The aim of agricultural extension in many countries is to promote technology packages developed by research institutes to a farmer audience through FARMER FIELD SCHOOL. Extension methods usually involve farmer group meetings or demonstration plots, however, small-scale poor farmers rarely implement the new technology promoted by the agricultural extension messages that they receive. Why is this?

Farmers often say that technology promoted by extension services is not fully suitable for their farms. If the try extension recommendations at all, farmers must often adapt them to suit their particular conditions. With such an enormous diversity of small-scale farm enterprises in tropical areas, it is difficult, if not impossible, to generate recommendations that are broadly applicable. Technology guidelines must fit varying conditions that depend on soil fertility , water availability, household economic realities, and the objectives that farm families wish to achieve.

This training manual was designed specifically as a manual for sweetpotato ICM farmer field school facilitators.