FAO launches training for Jordanian master trainers on EU-funded Farmer Field School approach

Amman – 13 September, 2021 – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the European Union through its Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis (the Madad Fund), and in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture launches an advanced Training of Trainers (TOT) programme on Farmer Field School (FFS) approach. 

This training comes as part of a series of advanced TOT training in many important topics such as Farm Business School – FBS; post and post-harvest facilities, pest control, modern agricultural technology, rural development, entrepreneurial projects, and integrated animal production. 

The main objective of this training is to support and build the capacity of Ministry of Agriculture’s master trainers in establishing new Farmers' Field Schools in Jordan. The Master Trainers will subsequently build the capacity of another 100 FFS facilitators from the ministry that will be able to reach 1000 farmers through the FFS approach. 

FAO Representative in Jordan, Eng. Nabil Assaf, said, “The Farmer Field School approach has been practiced for many years in different parts of the world with considerable success. It was originally developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization in the 1980s and is based on “learning by doing” to help build the communities’ capacity for informed decision-making; it’s a “school without walls” that provides a platform to the farming communities where they can share their experiences and knowledge to improve their existing practices through experiential learning processes leading towards sustainable agriculture production.” 

This activity is within the framework of the EU-funded project “Enhancing resilient livelihoods and food security of host communities and Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon through the promotion of sustainable agricultural development”. It is implemented by FAO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).     

Background “Enhancing resilient livelihoods and food security of host communities and Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon through the promotion of sustainable agricultural development” 

The project responds to the reduced livelihood and food security levels as a result of the crisis in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and tackles its negative impact on the host communities through support to the agriculture sector in improving the agricultural productivity and the farmers income in addition to the creation of job opportunities for both host communities and displaced Syrians. The project will also promote social protection mechanisms for the benefit of the host farming communities and the displaced population. 

About the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis, the EU Madad Fund

Since its establishment in December 2014, a significant share of the EU’s non-humanitarian aid for Syria’s neighbouring countries is provided through the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, the EU ‘Madad’ Fund. The Trust Fund brings a more coherent and integrated EU aid response to the crisis and primarily addresses economic, educational, protection, social, and health needs of refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, and supports overstretched local communities and their administrations.

For more information about the EU Trust Fund, please visit here.