrated pest management field and on a conventional rice field by means of a participatory agro-ecosystem analysis. This requires that the small groups of farmers observe the rice hills and the surrounding areas in order to catch and identify various insects and other organisms and draw conclusions. During the meetings, various other subjects are discussed. Exercises in group dynamics are also conducted. Farmers field schools have generated enthusiasm and self-confidence among the farmers and led to a considerable reduction in the use of insecticides. Groot and Röling (1997).
Box 3.4: Livestock component in Cambodian food security programme CHAPTER 3: POVERTY FOCUS OF LIVESTOCK SERVICES In the Special Programme for Food Security in Cambodia, farmers field schools represent the main approach in all activities. Livestock production (pig, poultry and duck) is a component of the programme. The farmer groups establish village livestock associations which plan and organize the activities. So far, the experience has been encouraging. Vaccination and improved poultry housing have reduced mortality among chickens from 76 to 24%. It is said that the learning processes develop the ability of the farmers to think critically and to make decisions. Khieu (1999). the livestock keepers and give them the confidence to take over ownership of the processes and learning systems. During the implementation of integrated pest management approaches, the concept of farmers field schools was developed. Farmers field schools promote learning processes by which individual farmers learn and take decisions through their own observations and experiments and through farmer-to-farmer exchanges. The professional adviser functions as a facilitator in the learning processes. However, concerns have been raised about the financial viability and sustainability of the concept (Quizon, Feder and Murgai, 2001). Forms of learning that can be implemented at lower overhead and in which a joint learning approach is maintained need to be developed. The core learning concept could be expanded to take in the concept of farmers livestock schools in which technologies for poor livestock keepers could be developed through discovery learning, group discussions, experience sharing and observation. Group members could examine practical examples and learn to experiment and observe. The same approach would probably encourage and empower group members to formulate their demands for service providers. Farmers livestock schools Learning at lower cost needs to be developed Observation, discovery learning, group discussion and experience sharing 75
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Nearly one billion livestock are ke
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© 2004 International Fund for Agri
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iv Figures Figure 1.1 The poverty c
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Foreword About 900 million of the w
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report, prepa
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The world communi
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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY HIV/AIDS AIDS-af
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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY delivery of serv
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E XECUTIVE SUMMARY access to credit
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INTRODUCTION The fight against pove
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INTRODUCTION identity. Livestock is
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INTRODUCTION adequate for livestock
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8 LIVESTOCK SERVICES AND THE POOR P
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600 million poor livestock Keepers
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12 LIVESTOCK SERVICES AND THE POOR
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Livestock can help cement social ne
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