Deep Roots

[

] 201

in regions that are easy to access and close to urban markets.

Through collaboration among herders, sustainable pasture use

plans were established that were recognized by local govern-

ments. Furthermore, these groups were better equipped to

access veterinary services and able to establish common works

such as water points or fenced reserve pastures.

Advocating for producers’ interests

The third important role of farmers’ organizations is to voice

family farmers’ concerns and influence policy debates. In

most developing countries, farmers and the rural popula-

tion in general are underrepresented in national and regional

policy debates. This leads to the neglect or farmers’ needs in

policy decisions and often in a higher consideration of urban

versus rural populations’ interests. For example, the reliance

on cheap food imports compared to supporting domestic food

production led on the one hand to affordable food for the

poor, but on the other hand food producers in these countries

have suffered from low incomes. In fact, 70 per cent of the

poor today live in rural areas and depend to a large extent on

agriculture and herding.

In this context, organizations that defend the interests of the

poor rural population have a key role to play when it comes to

the definition of national priority investment areas. An impor-

tant success of farmers’ and pastoralists’ organizations can be

seen in West Africa. The Common Agricultural Policy of the

Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAP)

recognizes the important role of family farms for the national

economies and food security of the countries in the region.

This has only become possible as particularly the Network of

Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organizations of West

Africa (ROPPA – Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de

producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest), but also other regional

producers’ organizations, were able to voice the concerns of

family farms in the related negotiations. With Swiss and other

international support, ROPPA as well as the Association for

the Promotion of Livestock in the Sahel and Savannah and

Réseau Billital Maroobé have succeeded in being recognized

by policymakers at regional level as key actors in respect to

policy decisions in agriculture and food security.

Ensuring benefit to members

To enable farmers’ organizations to fulfil one or more of the

above described roles, they need to be built on a solid funda-

ment of a clear strategic orientation, good internal governance

and member participation. In too many cases more powerful

farmers were able to dominate an organization and to use

it mainly for their personal benefit. This destroys the trust

among the producers in a region, and without trust no such

organization is able to function.

Countries need to invest into the creation of an enabling

environment for farmers’ organizations, and in a regula-

tory framework that allows for checks and balances within

these organizations and for transparency on their conduct

for members. Switzerland supports farmers’ organizations by

investing in building the capacities not only for delivering

services to members and for lobbying, but also for internal

governance. The biggest challenge, particularly for regional

farmers’ networks, is to manage the information flow within

the network or organization. Only if local farmers’ organiza-

tions are linked to national networks that are than organized

at the regional level can credible and strong statements be

made that eventually influence regional policies. In the

opposite direction farmers’ organizations can only provide

needs-oriented services if they have a mechanism that allows

members to influence the orientation of the organization.

In the example of the three regional farmers’ and pasto-

ralists’ networks in West Africa, the big task for these

organizations in the near future will be to contribute to the

implementation of the ECOWAP and to make sure that insti-

tutions at all levels follow the policy framework that has been

decided. One important step in this direction is that now, the

three mentioned networks not only depend on donor funds

but have also been able to lobby for support directly from the

Economic Community of Western African States.

Family farms hold the key for providing healthy and balanced diets across the

world and for providing jobs and income opportunities, particularly in rural areas

In order to fulfil their potential, farmers’ organizations need to be built on clear

strategic orientation, good internal governance and member participation

Image: Markus Buerli, SDC

Image: Karl Schuler, SDC

eep

oots