This is a new kind of decision-making by the farmer. He learns there are alternatives to using pesticides. And if pesticides are needed, the farmer learns when and how much to spray so that his health and the environment are minimally affected. Prior to 1986, extension agents usually looked at the bag, identified the pest, and then told the farmers to spray. More recently, extension agents go with the farmers to the field where the insect was found and, together with farmers, assess the seriousness of the infestation.
Farmers can make better and more informed decisions to deal with threats to their crop.
Currently involving over 2,500 smallholder farmers, the project is helping Indonesian farm families develop the critical ecological, decision-making, and leadership skills to reduce risks to health and the environment, and increase farm productivity. Farmer Field School training takes place in a farmer's field and runs through the course of a growing season. Through weekly small group observations and experiments in the field school plot, and through analysis and decision-making about crop health, they are able to learn an ecological approach to crop and pest management. Second, farmers in these Farmer Field Schools are linked to an active local network of NGOs, government agencies, and agricultural researchers. Attending researchers are provided a better understanding of local farming conditions and themselves offer needed input to increase the program's technical sophistication.