This document offers technical guidance in establishing and managing farmers' field schools and supporting local farmers in rice crop management, from testing soil texture and seedling preparation to water management and yield calculation.

This facilitator’s guide for sheep-related Farmer Field Schools (FFS) has been developed for the FAO project UTF/AZE/009, “Development and application of sustainable sheep production and food value chains”, in Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, small ruminant production plays an essential role in the livestock sector as it provides income for rural families and contributes to many households' livelihood.

The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

This manual is part of FAO's effort to promote sustainable intensification of smallholder crop production. It has been developed from experiences with farmer field schools in four African countries. It provides background information on the farmer field school approach and a compilation of field exercises as they are used in cassava farmer field schools. The guide is intended for use by farmer field facilitators during training of facilitators or during the farmer field school itself.

This FFS Guidance Document focuses on the process and critical decisions that are necessary when starting a new FFS programme, and guides the reader through the essential steps required to establish a solid basis for such programmes, in tune with the specific local conditions. It also defines the essential elements and processes required to ensure programme relevance, quality, growth and sustainability. The document differs from most of the FFS manuals and guidelines available in that it focuses on providing support to FFS programme managers and formulators, as opposed to FFS field facilitators or trainers, who are the primary target group for most existing manuals.