The online course “Farmer Field Schools on Farmer Seed Production and Marketing” is part of the program’s work on seed production for the local market. The objective of this work is
(1) to improve farmers’ access to seed of well adapted crops and varieties not offered by the formal seed sector against an affordable price, and
(2) to enhance the livelihoods of the farmer producers. The focus is on strengthening local markets, and farmer seed producers will be supported by providing a dedicated FFS, which may be a follow up to an earlier FFS on either Participatory Plant Breeding or on Local Food Plants for Nutrition.
This course builds on:
- Farmer Field Schools Guide on Seed Production and Marketing
- Toolkit for the FFS Guide on Seed Production and Marketing
- Seed Production Tools for Farmer Field Schools
- Documentation Form FFS on Seed Production & Marketing (KOBO)
Target audience
This online course was designed for partner organisation staff, and Master Trainers or lead farmers, extensionists, seed business experts, government staff of local seed centres, who are potential master trainers and responsible for organizing and conducting the Training of Trainer for FFS on Farmer Seed Production and Marketing. The main requirement for a Training of Trainers participant is the motivation to improve access to seeds of adapted crops and varieties in full respect for agro-ecosystem requirements under changing climate conditions.
Content
This course is moderated by several facilitators from within the program, representing the global nature of our work. The course is distributed over seven modules and includes presentations and videos. The presentations have been designed to be used directly in the ToTs, with questions to guide discussions. Studying the materials will require an investment of 3-4 hours per module depending on the module in question. Finally, the course includes a section on questions and answers compiled from online discussions.
