Deep Roots

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Influencing family farming policy

in Eastern and Southern Africa

Baliraine Hakim, Executive General Secretary, Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale Farmer Forum

he Eastern and Southern Africa Small Scale

Farmer Forum (ESAFF) is a network of grass-

roots small-scale farmers’ organizations working

in 15 countries of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA)

region. It is a small-scale farmer initiated, farmer led

and farmer owned movement. Its purpose is to enable

small-scale farmers, the majority of whom are family

farmers in the ESA region, to speak as a united voice

so that issues, concerns and recommendations become

an integral part of policies and practices at national,

regional and international levels. ESAFF started in

2002 parallel to the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, and was registered in 2007 in Tanzania.

ESAFF has an independent Regional Board consisting of

farmer leaders from15 member countries, and its secre-

tariat is in Morogoro, Tanzania.

Smallholders, crop growers, fisher folk and pastoralists

account for 70 per cent of the population of about 300 million

in the ESA region. Family farming is fundamental in ensuring

food security and food sovereignty across the region (except

in Southern Africa where large-scale farming is dominant) to

about 70 to 80 per cent.

Family farming and agriculture contributes immensely to

gross domestic product (30 to 50 per cent) in ESA countries

as well as exports. It provides an opportunity for self-employ-

ment for millions of people in the region, and is a source

of livelihood for most rural populations. Family farming is

not just a practice, it is part of our culture. Not all family

farmers are small, but especially in Africa, family farms are

often considered to be synonymous with small farms and this

can create confusion. Family farms are those in which family

members provide most of the labour, including management,

and own most of the assets. The size of the farm is limited by

labour and capital constraints, but it varies according to the

availability and cost of labour, capital, land and the institu-

tions governing their movement.

There has been a general hypothesis that family farmers

are resource poor, hence their productivity is limited and as

a result they are vulnerable to food insecurity. This is not

Agroecology puts emphasis on healthy soil, biodiversity and local knowledge development as a basis for sustainable increases in production

Images: ESAFF

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