INFLUENCE OF GROUP DYNAMICS ON FARMERS’ FIELD SCHOOLS IN NEPAL

Abstract

Around 200 million rice farmers live in Asia, where the FFS was first created. The brown plant hopper (Nilaparvata lugens Stl), which caused major rice production losses, jeopardized some nations’ food security and political stability. A second generation of FFS expanded this initial classical FFS for integrated pest management (IPM) on rice to cover other crops and subjects. In actuality, the FFS is not intended to be prolonged. It is envisaged that FFS would continue to positively impact economic, social, environmental, and political assets. In order to inform operational programs about the kinds and pathways of effects that can realistically be anticipated, this study will review the available evidence on the influence of group dynamics on FFS and its effects across the human, social, natural, and financial capital domains of the sustainable livelihoods approach. Knowing about these consequences could aid present and upcoming FFS programs in developing their treatments and evaluations. To tailor FFS interventions in order to maximize their effects, in-depth case studies are required to clarify the linkages between livelihood assets and the influences of the policy, institutional, and external environments. The FFS has the ability to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in light of the favorable implications it can have on rural livelihoods. However, care must be taken to ensure the FFS’s quality and conduct a fair assessment of all the capital domains.