Evaluation of School Gardens as a Method of Scaling Up Sustainable Agriculture Technologies

抄録

Current research on school gardens is primarily focused on improving student nutrition. Less examined is their potential to be agents of knowledge transfer to the wider community. This paper seeks to determine the potential of school gardens as a pathway to scaling agricultural innovations. Literature is reviewed for best practices and recommendations conducive to scaling up agricultural technologies using school gardens. Findings indicated that school gardens have the potential to play a key role in scaling sustainable intensification (SI) technologies. They provide opportunities for knowledge transfer through teacher-student-parent communication. Best practices for scaling through school gardens comprised: including parents in the learning process and upkeep of school gardens; collaboration and commitment among all stakeholders; establishment of hands-on, research-based agricultural curriculum in schools; financial assistance from government or outside organization for startup and upkeep; and establishment of home gardens alongside school gardens. Primary barriers to scaling included: focusing on the ’what’ and not the ’how’; social mores and the relationship between parent/child; capacity building for and involvement of school heads, teachers, and parents; lack of social, human, and/or economic capital; and unintegrated commitment and partnership among stakeholders. Identified best practices and barriers are then applied to a case study analysis of a USAID-funded project in Cambodia: Scaling Suitable Sustainable Technologies (S3-Cambodia) project. S3-Cambodia targets youth as an entry point to extend target SI technologies to farm families. The project engages students in experiential learning opportunities by establishing "green labs" at secondary schools. S3-Cambodia is found to already be implementing many of the best practices listed above. Suggestions are made to increase parent involvement in the project and to increase awareness of the challenges that come with a transnational project.