ISTVS Regional Agro Pastoral Field School (APFS) Master Trainer Course Curriculum Review
by ISTVS
ISTVS Regional Agro Pastoral Field School (APFS) Master Trainer Course Curriculum Review
Establishing resilience of vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change calls for transformational ways that can organically develop to suit the dynamic and unique needs of different agro pastoral systems. One transformational way entails the adoption of the Agro Pastoral Field School (APFS) approach which provides a flexible and responsible platform for meeting the needs of different farmers and livestock keepers ; it blends cropping and livestock content. The approach has caught the attention of development agencies in the Horn of Africa working in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan, and other places. Innovative aspects of the APFS approach include dealing with herds of livestock in extensive systems, nomadic mobile applications and addressing pasture and range management issues on a landscape level. Other innovation aspects include dealing with Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), incorporating more firmly conflict management as well as adapting tools for highly illiterate target groups.
A series of Master Trainer courses have been held to build the capacity of NGOs, development actors and government officials on the APFS approach. To answer to the rise in demand for Master Trainers in the APFS approach in the Horn of Africa, a Curriculum Review of the Master Trainer Course took place on 27th -30th June in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The aim of the meeting was to study the Master Trainer Course Curriculum, develop selection criteria for Master Trainer course participants and Plan for logistics for regional Master Trainer course and Training of facilitators (TOT) at ISTVS. The participants of the meeting were drawn from; ISTVS represented by the Principal Dr. Fred Wesonga, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Center for Research and Integrated Development (CERID) and IGAD Center for Pastoral Areas and Development (ICPALD). The APFS institutionalization is one of the components under a two-year IGAD–FAO Partnership Programme on Drought Resilience: Building Resilience for (Agro) Pastoralists Communities in the Horn of Africa. The focus of the Partnership is to contribute effectively to the resilience of vulnerable communities particularly in cross-border areas and ASALs by responding to the priority needs set out by IGAD and its partners. ISTVS now has the mandate of developing regional capacity and knowledge on resilience and specifically in APFS (Agro Pastoral Field School) institutionalization. It is hoped that the fruitful implementation of APFS will provide beneficial lessons on combining emergency relief and viable development, and in empowering communities for drought preparedness and mitigation to reduce livelihood and livestock vulnerabilities.
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