4. Approach

The Farmers of the Future initiative builds on lessons learned from successful strategies emerging from research and experiences of educational interventions, especially in rural areas. These strategies include:

• Development of innovative, contextualized curricula and learning materials
• Introduction of active, experiential methods of teaching and learning
• Support to sustainable agriculture and rural development through schools
• Production of healthy and nutritious food through sustainable land use and environmentally sound practices
• Involvement of school members in the community and community members in schooling
• Enabling teachers and students to transform their school environment through better practice of agroforestry and natural resource management
• Improvement of the quality and relevance of teaching and learning processes in basic education through agroforestry and natural resource management.

The 'Farmers of the Future' initiative supports the following areas of activities within this framework:

• Synthesis of experiences with agriculture and natural resource management education in schools
• Identification and involvement of key stakeholders
• Implementation of pilot projects in selected schools
• Development of training programmes for teacher training colleges
• Assist teachers, teacher trainers and curriculum developers to contextualize teaching and learning materials
• Situation analysis, curriculum review and needs assessment
• Participatory curriculum development workshops
• Participatory resource material development workshops
• Development of leader/teacher training modules in experiential learning
• Research on the role of relevant basic education in achieving food security and sustainable rural development
• Exchange and documentation of experiences and lessons learned for wider dissemination