“Co-creating with Farmers”
The African Centre for Field School and Innovation
(AFiSICO)
The African Centre for Field Schools and Innovation (AFiSICO) is a Company and not for Profit International Non-Governmental Organisation incorporated in Uganda. It evolved from Eastern Africa Field Schools Support Hub to cover the whole of Africa, seeking to leverage on the institutionalization, implementation and quality assurance of FS * approach at the African Continental level. It facilitates innovation, knowledge co-creation and exchange, science, policy and practice nexus, and experiential learning and practice.
* Field Schools (FS) is a denomination stemming from Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to include Agro-Pastoral Field Schools (APFS), Fisher folk Field Schools, Farmer Field and Business Schools, Farmer Market Schools, Climate Field Schools Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools, Participatory breeding field schools, and other adaptations of FFS. The methodology, principles and objectives of the FS are those of the original FFS approach.
AFiSICO’s Strategic Orientation
Vision
Centre of Excellence for Field Schools and Rural Innovation in Africa
Goal
Sustainably increase the food, incomes and nutrition security of smallholder farmers in Africa
Mission
Empower smallholder farmers for sustainable and resilient Africa’s food systems
Objectives
- i. Provide technical expertise and oversight in the implementation, institutionalization and quality assurance of the FS and other innovative approaches in Africa
- ii. Contextualizing Agri-food systems to local community realities
- iii. Coordinate and facilitate the scaling up and out of technologies and innovation across Africa
- iv. Be the anchor of knowledge generation and sharing across actors and provide catalytic support for enhanced quality of FS interventions
- v. Facilitate Policy dialogue and advocacy at regional and sub-regional levels and link with the African Union Commission (AU) on proven Farmer Field School Extension models and approaches
- vi. Facilitate Skills and Competencies development and accreditation processes for Field Schools practitioners
- vii. Foster and strengthen strategic public-private partnerships for FS implementation and Sustainability
- viii. Institutionalize the FS Monitoring Evaluation and Learning framework
- ix. Enhance partnerships for resource mobilization; and
- x. Foster Gender and Youth empowerment, skilling and transformation in agri food systems
- xi. Promote FS methodologies for sustainable Agri food systems in changing climatic contexts
AFiSICO is led and driven by likeminded practitioners in Field Schools (FS) and innovation sphere, and has delivered on a number of technical assignments and projects such as the Participatory Development of a Training Curriculum for Implementing Sustainable Land Forest Management (SLM/SFM) and Climate Change Mitigation (CCM) in Land Use Plans in Eastern Uganda for UNDP/MAAIF; Institutionalization of Field Schools in the National Agricultural Extension system through Institutions of Higher Learning in Uganda by FAO Uganda; Developing a Training Manual Climate Change Adaptation for FS in partnership with the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR); Applying the Farmer Field School Approach to Micro Irrigation Programme (UGiFT) training at the National Farmers’ Leadership Centre (NFLC); Documenting field case studies (Unmuted voices) in Eastern Africa among others, Technical support in the studies in context of Agroecology and Field Schools.
In AFiSICO; we cherish multi-stakeholder partnerships and facilitate processes, thus contributing to: (i) developing innovation capacities in at least three main dimensions/areas: (i) policy/enabling environment at organizational and individual level with experiential learning; (ii) strengthening relevant technical and “soft” skills for research, extension and education actors and (iii) improving knowledge and information exchange to enhance linkages for joint learning. Our ultimate beneficiaries are extension practitioners, small and medium-sized agricultural producers and enterprises, especially youth and women in the agri-food systems.
Contact us
P.O. Box 156712 Kampala
Emails: acfisisecretariat@gmail.com
molupot@gmail.com
Contact Telephone: +256 782 848225