Farmer Field School (FFS): Training farmers and cultivating knowledge in the Amazon region with PERU-Hub

FARMER FIELD SCHOOL (FFS): TRAINING FARMERS AND CULTIVATING KNOWLEDGE IN THE AMAZON REGION WITH PERU-HUB

The PERU-Hub project, an initiative of La Molina National Agrarian University (UNALM) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), adapted Farmer Field Schools, a methodology embedded in the Amazon region that has enhanced agricultural producers' technical capabilities. Farmer Field School classes with PERU-Hub are a collective effort to drive innovation, sustainable development, and fair trade, as well as to involve women and native communities in agriculture.

Stories Behind Farmer Field Schools

18 de Marzo de 2024

Percy Salas struggled daily to combat the pest destroying his crop, known as Mazorquero. Thanks to field schools he found a simple and economical way to do it.

Lubina Cruz is one of the beneficiaries of the Farmer Field Schools. In the photo, she proudly shows her peach palm heart plantations.

Percy Salas Isuiza was born in the Amazonian native community of Kawana Sisa, in the province of El Dorado, in the San Martín region of Perú. He is married and has four kids. Ever since he was young, his parents taught him to crop cacao, and now he has two hectares of land where he is growing this popular and valued fruit.

Before diseases and pests proliferated in the cacao trees in his community, Percy received a steady, regular income, because he always had a consistent amount of dry cacao beans to sell in the local market after every harvest season. But lately, he has been losing about 70 percent of his fruit due to pests and diseases. Without assistance and lacking the tools and knowledge to protect his crop, he is abandoning his plantation, losing the production that maintains his household income.

In another distant province, Lubina Cruz Lopez has also experienced some difficulties getting good harvests. She is a young single mother and also a grandmother – three sons, one daughter, and one granddaughter – who lives in the community of Alianza, in the district of Caynarachi, province of Lamas, where and for a long time has been working alone cultivating peach palm, from which she obtains the heart of palms in her three hectares plot of land.

Before attending PERU-Hub’s Farmers Field School (FFS), Lubina managed her crops based on empirical knowledge, causing her to lose 30 to 40% of the palms she planted, mainly due to inadequate soil management and lack of fertilization.

Although miles apart, Percy and Lubina began to change their stories and families when they started attending the Farmers Field Schools. Held in their own communities, these schools are implemented through a learning methodology adapted by La Molina to facilitate the transfer of sustainable technologies and practices to farmers in San Martin. Supported by a practical approach and technical visits, producers can use their land and resources to enhance their production and improve their income.

OVERVIEW OF SAN MARTIN’S CONTEXT

San Martin, a region in northern Peru, is located in the upper section of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. The largest city in the area is Tarapoto, where UNALM and USAID are working together to develop PERU-Hub, a Center of Excellence and Technology, for the benefit of Peruvian Amazonian agriculture.

Despite the economic and social upheaval that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in the country, San Martín stands up as a promising region that offers vast opportunities for economic revitalization, according to Observatorio Propuestas del Bicentenario (a platform from Videnza Institute). Unfortunately, Peruvian agriculture lacks an efficient all-encompassing technology transfer system for the Amazon, curtailing farmers' opportunities to benefit from research results from national institutions, such as UNALM, the leading Peruvian university in agriculture.

In the last two decades, producers from San Martin have made remarkable progress toward leaving behind an era dominated by illicit crops and overcoming the ills of subsistence agriculture. This transformation was made possible by their determination coupled with the support of institutions such as USAID. In a competitive world, changing livelihoods and making progress in San Martin demands addressing the technical challenges and constraints producers face.

A national survey held in 2022 by The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI, in Spanish) shows that less than 4 percent of producers have received any type of technical assistance and only 6 percent participate in business associations or cooperatives. Moreover, around 51 percent of farmers and cattle farmers in the country have only completed primary education. Without technology, assistance, and limited infrastructure, producers cannot integrate their products into competitive international markets.

PRESSING CROPS PROBLEMS

The cacao trees of Percy Salas have been facing the pest commonly known in the region as “mazorquero,” (scientific name is the Carmenta foraseminis). The “mazorquero,” is the most critical cacao pest in the entire region. According to the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD, in French), mazorquero is an invasive moth species that is increasing across South America. It was first observed in the Upper Huallaga Valley in Peru in 2013. The larvae of the mazorquero pierce the fruits and feed on the seeds, passing from the pupal stage inside to become adult moths, causing inadequate maturation and fermentation, and allowing the entry of fungi. According to a report by Agronoticias in 2018, a popular Peruvian virtual magazine on agricultural news, the damage produced could mean crop losses of 30 to 70 percent for farmers of the region.

The other main crop problem is the prevalence of diseases such as Moniliasis (caused by the fungus Moniliophthora roreri) which causes the most damage in this region. The infection begins when the fungus’ conidia or reproductive spores reach the surface of the fruit, due to high humidity and temperature conditions. They germinate and penetrate the pod, causing internal damage in the early stages of the disease.

Another local disease of importance in San Martin is a black pod, caused by microorganisms of the genus Phytophthora, previously classified as fungi but currently grouped with the Kingdom Protistas. Black pods can attack different parts of the plant but, like moniliasis, they can damage the cacao beans directly.

But pests are not the only problem farmers face. Most of them don´t know how to apply proper soil management and it is very common for them to feel frustrated because they lose more than half of the production. Before the establishment of PERU-Hub’s FFS, Lubina Cruz didn´t have technical knowledge for the management of the peach palm, such as the use of the appropriate plant nutrients and biofertilizers.

Both Percy and Lubina were invited to attend the Farmer Fields Schools and their expectations about their crops started to change.

CULTIVATING KNOWLEDGE

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a Farmer Field School is structured around an experiential and participatory learning methodology developed in the eighties, and adapted to the different contexts and needs around the world such as in Perú.

Through these schools, rural leaders exchange knowledge, based on experience and experimentation through simple methods and practices, utilizing their land and their homes as teaching and learning resources. Following this methodology, PERU-Hub puts farmers and their families at the center of their development by promoting sustainable practices and technologies.

Each FFS, in charge of the Extension Component of PERU-Hub, has been structured into 15 sessions, carried out biweekly, including the implementation of demonstration plots. These sessions allow farmers to learn how to strengthen their technical and commercial capacities and add value to their agricultural and livestock production, facilitating access to the market and improving their income.

FARMER FIELD SCHOOLS ENCOURAGE THE EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW KNOWLEDGE IN THE FIELDS.

THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF FARMER FIELD SCHOOLS

In November 2022 PERU-Hub launched six Farmer Field Schools in the Huallaga Valley. Comprised of fifteen sessions each, these schools were carried out across six geographic areas of intervention: Three in cacao in the districts of Chazuta, Pachiza, and San José de Sisa; one FFS in Caynarachi for peach palm; one for orange producers in the district of Ledoy; and an additional school was established in Cuñumbuque for cattle farmers.

Each school was established after a rigorous and selective process that brought together members from fourteen producers’ associations and cooperatives in San Martín, most of them cacao producers, but also orange and peach palm growers, as well as cattle farmers.

Before the organization of each FFS, the Extension Team of PERU-Hub established an agreement with the producer leaders who represent these associations and cooperatives of interest for the project. For native communities such as Kawana Sisa, the extensionists met with the community apu, a traditional representative of the communities in San Martin.

After initial conversations and subsequent meetings, the team explained to the community how PERU-Hub is an opportunity to extend knowledge and promote technologies and practices from La Molina National Agrarian University to increase their incomes and better provide for their families. Upon their prior consent and approval from the apus, PERU-Hub began selecting producers and launching a comprehensive program that included learning topics such as Integrated Pest Management, pruning, and fertilization. This program included follow-up and technical advice visits to producers to monitor their progress as they implement learning acquired in this program. Moreover, six field days were also held, one per FFS, to showcase to the community, local authorities, and stakeholders of interest, the advances made by beneficiaries, and the project.

Throughout the entire program, producers were very optimistic, demonstrating commitment and participation. It is very usual in the Amazon Rainforest, especially in remote communities, to see restricted roads, due to the rains and wide vegetation. Even so, it wasn't a problem for the farmers participants of the FFS. Many of them used different modes of transportation, like motorcars (motor small vehicles), horses, and donkeys in order not to miss sessions.

Farmers use all modes of transportation to reach FFS sessions. Jarol Sanchez, a rancher from Cuñumbuque, arrived riding a donkey.

CONTINUOUS LEARNING

As part of the monitoring and evaluation strategy, right at the beginning of the program, each farmer was evaluated through a series of "box tests" (pruebas de cajas, in Spanish). This method is a creative exam, implemented by the PERU-Hub Extension. Each box test details one question with three possible answers, where farmers must choose the correct alternative individually. As expected, the initial results of these tests showed that farmers have sparse knowledge of topics such as planting, pruning, pest management, and harvesting. This information allowed the Extensionist Team to better adapt to the necessities and interests of producers. Moreover, given the need to address farmers’ concerns about the proliferation of pests, the project promoted the use of biodegradable bags for protecting the cacao fruit.

Surveys also were carried out in each session to determine the degree of satisfaction with the organization and the topics discussed. The results were that 70% of the respondents remained satisfied with the training, and willing to continue putting into practice everything they learned to improve their plots.

The box tests help the PERU-Hub Extension Team to measure the level of initial knowledge of farmers

FARMERS ALSO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE ALL THEY HAVE LEARNED IN AN ACTIVITY CALLED “ A FIELD DAY” WHERE THE FFS RECEIVES FAMILIES AND AUTHORITIES. IN THE PHOTO, A PRODUCER PRACTICES WHAT HE WILL SPEAK, AND IS LISTENED TO BY THE EXTENSION TEAM.

THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT LEARNING

A proper integrated crop management is an approach that takes into account the crop's phenology and its respectful environmental management. This involves making efficient use of labor, implementing activities that adapt to the crop's needs, and adjusting to climate change. Integrating crop management practices allows farmers like Percy to recover their abandoned plots. Integrated Crop Management covers different areas such as pruning and bagging the fruits that allow for organic cacao production.

MASTERING THE ART OF PRUNING

Farmers from the province of Chazuta, in the San Martin region, carry out pruning activities as part of the second day of FFS.

Pruning is the practice of cutting unnecessary branches to give them the proper structure, balancing the tree's growth, and enhancing its productive capacity. Pruning is also necessary to renew the tree buds. This is a cultural activity that the Peruvian farmers practiced. Unfortunately, according to the knowledge they have acquired from their parents and grandparents, they did this practice in a variety of ways, without technical assistance. When the PERU-Hub team met on Percy´s plot, they realized that he only pruned the leaves from the lower part of the cacao trees. With these low cuts, the leaves grew faster than they should. By integrating a new methodology that aims to prune higher branches as well, Percy now knows that he must also prune to the crown, to prevent rapid plant growth.

Through the FFS, Percy learned that the activities of pruning must be scheduled, between August and October, to take advantage of the weather conditions and before the harvest seasons. A cacao plant should not exceed 3 meters in height to make product removal easier and the plant cannot be pruned in drought seasons. Specific cuts lead to better production, and, depending on the situation of the plant, can be made for maintenance, phytosanitary, or renovation.

GROWING PROSPERITY FROM CACAO BAGGING

Percy Salas, a cacao farmer from the Kawana Sisa community, bags cacao, as he learned in field schools, to prevent pests from affecting his crops.

In addition to pruning, cacao bagging is a complementary activity that PERU-Hub promotes through FFS with farmers to protect their production. This technique consists of placing healthy fruits in biodegradable bags so that they can be covered against insect attacks, optimizing the growth of the crop. In the case of Percy, he found cacao bagging was an economical, simple, and effective alternative to combat the pests and diseases that affected his crop.

Each bag costs about a penny (four cents in soles), so their use can be highly profitable for the farmer since the investment is very low and impact potentially high. They are also reusable. This means that they can last for two or three seasons.

The adoption of the bagging technique is not a common practice for some farmers in Peru or other countries. Percy and many of the smaller farmers in the Amazon region always rely on their ancestral knowledge passed down from their parents and grandparents. However, Percy realized that this knowledge was not enough when he began attending the Farmer Field School.

Cacao pods are bagged in biodegradable and reusable bags

Now, he has started to use these bags on younger fruits of his next harvest, and he is enthusiastic with the results, the projected yields, and, especially, because he is reclaiming an abandoned plot and will have the chance to apply this new technique to his other small plots.

“I am now seeing many healthy fruits per tree. I see that the trees have a higher performance. I don’t see many diseases now. If there is any of that, it is the minimum part. I think I can say that I will have more good fruit than bad,” Percy commented.

HEART OF THE PERUVIAN AMAZON

Lubina Cruz is an example of resilience. Here, she works in the demonstration plot used in the FFS where she learned how to implement a nursery.

Palm hearts are a highly valued product worldwide. France is one of the world's largest importers of palm heart and Peru is one of its main suppliers.

Just like cacao, peach palm heart producers once lived immersed in the illicit cultivation of coca. Those were different times. Today the growing palm heart industry has propelled economic development and social transformation in the area.

According to the Agraria.pe portal, a popular publication in agrarian news, between January and August 2023, palm heart exports nationwide have increased by 10.2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. It is important to mention that, in that same analysis period, 2022 registered a growth of 28 percent compared to 2021.

Heart of palm is a white vegetable from the core of certain kinds of palm trees. Also called palm hearts, palm cabbage, palmito, chonta, and swamp cabbage. Peach palm is grown for heart of palm in humid and tropical areas like Costa Rica and the Amazon. Unlike other countries, which market the fruit of this plant (pijuayo), Perú exports the sprouts, called palmito.

Heart of palm is typically exported internationally in pickled form and comes in jars or cans. Because hearts of palm contain 17 different amino acids, they make for a rich source of protein. Palm hearts are also low in fats and sugars while high in fiber and contain several healthy vitamins and minerals.

The cultivation of Palm hearts in San Martín began in 1997, mainly in the provinces of Tocache and Lamas, where the beautiful district of Caynarachi stands out for its famous landscapes and waterfalls. Despite the growing agro-industrial development of palm heart for export in Caynarachi, the project identified that producers commonly use inefficient techniques and practices, increasing costs and affecting their productivity.

PERU-Hub extensionists made a diagnosis and confirmed that most farmers in Caynarachi lost between 40 to 60 percent of their crops for these reasons, meaning that, if the optimal plantation density in one hectare is five thousand plants, the extensionist found only three thousand plants, causing a loss of income for many farmers.

At their local FFS, the extensionists strengthened farmers’ capacities by teaching them to identify the characteristics of their seeds for appropriate preparation and planting. First, producers learned to implement nurseries and identify the seeds with the greatest germination capacity. After two months, seeds that have germinated become bagged in the same nursery followed by two more months until these seedlings are transplanted in the plot.

Farmers also learned to plant young seeds by taking advantage of soil where other seeds died or simply did not grow. On the other hand, using proper plant management, producers will not fear these young plants dying as they compete for space with other larger plants. This new knowledge about crops allows farmers to improve yields with better use of soil spaces.

This seed selection process that begins in nurseries also allows farmers to minimize pests, diseases, and the impact of climate change, among other issues. Moreover, farmers also learned to manage soil acidity and fertilization, as well as record-keeping skills to balance their production costs.

Lubina Cruz, a producer in Caynarachi was an enthusiastic student in the FFS. Her only income is from her plot of land, where she works alone, cultivating the peach palm tree, both the hearts of the sprouts and the fruits of the older trees. Before attending the school, she sowed the seeds directly to the ground, losing much of her production. She did not know the importance of creating a nursery and selecting the seeds before planting. Now that she is applying the knowledge acquired in the FFS, she has noted significant changes in her plot. As production has increased, she acknowledges the importance of these practices and is very grateful to PERU-Hub.

HEART OF THE PERUVIAN AMAZON

KARINA TUANAMA TUANAMA (41), DELLY, AND NEYRA PORTOCARRERO (53) TWO MEMBERS OF CHOCOWARMIS, WEARING THEIR TYPICAL COMMUNITY COSTUMES WHILE HAPPILY DISPLAYING THE PRODUCTS MADE BY THEIR ENTERPRISE.

The stories of female entrepreneurs becoming leading producers and heads of households are truly remarkable.

It all began in the not-too-distant past when their husbands or partners had coca cultivation as their only survival option. It all started to change when international development institutions such as USAID started to work within these communities to train these women to take on the initiative and begin their journey of alternative development. Cacao was the spark that propelled change and the foundation that continues to bear fruits to the benefit of thousands of families.

The women of Chocowarmis are an example of this unprecedented and female-led social change. An enterprise focused on chocolate production, formed by a group of courageous women from the native community of Copal Sacha, they are transforming their cacao fields into new opportunities.

Chocowarmis was created ten years ago to empower the indigenous women of the area and provide them with an alternative to access greater economic independence through the transformation of cacao into chocolate and its derivatives. Today, with their work, they are not only redefining the narrative of female entrepreneurship but have also managed to establish themselves as an example of perseverance and tenacity. They recognize that, in their case, the challenge was not only starting a business but also overcoming all the barriers that exist for women.

The members of Chocowarmis attended the FFS to learn how to properly manage their cacao plots, hoping to find a solution to the multiple pests that were damaging their crops. There they learned about soil sampling, biofertilizers, cacao bagging, and Integrated Pest Management, among other topics. With this new learning, these entrepreneurs hope to improve their crops and increase their production.

As a leading and promising association, Chocowarmis is also receiving support from PERU-Hub’s Entrepreneurship and Food Transformation Programs as is within the project objectives to strengthen the quality of their products and integrate them into national and international commercial networks.

EMPOWERING FARMERS IN THE AMAZON

Throughout the Huallaga Valley, 132 farmers successfully completed training and became the first class of PERU-Hub’s Farmer Field Schools. They completed 45 hours of practice and 15 hours of theoretical learning. For the closing day, a public graduation was held, where local leaders, elected officials, and other authorities were present to witness the closing ceremony. Each farmer received a certificate to show not only the completion of the program but also the commitment and perseverance made by every single one of these producers, who now are recognized as leaders. They now have the mission to share with the community what they have learned to the benefit of many more small producers in San Martin.

Palm hearts are a highly valued product worldwide. France is one of the world's largest importers of palm heart and Peru is one of its main suppliers.

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

PERU-Hub's goal is to expand the reach of the field schools in San Martín, with plans to increase the number of farmers trained, as well as the areas of intervention and the number of communities benefited. Moreover, these plans include continuing to also provide our farmers with complementary activities such as technical assistance and follow-up visits.

Led by the Extension Team, these visits are part of the FFS methodology. They are developed with three main goals: Provide support and assistance to the participating producers in their own fields, verify and monitor the level of implementation of the techniques that are being developed in the FFS sessions and establish closer contact with the producer and his family, to understand their production dynamics and practices.

Farmers like Percy and Lubina are motivated and now look to the future with optimism. They agree that this close contact with the project extensionists has allowed them to obtain positive results. According to the Extension Program, and after a thorough assessment was conducted at the end of the first Farmers Schools, on average, producers who have received technical assistance have improved their yearly yields by 25%, reaching a production record that is higher than the national average. For native cacao producers of Kawana Sisa and Copal Sacha, these improvements are a window of opportunity. As the Extensionist team notes, the biggest challenge and achievement of the program was to convince farmers to believe in themselves.

SELECT NEW BENEFICIARIES

Beginning year three –as a USAID grantee, PERU-Hub is a five-year term project– the Extension Team started its activities by selecting new promising organizations and farmers in the Huallaga Valley. Looking into the future, the project expects to continue engaging with native community members, as well as continuing to incorporate women farm leaders. As for the extensionists, they expect to continue improving their programs by standardizing their methodologies, as well as incorporating new topics for positioning PERU-Hub as a center for excellence in agricultural and educational innovations.