The extension methods most often used are the following:

• Test plots (trials) enable testing of potential adaptation options that have not been validated in the local context on a real farm.
• Farmer Field Schools provide opportunities for experimenting with new farming techniques, training farmers and sharing knowledge.
• Demonstration plots (demo plots) show the ideal implementation of an adaptation option and its positive effects.
• Exchange visits facilitate shared experiences and the exchange of knowledge between farmers.
• Field days provide an opportunity to learn from ‘champion farmers’ who have experience in successfully implementing adaptation options. By meeting at his or her farm, other farmers learn by seeing good practice in a real-life context.
• Training and visits provide opportunities for extension workers to train farmers in certain farming practices. Trainers then follow up to check whether these practices are being implemented appropriately, and support the producer with any additional technical advice that is required. Extension staff collect the producer’s observations and experiences, and report on any positive results or difficulties.

A Farmer Field School (FFS) consists of a group of farmers (15-25) who are interested in solving a specific production problem. It is conducted in a participatory manner that improves the ability of participants to identify problems and search for solutions through experimentation. Working together with extension workers, farmers design field experiments that compare potential adaptation options to their existing farming practices. The objective is to help them understand agro-ecological processes and have them manage their production systems to yield the best results (see learning from experience example below).

• Observation, analysis and decision-making are key processes in an FFS. Farmers collect and analyze data in order to compare the performance of crops under different management regimes, e.g. plant height, number of fruiting bodies, plant health, weed spectrum and density, disease and pest dynamics, soil moisture, yield and labor. An FFS goes beyond teaching, as it provides a forum where farmers and facilitators can exchange observations and experiences, as well as present new information from outside the community.
• A technically competent person is required to lead the group through hands-on exercises, and then step back once the group feels that they are able to work alone. This person can be an extension worker, a promoter farmer or an FFS graduate. FFS participants meet in their day-today environments, e.g. in local schools, community centers or on one of the participant’s farms.

Before promoting a new or untested adaptation option through demo plots and FFS, it should be validated in the context in which it will be implemented. Through small-scale experiments, on-farm extension staff and farmers can obtain initial results on the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed option.

The trial is usually made on a small scale, e.g. just a few trees and their surroundings, a small coffee nursery or a small infrastructure construction (e.g. solar dryer). For each trial, a work plan and measurement parameters must be in place. It is important to consider the capacity of the extension staff as well as the available resources in order to define parameters that are actually capable of being measured. Keeping records of observations, specific data on activities, costs and yield, and indicators of effectiveness (e.g. soil moisture conservation, root growth, drying time, nutrient availability, etc.) is a key activity in the overall trial. Sufficient resources are required for establishing and maintaining the test plot, and the permanent support of the extension staff is necessary as well.

After information is collected during the testing period, it should be analyzed with the results summarized in a case study. Include important recommendations for further trials or larger-scale implementation, as well as important lessons learned (see learning form experience example).

Once the test phase has been concluded and the adaptation option has shown positive effects, the test plot can serve as an example of ideal implementation and effects on the plant, soil and yield.

Extension staff will want farmers to adapt to certain farming practices that are likely to increase resilience to specific climate hazards (e.g. the use of cover crops as a response to drought). Demonstrations can be used on a few specific plots, allowing the rest of the farmers to observe specific adaptation options during various growth stages and to learn best practices.

A demo plot is a designated area in which an adaptation option or any other farming practice is fully implemented. It demonstrates the ideal implementation of an adaptation option and its effects on the plant, soil and yield. Demo plots can be small, e.g. just a few trees and their surroundings, or they can cover an entire coffee plot or farm. Demo plots are used as field training centers or for exchange visits. Experience has shown that demo plots are highly effective, as they enable farmers to see and experience first-hand the positive effects of improved practices in their environment.

When setting up a demo plot, it is important to consider that some farming practices may only demonstrate effects after a certain period of time (e.g. shade planting, cover crops or mulch). Be sure to document activities, costs, farmer observations and some specific indicators of effectiveness (e.g. control of Coffee Berry Borer, soil retention or soil moisture conservation) and share this information during exchange visits with other producers.

Furthermore, sufficient resources are required to maintain the demo plot in order to provide the best possible example. This mainly includes the permanent support of extension staff. Subsidizing demo plots with external resources is a decision that must first be carefully analyzed, as it may put into question how replicable or sustainable the adaptation option is.

Another way for farmers and extensionists to experience successfully implemented adaptation options is to have them visit research stations, demo plots or successful producers and see them firsthand. This way, farmers learn through observation: “Learning is based on the adage: if I hear I might forget, if I see I might remember, if I discover, I own for life.” This type of producer-to-producer training can also be promoted using knowledge exchange as an important extension tool.

An exchange visit, also known as ‘field visit’, requires careful planning and a preliminary visit by extension staff. Selected demo plots or demo farms must have adaptation options that have been visibly implemented. Be sure to present experiences, observations, positive effects and lessons learned to visitors in an understandable way (see Figure 19).

It is important to focus the visit on certain aspects and give clear instructions to the group before being in the field. This can be done by providing a list of questions for participants to answer during the trip (see guiding questions below). The facilitator should encourage participants to explore the farm, either through discussions with other farmers or through physical observations on the farm. After the field visit, ask participants to share their experiences and findings in a group discussion and agree on how they can transfer what they have learned into their own farming systems.

Finally, producers should be encouraged to replicate any suitable adaptation options they see during the exchange visit on a small scale, e.g. on their own farms.

Guiding questions for an exchange visit:

• What kind of farming technique was introduced as a climate change adaptation option?
• What are the steps of implementation? What has been implemented?
• What kind of changes did you observe (e.g. changes to the soil, coffee tree, or any other changes)?
• Is this technique relevant to your area?
• Is the technique easy and available to farmers in your area?
• What is missing and would be needed for farmers to apply this technique in your area?

A Farmer Field School (FFS) involves a group of farmers who evaluate the results, costs and benefits of alternative technologies by experimenting in the field. It is a participatory approach to extension, whereby farmers use their own discoveries to make choices about methods of production.

Objectives

• To build the knowledge of farmers through hands-on learning about agro-ecosystems and ecological principles, such as soil and water relationships, fertility and nutrition, organic matter and moisture retention, etc. The emphasis should be on growing coffee with the least disruption to agro-ecosystems.
• To help farmers learn about the costs and benefits of alternative technologies for sustaining and enhancing farm productivity through adapting to climate change and variability.
• To train farmers in the cyclical process of action, observation, analysis and decisionmaking (agro-ecosystems analysis methodology, AESA). This teaches them how to identify problems through observation, to analyze these problems by identifying their causes and, when these skills are in place, to make their own decisions for better crop management.
• To increase the ability of farmers to make informed decisions about what works best for them – based on their own observations in the field – and to explain their reasoning. Recommendations must be tailored to local conditions and require local expertise and involvement, which only farmers can provide.
• To enhance the capacity of extension staff, who work in collaboration with researchers and serve as facilitators of experiential learning for farmers. They facilitate learning rather than prescribing a blanket recommendation that covers a wide geographic area, but may not be relevant.
• To train extensionists and researchers on how to work with farmers on testing, assessing and adapting a variety of options within their specific local conditions.
• To deliver training based on learning by doing, discovery, comparison and non-hierarchical relationships between learners and trainers, carried out almost entirely in the field.
• To abide by the following three major principles:
  • Grow a healthy crop
  • Observe fields regularly
  • Conserve natural enemies of crop pests
• Have farmers understand ecology and climate change, and become experts in their own field.

Procedure

• Step I – Establishment of group: Selection of the community and motivation of local farmers to participate. Participation must be voluntary!
• Step II – Definition of technical content: Characterize the eco-farming system. Apply the box test33 with participants to identify their levels of knowledge about coffee agro-ecosystems in general, as well as soil, nutrition, pest and disease management, etc. (i.e. a baseline assessment). Elaborate the curriculum for an adaptation option based on the c&c approach.
• Step III – Establishment of learning field: Select the host farmer for the FFS. Design and implement specific study plots for one or more adaptation options. Clarify the objective of the test plots.
• Step IV – Development of technical content: Develop the learning process step-by-step, through periodic learning sessions. Monitor test plots (adaptation options) and control plot by measurement and observation. Evaluate the results. Finally, repeat the box test to identify knowledge increase of participants
• Step V – Graduation and follow-up with participants

• A group of 25-30 farmers affected by and interested in solving a coffee production problem related to climate change and/or climate vulnerability form an FFS.
• In cooperation with extensionists, farmers design field experiments (test plots) to compare options with their current set-up (plots).
• Farmers select a host farmer and a site.
• Farmers meet at agreed periods of time determined by need, e.g. crop age and growth stages (8-12 meetings per season).
• In sub groups, farmers observe and analyze the relationship between a crop and its environment.
• They measure and record parameters that would bring about differences in the performance of treatments.
• In their subgroups, farmers analyze the data, recording differences in performances and the reasons for these differences.
• Farmers make a management decision. They ask themselves, “If this is what is happening to our crop, what do we need to do to manage it well?”
• Subgroups present their findings to the FFS.
• The FFS arrives at a consensus on which management decision to implement.
• Data to be collected and analyzed by farmers to compare the performance of crops under different management regimes, e.g.:
  • Percentage emergence, leaf color, plant height, number of tillers, number of fruiting bodies, length, circumference of cob/panicle, labor for all operations, weed spectrum and density, disease and pest dynamics or yields.
  • Returns per dollar invested in the different technologies (cost-benefit analysis).
• Finally, the evaluation of the results is done both quantitatively and qualitatively and the results are systematized and disseminated to other members of the community, other communities and other FFS.

FFS curriculum

The FFS is based on a tested curriculum, which usually covers the entire crop cycle. The field guides, study fields and a collection of group dynamic exercises provide the basis for the curriculum, which includes all activities for the learning period.

Training in the FFS is experiential and discovery- based. Activities are designed to have participants learn by doing and most of the training time is spent in the field. Sharing observations, brainstorming and long discussions facilitate the exchange of information and generation of knowledge.

A cornerstone of the FFS methodology is the agro-ecosystem analysis (AESA), which allows farmers to observe how a crop interacts with other biotic and abiotic factors that co-exist in the field. This involves regular observations of the crop (for coffee, usually every 15 days or once a month). Participants work in smaller groups of four or five, and learn how to make and record detailed observations including:

• Growth stage of the crop
• Insects, pests and beneficial numbers
• Weeds and disease levels
• Weather conditions
• Soil conditions
• Overall plant health

Farmers make management decisions that are based on their observations and analyses. An important part of the FFS is helping and encouraging farmers to conduct their own experiments and test out diverse crop management methods.

There are no standard recommendations or packages of technology, but rather farmers collectively decide which methods or aspects of crop management should be studied, and take action based on their own findings. Through hands-on learning, farmers become active learners and independent decision-makers.

Expected outputs

• Farmers who can make informed decisions on adaptation based on experience with analyzing different technologies throughout the lifecycle of a specific crop, in this case coffee.
• Farmers with expertise in management requirements for all growth stages of the crop.
• Optimization of yields and maximization of profits achieved within a very short time. This is due to the collaborative efforts and experimentation of farmers, researchers and extensionists.