The basic idea of this school is to train the farmers in various aspects of agriculture that will help them maintain the sustainability of crops. The training is hands-on and conducted almost entirely in the field. Under the guidance and supervision of SAMUHA, the farmers conduct experiments related to their crops. The experiments help develop different technologies suitable for the local environment and people. Through this process, each farmer discovers farming methods suitable to his particular situation.
In this programme, the farmers experiment on the bajra crop. Every 15 days, a group of farmers go to one of the fields and record the different stages of the crop, its growth and development in that particular field. They check for pest or disease incidence and other related problems. They also do a problem analysis and present this to SAMUHA personnel.
Subsequently, technologies are developed to tackle one or more problems put forth by the farmers. These are implemented in the same season; at the end of the season, the experiment is evaluated and analysed. They then decide whether they want to accept the experiment or not depending on the results they have seen.
At the SAMUHA Farmers Field School, farmers learn about field ecology and integrated crop management. They develop technical and analytical skills that will empower them to take independent decisions. Currently, there are 20 farmers participating in the programme. Once this group of farmers accept the technologies and ideas of sustainability, teaching others will be easy.
