Farmer Field and Business School Programmes on Empowerment of Smallholder Farmers in Iringa Rural District, Tanzania

The study assessed Farmers’ Field Business School (FFBS) model which is implemented by Cooperative for Americans Remittance to Europe (CARE). Forty-three farmers, 31 women and 12 men were selected through purposive and snowball sampling, respectively, to ensure the inclusion of marginalised groups and gender balance. Qualitative data were thematically analysed, while quantitative data were analysed using percentage statistics. Study findings revealed that farmer‑training interventions have significantly improved the adoption of sustainable practices, including Integrated Pest Management (56%), organic fertilisation (48%), and crop rotation (52%). Over 70% of participants reported enhanced farming and entrepreneurial skills, underscoring the transformative impact of these interventions. Findings revealed further that gender-inclusive participation reduced disparities and nutrition-sensitive interventions and market linkages improved income and food security. Furthermore, participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) was found to promote community ownership and accountability. Thus, findings offer actionable insights for policymakers and development practitioners in devising and promoting techniques of scaling up innovations. FFBS have been successful in integrating technical support with community-based empowerment. To sustain these gains, FFBS prioritise the strengthening of facilitator capacity through continuous gender-responsive training and strategic digital integration, and ensuring equitable support delivery and systematically bridging service gaps for marginalised farming communities across Tanzania.