The Farmer Family Learning Group Approach

Farmer Family Learning Group approach is a participatory learning-by-doing process where smallholder organic farmers come together and with the guidance of a “facilitator” find feasible solutions to improve their farming based on what is naturally and locally available on their farms. Thus, the farmer family develops their farm not in isolation but as part of the system of different farms which are continuously interacting. The FFLG approach thus builds the capacity of farmers to manage their soils, crops, animals, markets, seeds, farmer institutions and develop their community.

The approach brings together the family as a “farming unit” thus when the family hosts the FFLG members, each member of the host family participates in the “hosting” such that the work left on the host farm as agreed with the FFLG will be the responsibility of the entire farm and the spirit of family ownership of the farm is hence forth emphasised/nurtured.

The Farmer Family Learning Group (FFLG) approach was developed in 2009 by Ugandan farmer organizations and Organic Denmark to harmonize and localize knowledge of organic agricultural small-scale farming. The approach has spread in the entire country and beyond, promoted especially by NGOs. Now operating in Uganda, Tanzania and Zanzibar respectively.