Report of the third global meeting of The Farmers Forum

Transcription

1 Report of the third global meeting of The Farmers Forum in conjunction with the Thirty-third Session of IFAD s Governing Council IFAD Headquarters, Rome February 2010 Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty

2 Farmers Forum Consensus 2005* The Farmers Forum is: an ongoing, bottom-up, process not a periodic event spanning IFAD-supported operations on the ground and policy dialogue; a tripartite process involving farmers organizations, governments and IFAD; a space for consultation and dialogue focused on rural poverty reduction; an instrument for accountability of development effectiveness, in particular in the area of empowerment of rural poor people and their organizations; and an interface between pro-poor rural development interventions and the process of enhancing the capacity of farmers and rural producers organizations (including organizations of artisanal fishers, pastoralists, landless workers and indigenous peoples). The Farmers Forum is: guided by the principles of inclusiveness, pluralism, openness and flexibility; built on existing fora where possible, avoiding duplication in these cases; and respecting existing organizations and creating new spaces where needed. Conditions The forum process starts with national-level consultations that feed into regional or subregional meetings. The latter shape the content of, and participation at, the farmers forum at the IFAD Governing Council. The forum process should feed into IFAD s governing bodies. The forum s success depends on IFAD s capacity to enhance country-level consultation with farmers organizations and contribute to their capacity-building needs. Participants recommend, in particular, institutionalizing engagement with farmers organizations in key IFAD operational processes (projects, and country and regional strategies). (*) from the Concluding Statement of the 2005 Workshop The Farmers Forum Steering Committee Members International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) La Via Campesina (LVC) Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) Coordination of Family Farms of MERCOSUR (COPROFAM) Réseaux des Organisations Paysannes et Producteurs Agricoles de l'afrique de l'ouest (ROPPA) World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fishworkers (WFF) World Forum for Fisher Peoples (WFFP) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

3 Report of the third global meeting of The Farmers Forum in conjunction with the Thirty-third Session of IFAD s Governing Council, February 2010 IFAD Headquarters, Rome February 2010 Enabling poor rural people to overcome poverty

4 Table of contents Foreword 7 Overview 9 Section 1: Special Session: Promoting women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations 11 Section 2: Opening of the Farmers Forum 17 Section 3: First Plenary Session: Trends and developments in IFAD s partnerships with farmers organizations 25 Section 4: Regional Working Group Sessions: Progress achieved and future goals for IFAD-farmers organization partnerships at national and regional levels 31 West and Central Africa 31 East and Southern Africa 35 Near East, North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe 37 Latin America and the Caribbean 39 Asia and the Pacific 40 Section 5: Thematic Discussions (regional working groups) 43 Role of farmers organizations in value chain development and how to scale up success stories (West and Central Africa) 43 How to promote access to markets for smallholder farmers (East and Southern Africa) 45 Policy and family farming: differentiated policies and investment programmes for smallholder agriculture (Latin America and the Caribbean) 48 How to promote food security and smallholder agriculture in a context of growing competition for land and other natural resources (Asia and the Pacific) 49 Section 6: Synthesis of the Deliberations 55 The Synthesis 55 IFAD senior management responds 59 Member governments respond 60 Closing of the Forum 61 2

5 Appendixes I. Agenda of the Forum 62 II. Opening Speech of the President of IFAD 65 III. Presentation of Partnerships in Progress IV. Summary of the two side events of Thursday, 18 February 75 Introduction 75 Side Event One: What is Purchase for Progress (P4P)? Engaging with farmers organizations at different levels 76 Background 76 Presentation by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 77 Presentation by the World Food Programme 77 Presentation by Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes du Mali 79 Plenary discussion 79 Side Event Two: How to help farmers organizations provide better services to their members 83 Background 83 Objective and expected results 84 Proceedings 84 Recommendations 86 Concluding remarks 87 V. List of participants 88 3

6 Acronyms AFA AGRA AROPA Asia DHRRA A-SWAp CAADP CARICOM CEN CFS CNOP CONTAG COPROFAM COSOP CSA DHRRA DR CAFTA EAFF EPA ESA FAA FAO FAORAP FCA FOSCA ICARRD IFAP IFOAM ILC JNC KENFAP LAC LVC M&E MERCOSUR MIJARC Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa Support Project for Farmers Organizations and Agricultural Service Centres Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia Agriculture Sector-wide Approach Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme Caribbean Community Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States Committee on World Food Security Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes du Mali Confereraçao Nacional dos Trabalhadores na agricultura (Brazil) Coordinadora de productores familiares del MERCOSUR Country Strategic Opportunities Programme Agricultural Services Centres (Centres de Services Agricoles) Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement Eastern Africa Farmers Federation Economic Partnership Agreement IFAD s East and Southern Africa Division Federación Agrária Argentina Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific Free Carrier Agreement Farmer Organization Support Centre for Africa International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development International Federation of Agricultural Producers International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements International Land Coalition Junta Nacional del Café Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers IFAD s Latin America and the Caribbean Division La Via Campesina Monitoring and evaluation Mercado Común del Sur/Southern Cone Common Market International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth 4

7 MVIWATA NAFSO NASFAM NENA NEPAD NGO P4P ESA PROPAC PSAOP REAF ROPPA SACAU SFOAP UNAG WCA WFF WFFP WFP WRS National Network of Farmers Groups (Tanzania) National Fisheries Solidarity Movement National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi IFAD s Near East and North Africa Division New Partnership for Africa s Development Non-governmental organization Purchase for Progress IFAD s East and Southern Africa Division Subregional Platform of Farmers Organizations in Central Africa Agricultural Services Producer Organizations Project Specialised Commission on Family Farming/MERCOSUR Réseau des organisations paysannes et des producteurs agricoles de l Afrique de l Ouest Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions Support to Farmers Organizations in Africa Programme Unión Nacional des Agricultores e Ganaderos IFAD s West and Central Africa Division World Forum of Fish Harvesters and Fishworkers World Forum of Fishermen Peoples United Nations World Food Programme Warehouse receipts system 5

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9 Foreword Over the biennium , the interrelated food and energy crises were exacerbated by the financial crisis and a global recession. The sobering consequences of this conjunction of crises were brought cruelly to the forefront by FAO s announcement that the number of hungry people had surpassed one billion in And many more people have seen their livelihood and purchasing power significantly diminished. Furthermore, agriculture the livelihood of the vast majority of poor people in developing countries is increasingly being affected by climate change, desertification, loss of biodiversity and a growing competition over land and water as the world s population runs towards 9 billion. Faced with this situation, last year the international community demonstrated a growing political and financial commitment to food security and agriculture. In L Aquila, 26 countries and 14 multilateral agencies agreed on a coordinated Food Security Initiative. Last November, in Rome, the participants in the World Summit on Food Security reiterated their commitment to intensify national and international support to agricultural development and food security, in particular to smallholder farmers. As 2015, the target year of the Millennium Development Goals, is approaching, a renewed consensus is emerging to support poor rural women and men in their effort to overcome poverty, achieve their right to food, and adapt to and contribute to mitigating climate change. Stronger organizations of smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists are essential to face these challenges and seize opportunities. Cooperation among rural producers improves their access to markets and knowledge. It allows for economies of scale and stronger bargaining power in value chains. It increases small farmers capacity to manage resources and infrastructure and to influence policy and development programmes. IFAD is facing these challenges with a sense of urgency and responsibility. Its membership agreed upon an unprecedented level of replenishment. During , the Fund committed more than US$1.2 billion to finance 69 rural and agricultural investment projects of its member countries. National or local farmers organizations participated in the design of 70 per cent of these projects and were involved in most of IFAD s country strategies formulated during the biennium. 7

10 Direct grant financing to farmers organizations for capacity-building more than doubled compared with the previous biennium. As world agriculture is at a crossroads and as IFAD begins to implement its eighth replenishment, the third global meeting of the Farmers Forum has been a unique opportunity to take stock of a partnership in progress and to reflect with farmer leaders on ways and means to further increase IFAD s development effectiveness and to strengthen the capacity of 500 million small farms worldwide to overcome poverty and hunger. 8

11 Overview This 2010 edition of the global meeting of the Farmers Forum, held in Rome on 15 and 16 February 2010, brought together 120 participants, including 70 farmers leaders representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world, to interact with IFAD staff and selected partners. Following a recommendation of the 2008 Forum meeting, participating farmers organizations made a special effort to increase women s presence and voice in the event. A preparatory meeting was held on 13 February to reflect on how to promote women s leadership in farmers organizations. The commitment taken in 2008 to have at least 30 per cent of women farm leaders participating in the Forum was surpassed to reach 40 per cent. As in 2008, IFAD prepared a report to the Forum on the basis of a survey of Country Programme Managers and farmers leaders to take stock of progress in partnerships over the last two years. The report was presented at the beginning of the Forum, followed by reactions and comments from participants. The 2010 edition of the Forum gave more space to operational matters than did the previous editions. To this end, the two working group sessions focused on country and regional dimensions: On Monday, 15 February, an afternoon session on operational collaboration between IFAD and farmers organizations at country and regional levels; On Tuesday, 16 February, a morning session on the themes of: (a) food security in a context of growing competition for access to land; (b) roles of farmers organizations in empowering small farmers in value chains; and (c) differentiated policies and investment programmes in support of smallholder agriculture. A Synthesis of Deliberations and recommendations regarding our evolving partnership was agreed upon by participants and discussed with IFAD s management on Tuesday, 16 February in the afternoon. This closing session was open to members of IFAD s governing bodies. As usual, the participants in the Farmers Forum were invited to the Governing Council with observer status. They had the opportunity to participate in the regional events of the Governing Council on 18 February. The Synthesis of Deliberations of the Forum was delivered to the Governing Council on 17 February during the morning session. After the closing of the Governing Council, two special side events were held on Thursday afternoon, 18 February, with farmers organizations and selected partners. The themes of the side events were: a) provision of support services to farmers organizations; and (b) the Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative of the World Food Programme and its collaboration with national farmers organizations. 9

12 10 IFAD/Santiago Albert Pons

13 I. Special Session: Promoting women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations Introduction In most developing countries, women perform a large part of the agricultural work and produce the bulk of the world s food crops. Nevertheless, women s role in agriculture remains largely unrecognized in policies and resource allocation. The voices and concerns of rural women are scarcely heard at the national and global levels. One reason is women s weak presence in leadership positions in rural organizations and, in some cases, the limited ability of the few women leaders at the national level to effectively represent the interests of women working at the grass-roots level, where women s groups tend to remain confined. In mixed organizations, while women may be well represented as members, few occupy leadership positions; as one moves from local to regional and national levels, the trend becomes even more pronounced. This translates into a dramatic mismatch between rural women s voices and decision-making roles and their enormous contribution to agricultural marketing, production and livelihoods. Young women with potential to become leaders face special challenges since they have to juggle their roles as farmers and leaders with caring for small children. Socio-cultural norms that attribute child care exclusively to women, and confine them to the domestic sphere, make it difficult if not impossible for them to assume leadership roles. Recognizing the importance of these issues for the future of smallholder agriculture and the wellbeing of rural households, the meeting of the Farmer s Forum at IFAD in 2008 recommended that a special session be held on the subject in the 2010 meeting. Indeed, women farmer representatives totalled nearly 40 per cent of participants in the 2010 meeting of the Forum (against 10 per cent in the first global meeting in 2006). The Special Session of the 2010 Farmers Forum, Promoting Women s Leadership in Farmer s Organizations and Rural Producer s Organizations, was convened on 12 and 13 February. The session was co-organized by IFAD and the non-governmental organization (NGO) Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resources (WOCAN), and co-financed by the Government of Norway. It was attended by over 60 participants, including 35 women farmer representatives attending the Farmer s Forum 2010, members of the Farmers Forum Steering Committee, observers from NGOs and FAO, and IFAD staff. Ten women of the IFAD Executive Board attended the informal dinner held on 12 February. In plenary sessions and four regional working groups (Africa-Francophone, Africa-Anglophone, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific), participants discussed ways to increase the economic returns of farming for women, improve training and information transmission to women farmers, apply quota systems for women, finance women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations, and build networks and partnerships between farmer s organizations and IFAD. The final declaration of the Special Session was included in the Synthesis of Deliberations of the 11

14 third Farmers Forum, which was read during the thirty-third session of IFAD s Governing Council (see page 55). What follows are highlights of the main issues that emerged during the Special Session. Economic empowerment and access to assets The economic empowerment of women was identified by all working groups as the essential condition to advance the voice and leadership of women in farmers organizations. Participants urged IFAD and other donor institutions to direct more financial resources than ever before toward women farmers, since their economic independence and empowerment are linked to many issues, particularly issues of access to: land and water, production resources, credit, alternative energy sources, technology, information and markets. Policy makers, businesspeople and farmers alike must look for new entry points for women along the value chain, in order to create and sustain new economic opportunities for women farmers. Participants agreed that the main question facing this generation of policy makers and leaders is, How can we make farming more profitable and sustainable for future generations of farmers? Major issues discussed that particularly affect women farmers were land ownership, and shrinking natural resources and their deteriorating quality especially in areas most affected by climate change. To stem such trends, pro-women and pro-youth agricultural policies must be developed to support the entrepreneurial vision of women and young farmers. To develop this, they need to gain self-confidence, which comes from having access to productive assets, and to knowledge and skills. They also need the support of men. Capacity-building and training Capacity-building was critical to all facets of the discussion to promote greater leadership of women within farmers and rural producers organizations. Participants stressed that IFAD and other donors should see organizational development and capacity-building endeavours as the glue that holds together efforts to promote women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations. Various types of capacity-building were identified as being needed. Women need access to the latest technological information regarding agriculture, production and coping with climate change. They need to acquire entrepreneurial and marketing skills; confidence-building; leadership skills; and the ability to negotiate and discuss with authorities. They also need to understand the policy issues that affect them as farmers. More specifically: Training should be targeted and decentralized so that women can be empowered to carry out their own training. Capacity-building should include exchange visits, farmer-to-farmer exchanges, and visits to research intuitions and high schools. Organizations must be flexible and take into account women s time constraints, especially those of mothers of small children and in general the household dynamics that affect their participation. Day care facilities must be created to enable women to participate in training, and thus to fulfil their roles as professionals, take on greater leadership roles within their organizations and focus more on creating profit from their work. Their cost should be incorporated into the training activities that may be funded by donors. 12

15 Quotas for women s participation Despite difficulties in implementation, applying and maintaining quotas for women s participation was named as a primary action for IFAD and farmer s organizations. Indeed, empowering women they said starts with requiring quotas for their participation in order to increase their visibility. Quotas help to establish the necessary critical mass of women as members and leaders to bring about change in policy and institutional culture. Participants shared stories from their respective organizations where quotas (ranging from 30 to even 50 per cent) successfully increased women s participation. Nevertheless, it was all agreed that quotas are a necessary but not sufficient condition for women to exercise leadership in farmers organizations. Even in organizations that have a quota system, the concerns of women farmers may not be voiced strongly enough. In these cases it may be necessary to establish women-only committees as a space for them to gain confidence and a platform from which to negotiate with the rest of the Nothing about us, without us! organization and external partners and institutions. Tools, charters and Estrella Penunia Banzuela, AFA by-laws were cited as central to the success of quota systems, as well as monitoring their application. All of the other topics discussed during the Special Session, primarily economic empowerment and capacity-building, were identified as essential complements to any quota system. Culture and institutional change To increase women s participation, organizations often need to better reach out to women farmers, who are doubly burdened with farm work and family duties. The culture and modus operandi of organizations, which tend to reflect male cultural norms, need to change. Gender differences affect the way the performance of leaders is evaluated, with men often giving more importance to political considerations and women to social ones. They can affect an organization s priorities: for example, men may give more importance to marketing while women would place more emphasis on food self-sufficiency. On the other hand, not all women further the interests of women, and selection of leaders should also be an area of awareness/capacity-building for members of farmers organizations to better take into account specific gender issues. Men must understand and support the importance of joint participation and of a new, more inclusive leadership system. Greater commitment to and understanding of gender equality is needed by all who work in the field, from extension workers to community development agents. Networks, fora and other structures Establishing supportive networks for women and men serves as reinforcement for all efforts made to promote women s leadership in farmers organizations around the world. Not only do they strengthen capacity development and improve training services, but networks also provide a forum for launching new platforms for women to convene and organize. Ultimately, networks help ensure that efforts to promote women s leadership in farmers organizations are sustainable. Farmers organizations also need to work with organizations in urban areas and create alliances with public and private municipal institutions. 13

16 Platforms for consultation and policy dialogue with farmers organizations should be institutionalized, and women s representation ensured. Participation in such consultations by representatives of grass-roots farmers organization does carry a cost, and farmers organizations should be supported to meet some of the administrative expenses. Women-only fora (such as women-only organizations or women s structures within mixed organizations) should be created where women can meet, deliberate and discuss, since in many contexts it is easier for women to talk when they are among themselves. The importance of providing assistance to the legalization of organizations was also highlighted, since women s groups are often informal. Media messages The need for more positive media messages and portrayals of women was also highlighted. In particular, participants mentioned a need for the professionalization of the image of the female farmer, including the young woman farmer. Financing Participants stressed that funding should go directly to women s organizations or women s structures within farmers organizations. In this regard, they made specific recommendations to IFAD. Conclusion In the final declaration, participants called for IFAD to maintain the minimum quota of 30 per cent women s participation in the Farmers Forum (and in its operations in support of farmers organizations), with an eventual goal of 50 per cent. They urged 14

17 IFAD and other donors to: increase efforts and funding in support of women s economic empowerment; give special support to and reward those organizations that promote gender equality and gender-sensitive production models; fund projects launched and headed by women; ensure participation of both women and men in project design and implementation; invest in capacity-building; apply and monitor quotas; earmark funding for women and women s structures even within mixed organisations; and make adherence to quotas a condition for funding. Donors should also support women to commission research on the crops and technologies that interest them, bridging the gap between farmers organizations and academic and research institutions. Finally, they recommended that young women farmers be named as a priority discussion topic for the Special Session of the Farmers Forum in

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19 Section 2: Opening of the Farmers Forum From February 2010, the Farmers Forum held its third bi-annual global meeting in conjunction with the Thirty-third Governing Council of IFAD, following consultations at the national and regional levels. The Forum brought together more than 70 leaders, representing millions of small farmers and rural producers, from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Near East and Europe to interact with IFAD staff and selected partners. Participants were also invited to be observers in the Governing Council of IFAD and to deliver to the Governors the Synthesis of Deliberations of the Farmers Forum. The Forum was opened by the President of IFAD, Kanayo F. Nwanze, who began by highlighting the fact that women represented 40 per cent of the Forum participants, a significant increase from the 9 per cent in the first global meeting of the Farmers Forum in He also honoured those who lost their lives and suffered from the disaster that occurred on 12 January in Port au Prince, Haiti. He announced that a task force was being created by the three Rome-based United Nations agencies to deliver coordinated assistance to Haiti to ensure that the next planting season is as productive as possible. Following are excerpts from his opening statement (the full transcript can be found in Appendix II). The dialogue we are building is so critical, this process in which an organization like IFAD opens it arms to others and provides a forum for farmers organizations to provide their views. This should be further developed with other multilateral organizations. Alberto Ercilio Broch, CONTAG Excerpts of the opening statement to the third global meeting of the Farmers Forum by IFAD s President...Since the Farmers Forum last convened two years ago, the world has experienced multiple crises, exacerbated by the global recession and climate change. These crises not only revealed decades of neglect of the agricultural sector, but also alerted the world to the importance of developing agriculture as a source of economic growth and political stability. It also generated a commitment to long-term sustainable food security......farming, irrespective of size or scale, is a business. Every farmer would like to feed his/her family and would like to produce a surplus so as to generate an income from trade and cash. This is the basis for the commercialization of farming, the transformation from subsistence to small agro-business entrepreneurs...if we know that 85 per cent of all farmland worldwide is less than 2 hectares in size (in the developing world it is as low as 0.25 hectares); if we know that 500 million smallholders produce 80 per cent of the food we consume in the developing world; that they live in rural areas and make up the majority of the rural poor; and if we know that over 60 per cent of the rural population is made of youths with over 50 per cent being young women and girls. If we know all this, I ask you, who will feed the world in 2020, in 2030 or in 2050 by which time we would have added another 3 billion people, 50 per cent, to our population? 17

20 We must invest in the rural youth of today, the farmers of tomorrow. National governments, development partners and the private sector must join hands in building their capacities, in providing them the technologies they need, the rural infrastructures, the financial institutions, the market information and linkages that are essential ingredients for this transformation... it also means capacity development and employment opportunities; it means reversing the rural to urban migration; it means new business partnerships a change in mindset; a paradigm shift in development, for investing in rural youth is the foundation for building viable economies; it is the link between agricultural productivity and food security, between political stability and national security, the precursors of global peace. This is what IFAD stands for....no nation, no people achieve economic development unless it comes from within and agriculture is the foundation for it; after all, development is an intrinsic and endogenous process. Yes, it can be helped from outside but a palm tree cannot make use of the energy from the sunlight unless it is firmly rooted in its own soil! And this leadership starts with your organizations. It also starts with the youth. Stronger organizations of smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists are essential if we are to seize the opportunities that arise from today s challenges. Equally important is to strengthen your ability to connect with the private sector to expand these partnerships to link the demand and the markets with smallholders production. We would like to see the Forum foster opportunities for you to network and enhance your leadership to achieve these goals... I welcome the progress we have been able to achieve. But we need to build on our experience and expand our partnerships... I would like to outline four areas where we can do better: There are still a number of countries where IFAD s cooperation with farmers organizations is limited. We need to reach out further and deeper and develop these connections. We must work together to strengthen the linkages of your organizations with the grass-roots levels and invest in the village-level advocacy to have an impact at the ground level and to improve the inclusive basis of our partnerships. We need to develop the advocacy role of the farmers organizations in the national policy debate. For instance, while climate change presents a huge challenge to farmers, only few policy-makers recognize the role that smallholders can play in mitigating its impact. Working together we can sensitize the national authorities to determine how best to reward the smallholders for the environmental services that they can provide to reduce carbon emissions. We need to engage rural youth in agriculture, help them organize themselves into young farmers associations, provide opportunities for capacity-building and training, institutional linkages and market information. They are the food producers of tomorrow....with agriculture in the world spotlight as a result of the food security crisis we experienced in 2007 and 2008, this third Farmers Forum is a timely event for us to determine how we can work together with governments to increase smallholders productivity and incomes. It is my hope that, at the conclusion of the third Farmers Forum, we will have generated innovative ideas on how to use our partnerships to expand market opportunities for smallholders and to develop programmes for rural youth engagement in agriculture, creating incentives for smallholders to make the transition from subsistence farming to profitable agro-businesses and wealth creation, investing in their livelihoods and contributing to food security, social empowerment and economic growth. 18

21 Following the President s opening speech, each member of the Farmers Forum Steering Committee gave a statement. Estrella Penunia Banzuela, Secretary General of the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), praised the global Farmers Forum as a great opportunity to interact, build solidarity and exchange experience, lessons learned and strategies for the development of small scale men and women farmers and fishers around the world. She explained that small-scale farmers, men and women, need first land to till. In the light of high food prices, food insecurity and climate change, we hope that we can mainstream integrated diversified agro friendly agriculture through massive agriculture extension and promotion, also targeting and involving young women farmers who produce the bulk of the world s food. We would also like our governments to develop community based disaster management programmes, establish early warning systems with strong information dissemination, because this is very important so that AFA considers every global we can adapt to climate change. We would also like help in developing Farmers Forum as a great an energy policy that promotes the increasing use of free usable sources opportunity to interact, build of energy including solar, water and wind as much as possible and this solidarity and exchange should be community managed We would like to encourage the experience, lessons learned and formation of agriculture cooperatives, commodity cluster formations, strategies for the development among small scale men and women farmers for cooperative production of small scale men and women and marketing activities from the local to the regional levels. Most of farmers and fishers around all, we would like to ensure the participation of smallholders in the world. government decision making processes in matters that concern and Estrella Penunia Banzuela, AFA affect them from local to national to regional and international levels. Finally she requested IFAD to provide, over the long term and in a sustained and flexible way, direct financial support, in particular through apex organizations at national and regional levels. Alessandra da Costa Lunas, Executive Secretary of Coordinadora de Productores Familiares del Mercosur (COPROFAM), praised the Farmers Forum for recognizing and acknowledging the role of indigenous organizations as spokespeople for policy dialogue with public authorities for the development of appropriate policy the Forum enables us to increase our awareness of important instruments that we can develop together in furthering development in our regions. Unfortunately hunger is a major She highlighted the extremely productive assistance that IFAD is problem worldwide but this providing to the region, especially in the context of the Commission on provides a major opportunity for Family Farming/MERCOSUR (REAF) and the promotion of family placing family agriculture at the farming in agricultural development and policy. She also highlighted centre of the debate, recognizing a number of challenges still facing us not just in Latin America but the extreme importance of around the world. We know that the policies that have been developed family agriculture in combating throughout the years have tended to favour the exclusion of men and that hunger. women from their land. It is our aim to develop agriculture with a Alessandra da Costa Lunas, COPROFAM human face meeting the needs of the people who are so important in working the land. It is very important to study issues of access to land providing guarantees for people s rights enabling a right to access to natural resources, particularly water. Another challenge is the need to 19

22 work together to find sustainable solutions to food production. In this process, the recognition of the role of women in production of food is very important and must be recognized Historically, women have accumulated a huge amount of experience in sustainable production. She also emphasized that young people need to be given the conditions that enable them to participate in family agriculture. Alessandra da Costa Lunas underscored the importance of family agriculture and its role in ending hunger around the world, and the need to place family agriculture at the centre of the debate. In this regard, she mentioned COPROFAM s support to the campaign for a year dedicated to family agriculture in the United Nations framework, as a good way of focusing the debate in various policy areas on the importance of family agriculture. Ndiogou Fall, President of the Network of Farmers and Agricultural Producers Organizations of West Africa (ROPPA), In ROPPA, we believe that the expressed his profound gratitude for the third Farmers Forum. The model of agriculture to be meeting of the Farmers Forum at IFAD is now a major event in the promoted should be based on international agricultural calendar. Agriculture is a sector that faces small family farmers. This is the multiple risks and that sets it apart from other sectors. It is also one of model that will take us forward and the rare professions subject to a variety of constraints that must be we need to do everything we can worked around in order to avoid compromising its future. These to support smallholders who are constraints include the challenge of feeding a growing population with working in very difficult products of sufficiently high quality and in sufficient quantity. It also circumstances. raises the challenge of sustainability in producing that food. There is Ndiogou Fall, ROPPA the constraint of having to produce sufficient wealth to combat poverty, at the same time respecting imperatives of sustainability in societies that are undergoing major transformation. Ndiogou Fall thanked IFAD for having directly funded capacity-building initiatives with regard to the four major regional networks in Africa. He also stressed the importance of the Farmers Forum process to promote dialogue with governments: This is an important step forward but you must realize that countries are more than simply governments, so it is one thing to have governments participating more and thinking more about these issues. You need to go further and you need to involve other stakeholders. You need to cover everybody involved in the field of agriculture and foster awareness and participation. When we talk about this notion of ownership we need to ensure it covers all necessary dimensions of the question. He praised the 2010 Forum for having innovated by setting up a specific area devoted to women and he expressed the wish to set up a similar forum for the young people who will be the farmers of the future. He closed on the need to base the partnerships between IFAD and farmers organizations on reliable principles to make adequate progress, particularly in Africa, giving the example of the issue of access to land for which a sound reflection is needed to combat land grabbing and uncontrolled appropriation of rural property. Herman Kumara Wijethunge, General Secretary of the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO), World Forum of Fishermen Peoples (WFFP), framed the financial, food and climate crises in the context of a dominant capitalist system that ignores externalities for the sake of profit and has resulted in the destruction of smallholder agriculture in favour of large-scale agriculture, and land grabbing for largescale investment (for example, the biofuels industry). He underlined that the coastal 20

23 fishery and the coastal lands are being replaced by industrial fishery, industrial aquaculture, the promotion of tourism, free economic zones and are therefore exposed to land grabbing and large investments by development countries. He emphasized that these are not solutions for the long term, and if strong measures are not taken, there will be millions of climate migrants. He thanked IFAD for supporting small-scale farmers, fishers and youth. He encouraged IFAD to support land reform and aquatic reform schemes so that small farmers and small fishers and all the small food producers will be feeding the humankind with cheap and nutritious food. IFAD must support energy production that is not polluting the mother earth like solar or wind energy we believe that small farmers and small fishers are the backbone of their countries and they promote food sovereignty of a country, of every country. IFAD should help them to continue their lives and livelihoods in a sustainable manner and help promote the application of the FAO code of conduct for responsible fisheries which We must, in line with the FAO recognizes the important role of small-scale and artisanal fishers in code of conduct for responsible providing the economic needs of coastal fishing communities fisheries, recognize the critical role employment, income and food sovereignty; and where the states engage of small-scale and artisanal fishers to protect the rights of subsistence and small-scale and artisanal and of coastal fish communities in fisheries to preferential access to additional fishing grounds. providing economic resources, Pedro Avendano Garcès, representing the World Forum of Fish employment, income and food Harvesters and Fishworkers (WFF), highlighted the fact that the sovereignty. fisheries sector is part of the broader sector of agriculture but is often an Herman Kumara Wijethunge, WFFP invisible sector in international organizations and their work. In national policy, quite often the presence and contribution of small fisher people and coastal organizations also tend to be forgotten However, small fisher people feed more than one billion people, the poor of the world. Fishing products are responsible for some 19 per cent of the animal protein being consumed by the human population around the world. He explained that small-scale fishers organizations need to broaden and develop their organizational capacities and political voice to develop training and teaching mechanisms to exchange experience nationally and regionally. Fishing rights need to be extended to small fishing communities and taken out of the hands of the major commercial fishing fleets which move across You cannot effectively combat our waters. Efforts must be made to combat the tendency to over-fish hunger and poverty without and to devastate the seas of the world. He concluded by stating that involving the small fisher financing of projects was not as important as support to gain mutual communities and organizations. respect, fostering the autonomy of fishers organizations and bringing the They are a very important sector in oceans of the world onto the agenda of global thinking. We must avoid ensuring food sustainability and seeing the life of coastal communities extinguished. We need to avoid security around the world. their activities being overwhelmed by major commercial enterprises. Pedro Avendano Garcès, WFF Henry Saragih, General Coordinator of the International Operative Secretariat of La Via Campesina, underlined the fact that this year s Farmers Forum is taking place at a crucial moment for humanity in the food, climate and financial crises... More farmers have been displaced, more people are suffering hunger, and more people s communities are 21

24 in ruins. We have now more landless women and youth who are unable to access land. He described the model of agriculture that is required according to La Via Campesina: In our model, human beings work the land to produce food to satisfy the needs of local communities and at the same time protect our common goods like land, water and native seeds, but also our local culture and our history. Our model is one of sustainable agriculture and agro-ecological systems as a solution to the global crisis of more people being forced into extreme poverty Our model also responds to climate change that has also created a crisis of migration. Millions of people can no longer survive on their own land and are forced to migrate. La Via Campesina believes that our model of food production can alleviate this problem of displacement. At the same time, we demand the respect of the rights of all migrant workers and their families. He emphasized that the future of food production is in the hands of women and children. He requested IFAD to further strengthen its direct support to small-scale family farmers, increasing In our agro-ecological model, human beings work the land to their capacity to maintain the existence of their farms and to take part produce food to satisfy the needs in agriculture and rural policy and development. He urged IFAD to of local communities and, at the make sure its support really goes to small farmers grass-roots same time, protect our common organizations by changing the way it works with us at national and goods like land, water and native regional levels. We suggest it should develop a protocol for regional and seeds, but also our local culture national levels where we are sure its organization keeps its autonomy and our history. and IFAD funds really reach the poorest people. Henry Saragih explained that La Via Campesina is working at national, regional and Henry Saragih, La Via Campesina international levels on the creation of an international charter for the rights of peasants. He closed by requesting support from IFAD to facilitate the process of implementing the recommendations of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. Ajaykumar Manubhai Vashee, President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), praised IFAD for the progress made: especially in the consultation of farmers in the design of country strategies, and the recognition of women, who are a very special and vulnerable group within the agricultural sector but the challenge remains on the feedback of our programmes. We need a better and concerted mechanism that allows for monitoring and The most crucial among the evaluation by the farmers In addition, it is also essential for IFAD several challenges facing farmers that whatever programmes we undertake have an automatic design that are the policy environment and integrates them into existing farm organizations structure, be they at agricultural markets and there is the local village level, district level or provincial level. This will add to no better way of addressing them the sustainable exit of existing IFAD programmes and will serve not to than through farmer groups, be fragment existing farmers organizations. He emphasized that they commodity associations, a change in mindset of multilateral agencies and others is needed and cooperatives or general farmers that when governments look at farmers they are better able to do so organizations. through farmers organizations. He emphasized that the most crucial Ajaykumar Manubhai Vashee, IFAP among the several challenges facing farmers are the policy environment and agricultural markets, and that what is required is to build on the sustainability and resilience of small-scale agriculture, which essentially 22

25 means profit So, we require a deliberate approach to ensure that agriculture markets work for the small farmers and the poor, and any policies formulated are inclusive of other issues like land and water rights, credit finance, technology transfer and the general modernization of small-scale agriculture We need new risk management instruments not only for climate but for financial risk. We need better climate adaptation with farmer-led research and more extension services For climate mitigation and the possible eventual carbon credits and eco-service payments we have to ensure that small-scale farmers benefit from these, and that any other initiatives are not precluded from rural development, as is the usual case. He concluded by stressing the need for cohesion of policy and initiatives at national and international levels. There is a need for a more holistic approach to rural development and agriculture, where more investment is needed. But are governments able to prioritize these requirements and the needs of the farmers when they articulate programmes? At the international level, many initiatives have been taken in the context of the new global agriculture architecture brought about by the food crisis. However, Ajaykumar Manubhai Vashee asked, Do they have better cohesion between themselves? And are they able to address one single question, the needs of the principal stakeholders in all this: the farmer? 23

26 24 IFAD/R. Ramasomanana

27 Section 3: First Plenary Session: Trends and developments in IFAD s partnership with farmers organizations As in the previous meeting of the Forum, IFAD presented the participants its report Partnerships in Progress , based on a survey of IFAD Country Programme Managers and of a sample of farmers leaders. The report takes stock of progress in partnerships between IFAD and farmers organizations over the last two years. The first plenary session started with the presentation of IFAD s report by Philippe Rémy (Policy Coordinator) and was followed by an open discussion on its main findings. Key points of IFAD s report to the Forum, Partnerships in Progress : Methodology. Quantitative data were provided for all Country Strategic Opportunities Programmes (COSOPs) and projects approved by IFAD during the biennium, i.e. 18 COSOPs and 69 projects. For the first time, a qualitative survey was undertaken with selected farmers organizations to capture their own assessment of their involvement in IFAD activities. What forms does this participation take? What kinds of benefits has it brought to them? How has it impacted overall project achievements? Have they faced any particular difficulties in participating in project activities? A total of 24 farmers organizations were contacted. Participation of farmers organizations in COSOPs and projects. Over the period , the frequency of farmers organizations involvement in COSOP formulation was very high: 83 per cent. Furthermore the quality and intensity of collaboration improved significantly in 61 per cent of the cases, farmers organizations were special players, compared with 55 per cent in Overall, trends for projects are similar to those for COSOPs. In , farmers organizations were special players in 51 per cent of new project designs, compared with 34 per cent in In all regions, the proportion of projects for which farmers organizations were involved in the design process as special players has been increasing. The percentage of new projects involving farmers organizations as implementing agencies or service providers reached 52 per cent in , a 30 per cent increase compared with the previous biennium. Leaders of farmers organizations are members of Project Steering Committees in close to half of the projects approved over the last biennium, against 39 per cent in An interesting finding of the review is the creativity deployed by Country Programme Managers who want to work with farmers organizations in project design and implementation. Very diverse modalities are applied according to national contexts as well as to the actual capacities of farmers organizations. 1 The full presentation can be found in Appendix III. 25

28 Direct financing. The total amount of direct financing to farmers organizations in was US$12.0 million, more than double the amount in (US$5.9 million). In six years, direct financing has increased eleven-fold. An important evolution is the geographical/organizational level targeted by direct financial support. In , about one-third of the grants or institutional contracts were made at the national level, and the remaining two thirds were split between regional and global levels. In , there was only one country grant. Most of the financing to national farmers organizations was channelled through grants to their regional federations or networks. In sub-saharan Africa, IFAD and the European Commission jointly finance a large programme on institutional development and support to policy engagement at national, subregional and pan-african levels. This new pattern corresponds to the evolution in the number of approved grants: it is more efficient for IFAD to process few large regional or global grants that can benefit a larger number of national organizations through their regional or global networks, than to formulate a multitude of small grants targeting single national organizations. The preference for the regional or subregional levels also corresponds to the growing interest of farmers organizations in regional integration processes, in particular in Africa and in Latin America. Support to policy engagement. At the regional level, IFAD has provided support in Latin America to COPROFAM to engage in the Specialized Commission of Family Agriculture (REAF) of the MERCOSUR; in Central America, farmers organizations from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua have been supported to identify common interests and jointly engage in the discussion on the Central America Agricultural Policy; and in sub-saharan Africa, IFAD and the European Commission are jointly financing a large programme on institutional development and support to policy engagement at national, subregional and pan-african levels. At the international level, IFAD continued to support the participation of farmers organizations in high-level conferences and events, in particular those organized by FAO. Support provided in this area has contributed to opening policy processes to representatives of agricultural producers of developing countries and to strengthening their capacity to influence policy. This evolution materialized in the reform of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), in which farmers organizations will now be full participants. In addition, the FAO initiative to develop voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of tenure of land and other natural resources is supported by IFAD with a grant of US$1.4 million. The voluntary guidelines are intended to provide practical guidance to governments, civil society and the private sector on responsible governance of tenure as a means of reducing poverty and food insecurity. Impacts of partnerships. The benefits to farmers organizations include: capacity-building of their members; institutional development; greater cohesion and internal membership; increased contacts with farmers and partners; and improved dialogue with governments and donors. Benefits to IFAD-funded projects include: stronger focus on small and poor farmers; better understanding of rural poverty; access to local and indigenous knowledge; more effective implementation; and better impact on food security. 26

29 Philippe Rémy concluded by posing four questions regarding the way forward: 1. How to find a second wind in our collaboration by: finding solutions to develop partnerships, even in difficult conditions? taking better advantage of good practices? reconsidering the bottom-up farmers forum process, especially between global meetings? 2. How to find the right balance between regional and national levels: for capacity-building? for support to policy engagement? 3. How to strengthen our dialogue and collaboration on major policy issues such as climate change, food security and land governance? 4. How to jointly evaluate the impact of our partnerships on the ground and their development effectiveness? Following the presentation of IFAD s report, participants focussed on ways that their respective organization and IFAD could work better together. A summary of the major points which emerged during the plenary discussion follows. Institutionalization of involvement of farmers organizations in projects. Many participants pointed out that despite the growing trend of involving producer organizations in the design of IFAD projects and COSOPs, their participation is still not systematic. The decisions of when and how to include farmers organizations, and which organizations to involve, are still often made on a case-by-case basis by the governments. Guidelines, mechanisms and explicit conditions were called upon to institutionalize their involvement in IFAD operations; in addition, IFAD s approach of involving farmers organizations should be applied in projects that are co-financed with other donors. Quality of participation. To ensure that the COSOP process is genuinely effective, it is important that farmers organizations have sufficient time and resources to discuss the issues among their membership to formulate their positions. To this end, IFAD should provide systematic support for the prepared participation of farmers organizations. The role of farmers organizations in the entire project cycle. The role of farmers organizations beyond the project design phase was seen as important to ensure that small farmers truly benefit from the projects. Elisabeth Atangana suggested earmarking part of the project budget to farmers organizations as a positive example of supporting their participation throughout A dialogue should be established between IFAD and farmers organizations, but that is not enough. This dialogue should be institutionalized so that it does not happen on a case-by-case basis a framework for everyone to take part in decision-making and sharing. Elisabeth Atangana, PROPAC I really think it is important that IFAD look at the preparatory process in the farmers associations because it is very frustrating to come to a forum in which it is possible to advance one s priorities and not be prepared; therefore developing a strategic plan at the farmer level takes a lot of time and a lot of resources and often this is overlooked. Ibrahima Coulibaly, CNOP-Mali 27

30 the project cycle. Ajaykumar Manubhai Vashee called for a monitoring and evaluation method allowing farmers organizations to participate and reminded the Forum members that the objective of monitoring and evaluation is not only to measure the impact, but also the effectiveness of the implementation of a project, with wider repercussions on future investments. Representativeness of farmers organizations. A number of It is not rocket science, but participants emphasized the need to include genuine and monitoring and evaluation is a tool representative farmers organizations in project design and which allows you to measure implementation, instead of organizations created by projects or something, and what you can governments. Instead of projects creating new organizations, measure you can fix. For me the efforts should be directed at strengthening the existing ones and most important thing will be that supporting their participation. The need to ensure that farmers in the longer term, it will also assist organizations represent and engage women members as well as national governments with the men was further underlined. prioritization of their projects Direct support to farmers organizations. Continuing and because they will be able to see increasing IFAD s direct support to farmers organizations was what is working and what is pointed out as crucial for ensuring their autonomy vis-à-vis not working. governments and in strengthening their economic sustainability. Ajaykumar Manubhai Vashee, IFAP Karen Serres from IFAP emphasized the need to build farmers productive capacities that lead to increased income. The participants called for capacity-building on various thematic and technical fields, such as market access, land and governance of natural resources. At the same time, the structures of farmers organizations need to be supported to ensure the trickling down of resources from regional and national organizations to the grass roots, according to the principle of subsidiarity. Policy engagement. It was noted that, apart from the financial resources provided, the direct partnership between IFAD and farmers organizations triggers government recognition and facilitation of farmers organizations access to policy dialogue processes. As stated by Elisabeth Atangana, IFAD has brought farmers organizations to the centre stage. The importance of also supporting their participation in regional or global policy processes was pointed out by various participants. The regional networks and federations have a key role in representing farmers in regional integration processes and related policy-making, and it is important that IFAD continue to support them, stated Philip Kiriro from Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF). The participants touched upon several themes where IFAD s support for the participation of farmers organizations in policy dialogue is needed above all, market issues, land access and governance of natural resources and youth. Market issues. As Alberto Ercilio Broch from CONTAG Brazil reminded participants of the agro-industrial sector, in particular that the presence of large multinationals in rural areas, represents a major challenge to small-scale farmers that needs to be addressed if the issues of marginalization and the future of family agriculture are to be resolved. There are major discrepancies between what small-scale farmers receive for their products and what consumers pay for them. These issues must find a way into the dialogue as they are integral to the future of small-scale farmers and patterns of household agriculture. 28

31 Access to land and natural resources. The role of networks of farmers organizations in shaping the governance of natural resources was equally evoked. Several participants referred to the bias of national policies towards large-scale multinational investments at the cost of small rural producers interests, and the crucial role farmers organizations have in defending rural livelihoods. Youth. Increasing the needed profitability of agriculture to attract young rural people emerged throughout the discussion as a transversal theme. It was mentioned that key areas where IFAD could intervene to address the youth include professionalizing agriculture through education, improving viability of rural livelihoods and rural employment and ensuring young people s land tenure and access to credit. As underlined by George Dixon Fernandez from the International Movement of Catholic Agricultural and Rural Youth (MIJARC), an approach addressing rural youth should be mainstreamed in the design of all IFAD projects. In the scope of the Farmers Forum process, a number of participants suggested the organization of a special meeting of young farmers to map out experiences of organizations in addressing youth and to define a common youth strategy. Germán Cartagena from Unión Nacional des Agricultores e Ganaderos (UNAG) proposed that IFAD and other financing institutions also consider developing a specific policy on youth. Large multinationals are having an impact not only on land, but on water. In Peru, we have mining companies that are drilling for water and using the surface water. States are interested in the profits deriving from mining activities. But we small farmers no longer have enough water to irrigate our fields. There is no agriculture without land, but there is no agriculture without water. Lucila Quintana, JNC IFAD reacts to the plenary discussions Kevin Cleaver, Associate Vice President for Operations, IFAD, offered a number of comments and suggestions based on the issues that were raised during the plenary discussions. Following are excerpts from his response. I will respond a bit provocatively because I want to enter into a debate. From the statement from women, it struck me how complicated our business is. It is not just about farming and agriculture, but social policy, law, ethics, economics. One problem in our business is that we have multiple objectives. The result is a complicated stew. If you juxtapose this against what IFAD is a United Nations specialized organization we are engaged in an experiment here. Not just how we are involved in agriculture, but also in ethics, law, etc. Now the critical question. All of you would like us to support much more aggressively the participation of farmers and women s groups, with different levels of participation: the simple layer of consultation, the next of project design, the third of implementation, and the fourth of monitoring and evaluation. This is what we would like to see happen. We are all on the same page. We want to move up the hierarchy, from invitation to a cocktail party to participation in M&E [monitoring and evaluation]. And we are succeeding in some countries... 29

32 30 IFAD/Susan Beccio

33 Section 4: Regional Working Group Sessions: Progress achieved and future goals for IFAD-farmers organization partnerships at national and regional levels The 2010 edition of the Forum gave broad space to operational matters to be discussed in regional working groups. Farmers Forum participants, along with IFAD staff from each regional division, broke into five regional groups to discuss the progress achieved to date with respect to partnerships between IFAD and farmers organizations and the future goals of the partnership at national and regional levels. A summary of the discussions of each working group is provided in the following sections, along with the main discussion points that emerged in the plenary discussion that took place after the working group sessions. 1. West and Central Africa The meeting was chaired by Mohamed Beavogui, the Director of West and Central Africa Division (WCA) of IFAD. It was attended by IFAD staff working in the region, the leaders of ROPPA and PROPAC, representatives of national farmers organizations in the region as well as observers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. The session was introduced by Léopold Sarr, IFAD Country Programme Manager in WCA, who proposed three issues for discussion: 1. How do farmers organizations assess their partnership with IFAD and, more specifically, their participation in the formulation of IFAD strategies (COSOP) and in project implementation? 2. How do they assess IFAD support to their capacity-building? 3. Are there new areas not yet covered by ongoing IFAD programmes in which farmers organizations would like to receive assistance? Participation of farmers organizations in COSOP formulation and project implementation Farmers organizations representatives noted that a lot of progress have already been achieved in involving farmers organizations in the preparation of COSOPs and in project implementation. A number of constraints are not yet adequately addressed. Capacities and resources to participate. Representatives of farmers organizations indicated that they are not familiar with these processes and that they often lack the capacities and resources needed to 31

34 prepare themselves and be able to participate on an equal footing with other stakeholders. In addition, they require longer periods to build consensual positions to advocate. However, such processes do not take these requirements into account, and farmers organizations are usually invited to participate at the last minute. On the other hand, public authorities may lack familiarity with participatory processes, which does not help in addressing farmers organizations specific constraints. IFAD staff acknowledged that the rules governing COSOP design do not include any specific mechanism to facilitate the participation of farmers organizations, in terms of time or financial resources. However, Country Programme Managers mentioned several positive examples of involving farmers organizations in design processes that should help in defining appropriate mechanisms. In Mali, project funds were used to facilitate the participation of farmers organizations. In Burkina Faso and in Congo Brazzaville, several preparatory workshops were organized to help farmers organizations in developing their own positions to contribute to national workshops, gathering all stakeholders; in addition, extensive electronic communication took place between farmers organizations and IFAD in Burkina Faso. In Guinea, farmers organizations are involved in project design and other key IFAD missions. It was also noted that including a farmers organization representative in the quality enhancement process, as was the case in a recently approved project in Senegal, can bring very positive results. Representativeness. Farmers organizations have varying degrees of organization and of representativeness. In some countries they may be very fragmented, or they may lack strong linkages between the national and local levels, or they may emanate from the government and not be recognized by farmers as truly representing their interests. The quality of the dialogue also rests on the participation of representative, well-structured organizations. Recommendations. The Director of the WCA Division wrapped up the discussion by stating that the division had to institutionalize its dialogue with farmers organizations and adapt it to the various stages of farmers organization development in the 24 countries covered by the division. To this effect, he stated that: (i) in accordance with COSOP guidelines, farmers organizations need to be involved in COSOP design; (ii) financial resources need to be made available to facilitate their participation in COSOP and project formulation, and their participation has to be planned ahead of time; (iii) farmers organizations capacities need to be strengthened so that they can contribute effectively; (iv) farmers organizations need to be included in country programme management teams and in project steering committees; and (v) meetings with farmers organizations need to be systematically included in all IFAD missions. He also noted that their participation had to be defined more clearly in the COSOP and in financing agreements, and that, while the participation of farmers organizations in the quality enhancement process had to continue, it was even more important to secure their participation in project formulation. Farmers organizations also made a number of recommendations: (i) carefully plan ahead the COSOP formulation process as well as the participation of farmers organizations, so that sufficient time is available for them to have internal consultations to develop solid positions; (ii) disseminate information on the COSOP 32

35 process to a wide range of farmers organizations to make sure that access to information is not restricted to government-supported NGOs; (iii) ensure that financial resources can be made available to farmers organizations as direct support to build their capacities to effectively contribute to design processes; (iv) ensure stronger participation by women, particularly in project steering committees; (v) document positive experiences of IFAD-farmers organization partnerships, disseminate them and explore ways to replicate them; (vi) in some countries, develop the capacities of public authorities so that they better understand participatory processes and are able to enter into a real dialogue with farmers organizations. It was also noted that systematically including farmers organizations in IFAD missions (programme of visits) would give more visibility to the partnership and would help in promoting dialogue between farmers organizations and the government on project implementation. Mohamed Beavogui, Director of West and Central IFAD division IFAD support to capacity-building Economic dimension of capacity-building. All farmers organization representatives stressed that, while they had strived to develop advocacy and lobbying capacities with some positive results, their priority was now to meet members demand for economic services to help them in integrating profitable value chains, accessing inputs and financial resources, marketing their produce, creating added value through transformation and complying with quality norms, among others. This in turn also required strengthening organizational capacities e.g. for supporting cooperative development, arranging for collective purchase of inputs or marketing and legalizing informal groups. Examples were given in which IFAD still focuses its support on production without ensuring access to markets. Another major concern is the need for farmers organizations to generate their own resources and to decrease dependency on external financing sources. The linkages between developing economic strength and gaining political legitimacy and credibility were also emphasized. Modalities for support. Farmers organizations indicated that in addressing capacities, regional and national levels had to be targeted simultaneously because they had complementary functions. They also believed that classical forms of support based on the provision of technical assistance were not always adapted to farmers. Rather, farmer-to-farmer exchange of experience, both South-South and North-South, was considered to be a very effective approach that IFAD could support. Reference was made to positive experiences in developing exchanges with Senegalese farmers organizations involved in the Agricultural Services Producer Organizations Project (PSAOP), as well as between West African and Brazilian farmers organizations. The need to involve civil servants in such exchanges of experience was also stressed. IFAD Country Programme Managers indicated that IFAD and/or national procedures may hamper farmers organizations from contracting for service provision. It was also noted that in IFAD projects, training budgets had the lowest disbursement rate. Recommendations. The Director of the WCA Division drew the main conclusions out of the discussion in acknowledging that the priority for IFAD should be in strengthening the capacity of farmers organizations to produce more and better, and to process and 33

36 market their produce. He also indicated that IFAD support had to be shaped in line with different functions and priorities at the local, regional and national levels, and that the best way of building capacities was to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience, both positive and negative, with farmers within the region and with farmers from other continents. He stressed the importance of youth as a modernization force in the agriculture sector and the need to invest in young producers. He also recommended that IFAD review its own procedures to facilitate farmers organization contracting. Projects should also better adapt their offer to the actual demand of farmers organizations to ensure better disbursement of training budgets. In addition, representatives of farmers organizations stressed the need to ensure that women producers would also benefit from capacity-building activities. It was also recommended that revolving funds for farmers organizations be included in IFAD projects, to contribute to generating resources and decreasing financial dependency. Other areas in which to strengthen IFAD s partnership with farmers organizations Three priority areas were mentioned by representatives of farmers organizations: Regional and national farmers fora. Farmers fora should be organized in preparation for the Farmers Forum, at the regional and national levels, and they should associate with other sector stakeholders. Land grabbing. Farmers organizations consider this issue as requiring urgent responses because land grabbing places overall country stability at risk. It was noted that further to the study carried out by IFAD, FAO and the International Institute for Environment and Development, voluntary guidelines for investors were being prepared. The Director of the WCA Division confirmed IFAD s readiness to stand by farmers organizations on this issue. Youth and vocational training. National, sustainable systems for vocational training of young people have to be developed, and they must take into account related farmers initiatives such as farmers universities (universités paysannes). The Director of the WCA Division affirmed that IFAD s involvement in addressing this priority would be discussed in the course of COSOP design. A member of the working group suggested that there be decentralized fora before the next global Farmers Forum to assure ownership at different regional levels and to ensure dialogue among farmers organizations, local authorities, and local economic and business communities. 34

37 2. East and Southern Africa This meeting was chaired by Ides de Willebois, Director of IFAD s East and Southern Africa Division (ESA) division and moderated by Benoit Thierry, Country Programme Manager for Madagascar and Seychelles. During this working group, three presentations were made. The first two addressed the theme of progress achieved in terms of partnerships between IFAD and farmers organizations at the national level through a grant (National Network of Farmers Groups MVIWATA, Tanzania) and a loan (Support Project for Farmers Organizations and Agricultural Service Centres - AROPA, Madagascar). The third intervention presented the progress made in terms of policy dialogue through Support to Farmers Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP) (grant to African apex farmers organizations). Presentation of MVIWATA (Tanzania) Steven Ruvuga presented the MVIWATA project ( ), which he is coordinating until its conclusion in The project focuses on building the capacity of farmers groups in order to have a better impact on the planning and implementation of the national Agriculture Sector-Wide Approach (A-SWAp). The approach is targeted to: (i) train farmers leaders and groups; (ii) establish links with policy-makers; and (iii) strengthen groups and local networks in the context of district planning and implementation of the A-SWAp. The main results of the project have been: a shift of farmers mentality from passive to active with respect to district planning and implementation; increasing partnerships and dialogue at all levels including committees of the public expenditure tracking system; increasing farmers participation in committees; and the formation of farmers networks. Although the presentation underlined the efficiency of the project, it also emphasized the two mindsets that hindered its progress: public services decide everything without consulting farmers; and the government has to do things for them, for which it is considered important to have a long-term commitment. Steven Ruvuga also stressed the role that apex farmers organizations can play in providing capacity-building support to grass-roots farmers groups. Presentation of AROPA (Madagascar) Solofo Andrianajahatratra, President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Madagascar, presented the activities in the IFAD-supported project AROPA and described the process which led to AROPA and the loan agreement. The partnership between IFAD and the farmers organizations started long before AROPA s conception, with a small grant and the involvement of farmers organizations in the COSOP. The seed money helped to open the dialogue among farmers organizations. Thanks to the dialogue with farmers organizations, the importance of having an inclusive National Umbrella of Farmers organizations became clear. The dialogue between the National Umbrella and the government led to AROPA: a loan of US$20 million over ten years. The project provides services to farmers organizations, from grass roots to apex level, but also to the Chamber of Agriculture. 35

38 The Agricultural Services Centres (Centres de Services Agricoles - CSAs) that are put in place by apex farmers organizations aim to resolve farmers lack of agricultural services. CSAs enable the link to be made between farmers and intermediaries/ middlemen and operators. CSAs have started a consultation with the farmers organizations but also with farmers who do not belong to farmers organizations. From the perspective of AROPA, the key elements for successful partnership are: support for the organization of national elections leading to better representation and legitimacy of apex farmers organizations and Chamber of Agriculture leaders; institutional support and strengthening of the department of the Ministry of Agriculture for better anchoring and coordination of support activities to farmers organizations; mid-term support (ten years) to farmers organizations for the implementation of policies/strategies. From the perspective of farmers organizations, the key elements are: increased direct funding of farmers organization initiatives; development of knowledge management of agricultural development relevant for farmers organizations; promotion of farmer leaders, especially among women and youth. Presentation of SFOAP Doug Taylor-Freeme, President of Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), presented the SFOAP, a three-year programme that started in November 2009 thanks to a large grant (Euro 5 million) by the European Union and IFAD support in the amount of US$1.5 million. The grant funding request resulted in a four-year programme ( ) covering 36 farmers organizations at the national level, four regional networks and a pan-african Platform. SFOAP has two main objectives: to empower farmers organizations by strengthening their capacities through regional farmers organizations; and to strengthen the role played by farmers organizations in policy and programme development. Three-quarters of the programme components are devoted to institutional development, and one-quarter to involvement in policy processes. The first year of the programme (2009) has seen the following results: Increased organizational capacity: Six farmers organizations established permanent offices, 14 are to recruit new professional staff; training on project management and accounting has already been provided. Improved membership relations: Support to the governing bodies of farmers organizations, including development of constitutional texts and holding statutory meetings, has contributed to improved institutional structures-there is increased communication and transparency between the national farmers organizations platforms and their members. Policy dialogue: Most of the programme will be developing activities in 2010 (e.g. the major study on competition for land is being prepared by SACAU and to be discussed at the Policy Conference on March). Recommendations. It was clear from the three presentations that farmers organizations can take the lead in terms of developing programmes based on their needs. 36

39 The discussion that followed focused on identifying suitable ways to improve IFAD collaboration with farmers organizations and providing concrete recommendations. The following recommendations were made to IFAD: Promote inclusive dialogue among governments, farmers organizations and civil society (NGOs). Include farmers organizations in IFAD s Country Programme Management Teams (policy dialogue). Include farmers organizations in COSOP and project design teams. Engage farmers organizations in project implementation and supervision. Support farmers organizations to provide more commercial services to their members. 3. Near East, North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe The working group was chaired by Nadim Khouri, Director of the Near East and North Africa Division of IFAD (NEN), and attended by farmers organizations from Armenia, Jordan, Morocco, The Sudan and Tunisia, as well as international farmers organizations. It was also attended by the NENA staff and other IFAD staff members. The first part of the working group session was devoted to a presentation of IFAD s work in the region, which includes 43 ongoing projects in 16 countries with US$600 million in loans and US$26 million in grants. The key thematic areas of IFAD s programme in the region are: management of natural resources (land and water); increasing agricultural production and productivity; community-based and area-based rural development; income-generation activities; rural financial services. Thematic areas of IFAD-funded projects in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States are: rural financial services; market linkages for rural smallholders (supply chain management); non-farm rural economy through support of small-medium enterprises; commercially-derived infrastructure. The presentation provided examples of collaboration between IFAD and farmers organizations in , including in country strategy formulation, project design and implementation and capacity-building. After the presentation, the working group discussed progress achieved in collaboration between IFAD and farmers organizations, and took note of IFAD s work programme for the coming three years. Farmers organizations raised the following priority areas for them and their members: improving access to rural finance; supporting marketing and access to markets; enhancing value-addition in agriculture and value chain management; 37

40 improving water management and access to water resources; adapting to climate change; supporting women s organizations and improving women s direct access to natural and financial resources; engaging rural youth and improving employment opportunities in agriculture; improving the enabling environment and governance systems for member-based farmers organizations. During the discussion, a number of lessons learned emerged from the ongoing collaboration: Farmers organizations can influence government policies on natural resource management, and the partnership between IFAD and farmers organizations can be effective in improving and formulating national policies and strategies. Farmer unions and national farmers organizations are often dominated by advocates of the interests of larger farmers (or better-off agricultural zones) and need to increase their responsiveness to poorer, small-scale farmers in marginal areas. IFAD listened to recommendations made by farmers organizations and discussed opportunities for future cooperation. The recommendations made are as follows: Define specific programmes and projects for collaboration, taking into account previous successes and adapting technical and institutional innovations to the specific region, country or site. Build on existing institutions that have a proven track record and governance system that is resilient and self-reliant (not project-driven), in order to ensure sustainability. Ensure that future programmes address the needs of women and youth, where possible through grant funding. Collaborate with and support networks of farmers organizations, building their capacity and promoting knowledge sharing and access to information. Ensure that small-scale farmers are included. Ensure that farmers organizations collaborating in IFAD-financed projects are member-driven and representative of farmers. Work with different types of farmers organizations and not only Nadim Khouri, Director of Near East, North those that are state-supported (e.g. informal, pastoralist, fishers). Africa, Central and Eastern Europe Assess different registration possibilities (e.g. as professional associations) to avoid political labelling or political interference. Seek to ensure that the regulatory framework promotes member-driven, not-for-profit, self-help farmers organizations. IFAD committed to continue to pursue the engagement of farmers organizations in the following countries: Armenia (with a focus on supporting market studies and web-based farmer information systems); Syrian Arab Republic (with a focus on capacity-building and development funds for herders associations); Azerbaijan and Moldova (with a focus on supporting water users and producers associations); and Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and The Sudan (in project design and implementation). 38

41 Participants committed to explore possibilities for supporting farmers organizations institutionally, in relation to specific country activities mentioned and to supporting farmers organizations to improve governance, with a view to ensuring inclusiveness of small-scale farmers and enhancing the capabilities of farmers organizations to respond to their needs. The participants also agreed to seek an increase in the participation of farmers organizations from the NENA and CEN regions in future events, so that farmers voices from the regions can be heard at these fora. 4. Latin America and the Caribbean The meeting was chaired by the Director of IFAD s Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Division, Josephina Stubbs. It was attended by IFAD staff working in the region, the leaders of regional and national farmers organizations and observers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was introduced by Paolo Silveri, IFAD Country Programme Manager in LAC, who proposed two main dimensions to shape the discussion: the project dimension and the political dimension. Participants provided recommendations reflecting the two dimensions in which they interact with IFAD. The recommendations made to IFAD were as follows: Project level (i.e. via loans to the governments) IFAD should find viable forms to consult effectively with the organizations in two different instances during the elaboration of the COSOP and during the project design always ensuring the active participation of both women and youth in the consultation process. IFAD should promote capacity-building, giving priority to women and youth, with a two-fold objective: to provide the necessary capacities in project implementation (e.g. technical assistance); and to improve the organizations capacity to advocate in political dialogue. Using the projects, IFAD should support family farmers access to priority resources, including land, water, finance and technologies. Using the projects, IFAD should facilitate compliance with phyto-sanitary and other norms, so as to assure family farmers access to and permanence in the markets (in particular, the institutional markets). IFAD should improve the efficiency of withdrawals and other administrative procedures, and continue with the direct execution of the funds to the organizations. Policy level (grants to governments and/or organizations) Rely on IFAD as a partner for farmers organizations as they introduce and maintain in the political dialogue the idea that family farming contributes effectively to food security. Support through grants to organizations that promote political dialogue with governments. In particular, these donations should focus on organizations that build on an equal participation of women and youth. 39

42 Support, via ongoing or new initiatives, the advocacy work of the organizations with governments, with the objective of influencing the portion of the national budget allocated to family agriculture, and to ensure the proper implementation of national or, where they exist, regional public policies. Guarantee the full and active participation of family producers organizations, not only involved in agriculture and livestock production but also in traditional local fishery (pesca artesanal), agricultural tourism, organic agriculture, handicrafts production and including rural workers. Promote the participation of farmers organizations in political processes, especially concerning national positions towards international trade negotiations. Continue to support ongoing initiatives that have proven to be successful in enhancing political dialogue between farmers organizations and governments. A concern was raised in the plenary about expanding support to the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union beyond the Caribbean to the rest of Latin America. In this regard, it was suggested that IFAD continue supporting the monitoring of the EPA in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). A representative from La Via Campesina added that it does not support the EPA between the European Union and Central America. 5. Asia and the Pacific The meeting was chaired by the Director of Asia and Pacific Division of IFAD, Thomas Elhaut. It was attended by IFAD staff working in the region, representatives of regional and national farmers organizations in the region as well as observers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was introduced by Sana Jatta, IFAD Country Programme Manager, who proposed two issues for discussion: IFAD-farmers organization partnerships; and progress on the medium-term cooperation programme for capacity-building of farmers organizations in Asia. With respect to partnerships, the working group noted that while involvement of farmers organizations in consultations has improved, the quality of participation in these consultations and other IFAD projects needs to be strengthened. Farmers organizations can take on greater responsibilities when participating. In IFAD projects where there is a component for farmers organizations, this can be handled by partner farmers organizations and NGOs, who can come to the table on equal terms with the government. Farmers organizations participating in a project can also hold their own knowledge-learning marketing activities. However, they need support for the implementation of activities. It was also noted that IFAD should maintain some flexibility in project design, to ensure project activities are what the farmers really need. In this regard, fishers should be more involved in consultations, more attention should be given to nuances in sector categories (e.g. Nepal women) and a strong focus should be placed on young farmers. The working group concluded that empowerment of farmers organizations means that they are able to conduct farmer-driven extension, engage in agri-based enterprises (especially by youth), articulate their voices and gain support from the government. 40

43 Discussions then turned to progress made in the Medium-term Cooperation Programme, which was characterized as an Asian version of the bottom-up process of the Farmers Forum that is being piloted in ten countries in Southeast and South Asia and China. Several examples of progress were given: Contracts were signed by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAORAP) in December In South Asia, implementation has started and funds have arrived. In Southeast Asia, the recruitment phase for the Regional Programme has begun; it is hoped that the Coordinator will be on board by March The working group highlighted the need for the programme to be farmer-driven and inclusive, through regional and subregional steering committees comprised of farmers organizations. The group also stressed the need for women to be strongly represented. A question was raised in plenary as to where NGOs fit into the Programme. Estrella Penunia Banzuela explained that support groups are very important. She cited a number of activities in the Medium-term Cooperation Programme profiling and mapping of farmers groups, policy research and capacity-building in which the support of NGOs may be needed. However, she emphasized that the kind of support needed, and the provider of that support, are decisions that will be made by farmers organizations that are part of the steering committee at the national, subregional and regional levels. 41

44 42 IFAD/Pablo Corral Vega

45 Section 5: Thematic Discussions (regional groups) On the morning of Tuesday, 16 February, the Forum s participants broke into four regional groups to discuss the main issues or problems related to the four following themes: (i) the role of farmers organizations in value chain development and how to scale up success stories (West and Central Africa); (ii) how to promote access to markets for smallholder farmers (East and Southern Africa); (iii) policy and family farming: differentiated policies and investment programmes for smallholder agriculture (Latin America and the Caribbean); and (iv) how to promote food security and smallholder agriculture in a context of growing competition for land and other natural resources (Asia and the Pacific). The groups were also requested to focus discussions on their expectations from IFAD. The main discussion points and recommendations of each thematic group were reported to the plenary and are presented in the subsections that follow. Other professionals have great bargaining power and that has been their greatest weapon, but a small-scale farmer does not have these negotiating skills and other competencies. One of the issues that needs to be taken into consideration in the value chain is the need for small-scale farmers to have such bargaining power. King-David Amoah, FONG 1. The role of farmers organizations in value chain development and how to scale up success stories (West and Central Africa) The meeting was attended by the Director of IFAD s WCA Division, the President and Secretary General of ROPPA, representatives of national farmers organizations, IFAD Country Programme Managers as well as observers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was introduced by Norman Messer, IFAD Country Programme Manager, who raised several questions: Capacity-building: How can we reconcile the need to produce fast results and enable farmers organizations to connect to markets that are already organized, with different time requirements for building the capacities of farmers groups, particularly the poorer ones? Legal forms: What are the most appropriate legal forms for farmers organizations? Types of intervention: What are the most appropriate forms for supporting farmers integration in value chains are micro projects targeting farmers appropriate or should projects target a larger range of stakeholders within the value chain? Targeting vulnerable groups: How do we ensure that poor farmers can also benefit from a value chain approach? Governance: What type of governance should be promoted for value chains and what should farmers organizations role be therein? 43

46 Farmers organizations representatives expressed a common concern that participating in value chains should not be done at the cost of crop diversification, which constitutes smallholders main strategy to minimize risk. They mentioned several cases where projects had induced farmers to focus their efforts on one single cash crop, which had caused them to neglect their food crops and eventually left them with no income because there had been no market or because they had had to sell at a low price. More positive examples were also provided, where integration of smallholders in value chains had opened market access and had led to an increase in both income and food security. Several NGOs pointed out that where the value chain approach had not brought positive results, it was due to farmers lack of market power and poor ability to negotiate with traders. The response to this imbalance in power and resources was not to reject value chains, which were shaping market access, but rather to strengthen farmers organizations so that they could be better integrated into the whole chain from input supply to marketing, develop collective marketing and contracting, and improve their position in negotiations with traders and other stakeholders. A general recommendation made by farmers organizations was to support smallholders in participating in value chains and in strengthening their organizations to access profitable markets, yet preserving diversification and selecting value chains that could induce positive effects on other productions. Farmers organizations also stressed that, whereas participating in value chain negotiations required specialized organizations, they were organized in global platforms that covered all farming activities. They emphasized the need to focus capacity-building efforts on farmers platforms rather than on creating specialized organizations, because platforms emanating from farmers themselves were able to build up strength by maintaining cohesion, and better reflected the concerns of smallholders. They discussed the merits of inter-professions as a way to cluster all stakeholders in a value chain and to facilitate the negotiation by farmers organizations with other value chain actors. Several representatives considered that such a model was imposed on them even when they had not yet gained sufficient strength to interact with other stakeholders, which prevented them from gaining any concrete benefit from their involvement in interprofessions. Yet a positive example was offered from Tunisia, where local platforms of fishers had grouped together to gain power in value chains and obtain a better share of the value added along the value chain. IFAD s Director for WCA confirmed IFAD s readiness to support platform capacity-building and expansion so that such platforms could better negotiate with value chain actors, reap increased benefits out of their participation in inter-professions and improve smallholders revenue. He concluded the meeting by calling upon farmers organizations to help IFAD in designing good programmes. A number of the working group participants reiterated the need to strengthen the power and the capability of smallholders, particularly from an organizational point of view, so that smallholders have a say in pricing, for example. The need for smallholders to be able to diversify, industrialize and sell in other markets was also mentioned. 44

47 2. How to promote access to markets for smallholder farmers (East and Southern Africa) This meeting was chaired by Ides de Willebois, Director of IFAD s ESA Division, and moderated by Benoit Thierry, Country Programme Manager for Madagascar and Seychelles. The meetings began with two presentations, one on National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM) Malawi and the other by a ESA regional economist. A summary of the presentations follows. Presentation of NASFAM Malawi by Alice Kachere (Board Chairperson, NASFAM) NASFAM, which is the largest farmers organization in Malawi, started as a project in 1994 known as the Smallholder Agribusiness Development Project and was legally registered in This presentation explained how NASFAM provides economic services to its members, including: organizing the smallholder sector; building the capacity of smallholder farmers to access markets; increasing participation of smallholder farmers in markets; and influencing pricing on the domestic market. Alice Kachere, NASFAM It also presented marketing as a real business for smallholders, giving a concrete example with the fair trade market for groundnuts, for which NASFAM works on: (i) production research and development; (ii) agronomic and post-harvest training; (iii) testing for Aflatoxin contamination from field and warehouse samples; and (iv) further sampling and testing of products before containerization and shipment. The presentation concluded with issues that remained to be addressed. These include: (i) building smallholder farmers capacities in production; (ii) moving smallholder farmers up the value chain (value addition); (iii) ensuring that market access does not supersede market protection; (iv) developing and managing tools and structures for marketing (e.g. warehouses); (v) providing access to finance and business services; and (vi) supporting participatory policy development or formulation and implementation. The questions raised during the discussion following the presentation were mainly concerned with the Agricultural Input Public Subsidy programme to see whether the subsidy programme is providing benefits to grass-roots farmers. Despite the burdensome cost of the programme, it has contributed to reducing hunger among poor farmers. Presentation by Geoffrey Livingstone, Regional Economist for ESA The presentation revolved around the questions of how access to markets can be promoted to smallholder farmers and why agricultural marketing associations are often failing in that regard. Volatility of product prices, difficulties in post-harvest handling and quality control were identified as the key reasons for that failure. The presentation underlined that the problem is mainly an issue of organizational weakness rather than technical problems. The underlying causes of such organizational failure are linked to the fact that cooperatives are often project-driven and farmers are not sufficiently consulted beforehand. In most cases, agricultural marketing cooperatives hold discussions with farmers only long after the agricultural marketing association has been established. Once the cooperatives are established there is generally insufficient attention given to 45

48 project education, information and training. This is manifested by an extremely weak understanding of the rights, obligations and benefits of association membership. As a result, there is a very weak sense of ownership by association which leads these associations to have little understanding of the market dynamics of a particular value chain, little knowledge of the financial situation of the cooperatives, a disconnect between regular membership and the management committee, and distrust of commercial transactions. Suggestions for a way forward are to: realize that farmers are businesspeople; provide education and training for marketing opportunities; develop associations at the early stages of value chain development; provide training on financial services and the implications of obtaining a loan from a commercial bank; establish a cooperative trainer within the association on a semi-permanent basis; ensure good corporate governance within the association and linkages between the membership and its management. The discussion following the presentations was oriented around three questions: What are the challenges confronted by smallholder farmers when they try to gain access to markets? How can these challenges be overcome and what is the role of farmers organizations? What can IFAD do in terms of partnership with farmers organizations to support access to markets for smallholders in general and farmers organizations in particular? The future belongs to the organized. Philip Kiriro, EAFF What are the challenges confronted by smallholder farmers when they try to gain access to markets? Four main challenges were identified: rural infrastructure; market information; autonomy of farmers; and lack of a cooperative movement in East and Southern Africa. In order to address these challenges, it was suggested that IFAD invest in feeder roads and other rural infrastructure such as markets, storage facilities and cold storage, for smallholders but also for their organizations. IFAD could provide seed money to enable farmers organizations at the country level to provide tangible benefits to their members. Regarding market information, it was recommended that IFAD provide support to information centres, and to develop information systems using new technologies through, for example, mobile connections. Since farmers are often dispersed throughout a territory, IFAD could support farmers organizations in getting together around specific commodities/crops, thus creating opportunities for collective marketing. Finally, as associations are often created by governments and around specific crops, it was suggested that IFAD orient its interventions towards giving autonomy to farmers to create their own structures. Re-establishing a cooperative movement in the region and rebuilding the image of farm cooperatives could help address this specific challenge. 46

49 How can these challenges be overcome and what is the role of farmers organizations? The working group identified some suggestions for IFAD to address these challenges: create platforms of exchange between sellers and buyers along the value chain in order to develop farmers awareness of marketing opportunities, which will help match supply and demand; develop business centres; promote cross-border trade; strengthen the market of service providers; help national farmers organizations to provide economic services to their members. What can IFAD do in terms of partnership with farmers organizations to support access to markets for smallholders in general and farmers organizations in particular? During the discussion it was noted that until 2004, ESA had little awareness of the existence of apex farmers organizations in the region, even though some farmers organizations had been established in 1946 (e.g. the Kenya National Federation of Agricultural Producers - KENFAP). In fact, the East and Southern Africa region includes a large variety of producers organizations that are set up either by commodity (e.g. coffee associations) and/or more generally as farmers organizations. It was suggested that IFAD devote more attention to fostering its work with farmers organizations at the country level. The working group formulated five recommendations for IFAD: play the role of broker to help engage farmers organizations in large government-led programmes, as in the case of A-SWAp in the United Republic of Tanzania; help structure and promote the self-sustainability of farmers organizations at the national level to provide economic services to their members; work with farmers organizations to reduce the risks associated with marketing for example, by promoting market insurance adaptable to their needs; work on decentralizing financing since the flow of funds typically goes from the centre to regions; support the development of the advocacy capacity of farmers organizations. Members of the working group made a number of remarks after the summary was presented in the plenary. The relationship between smallholder farmers and agribusiness needs to be facilitated by deliberate government policy. Leaving the relationship to the market is not a solution because of economies of scale. This circles back to strong farmers organizations and policy space to advocate. In addition, the strengthening of service provision should not be limited to farmers organizations. Other service providers government extension, research, clusters in the private sector are equally important. The idea is to have a proper balance that enables farmers to access markets and to efficiently produce for the markets. In this regard, regional markets should not be undervalued. However, the opportunities for cross-border trade need to be better understood by small farmers in order for them to be part of the process. Multinationals and small farmers were also mentioned. A positive approach to this relationship involves multinationals establishing a large-scale value-adding plant for a 47

50 certain commodity, but engages the farmers to grow said commodity. However, this approach must include genuine consultation between the manufacturing concern and the farmers, including women farmers. Moreover, farmers should not be consulted individually, but rather through their organizations, which have a stronger voice. 3. Policy and family farming: differentiated policies and investment programmes for smallholder agriculture (Latin America and the Caribbean) The meeting was attended by the Director of LAC Division, representatives of the MERCOSUR Specialized Meeting on Family Farming (REAF) and of national farmers organizations, IFAD Country Programme Managers as well as observers from governmental and non-governmental organizations. It was introduced by a presentation of REAF given by Paolo Silveri. The MERCOSUR is composed of four full members (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), two associate members (the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile) and one country application for full membership (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela). It is a regional common market with growing political convergences. Family farming accounts for approximately 85 per cent of the total regional agriculture and livestock farms. The average size of a family farm is 25 hectares and about 60 per cent of the rural population works on family farms. Family farming represents 35 per cent of primary production and produces about 65 per cent of the region s food consumption. The process of a Specialized Meeting on Family Farming was initiated by a promoting member country (Brazil), initially supported by Argentina. The REAF creation was based on two key objectives: (i) facilitate trade; and (ii) create converging space for differential policies. To facilitate the sustainability of the process and the recognition at the country and MERCOSUR levels that policy dialogue between governments and civil society is possible and can be effective, a MERCOSUR Regional Fund (FAF) was established by governments to ensure the continuity of the process for an initial period of five years ( ). A permanent agenda has been set up, which includes family farming among the policy priorities at the country and MERCOSUR levels. COPROFAM coordinates the main organizations representing family farming in those countries, and a network of regional contacts has been established to support the process. The main achievements of the process were regional government s structural changes aiming at adequately implementing differential policies for family farming (Argentina and Uruguay) and the creation of regional programmes: a regional training programme for rural youth already implemented; and a regional programme on gender equality under implementation. During the debate that followed the presentation, the REAF was recognized as an effective policy dialogue experience for elaborating public policies, and for convening meetings between governments and civil society organizations in their respective countries and then in the MERCOSUR regional space. It makes design and implementation of differential public policies for the family farming sector possible. 48

51 It has given family farming visibility, in terms of its specific needs (for differential policies), and of its economic (provision of domestic markets), social (food security, land settlement) and environmental (biodiversity) potential. And it has helped generate trust between governments and family farming organizations, with changes in interaction modalities. Reference was made to a similar process in Central America the Regional Rural Dialogue Programme created in the context of the Dominican Republic-Central America free trade agreement where the same observations were made regarding the impact on policy dialogue and the involvement of farmers organizations. The programme has made it possible for family farming organizations to be integrated into regional bodies; it has underlined the importance of the family farming sector and of its organizations in regional food security. The participants in the meeting highlighted a number of challenges: There are no substantive achievements yet in the areas of trade integration and in the integration of differential policies into the macroeconomic policies at the country level. Better communication to civil society is needed regarding the achievements of the policy dialogue process. Translating policy and institutional changes into major investments (public and private) in favour of family farming needs to be increased. Governments commitments must be better consolidated into state policies to ensure sustainability of the results achieved by the process. We can maintain autonomy with respect to governments; the REAF creates an important space for effective dialogue without being co-opted by governments. Alessandra Da Costa Lunas Santos, COPROFAM 4. How to promote food security and smallholder agriculture in a context of growing competition for land and other natural resources (Asia and the Pacific) The event brought together representatives of about 15 farmers organizations from the region and regional/global farmers and producers organizations active in the region. Also present were Thomas Elhaut, IFAD s Director for the Asia and the Pacific Region, a number of IFAD Country Programme Managers in the Asia and the Pacific Division, and other interested partners both within and outside of IFAD. The session was chaired by Sana F. K. Jatta, Country Programme Manager and focal point for IFAD s partnerships with farmers organizations in the Asia and the Pacific region. The projection of a video documentary on the struggles of some farming communities for their land drew the audience s attention to the experiences of, and the lessons learned from, the Sumilao and Negros farmers campaigning for the full implementation of the provisions of the recently promulgated Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme Extension with Reforms law in the Philippines. The documentary showed how a well-coordinated and strong civil society and mass mobilization successfully protected some irrigable land in the Sumilao community from being converted, despite powerful private commercial interests that sometimes persecute with impunity. 49

52 The presentation of the preliminary findings of an ongoing International Land Coalition (ILC)-IFAD study on land-related investments in Asia provided an overview of the ongoing phenomenon. In particular, it pointed out that the regional context is characterized by declining public spending in agriculture, coupled with reduced overseas development assistance. The examples of Pakistan, Malaysia, India and Indonesia, among others, show how such a trend has generated an investment gap that many governments are trying to fill with private (local and foreign) investments. As demonstrated by the rise of Foreign Direct Investments in Asia (which are often intra-regional), this situation is making agricultural lands more and more vulnerable to commercial exploitation by other sectors for example, tourism and energy. Among the main negative reported impacts, the study highlighted that very often the land targeted by private investors is not unoccupied, which opens the way to conflicts, displacement of farmers, and deprivation of livelihoods. The consequences include environmental impacts that could have negative consequences if due care is not taken by investors. In some parts of Asia the issue is particularly critical since some investments, like the large-scale expansion of palm oil plantations in some countries, have reportedly led to deforestation. The issues and particular challenges that emerged during the plenary discussions are summarized below: Implementation of existing laws and policies: It was noted that in many Asian countries, agrarian reform is reflected in national policies and legislations, but is often not implemented, or inadequately so. Some cases were cited by representatives of farmers organizations where adequate laws do exist in a number of key areas in their countries, like conservation of agricultural lands, but these lack proper implementation follow-up. In addition, foreign private companies are sometimes allowed and even invited to invest in land for the production of cash crops, thereby creating imbalances that directly undermine the ability of local farmers to produce enough food to cover local demand. Consequently, it was recommended that a new agrarian reform be adopted inspired by experiences from models successfully implemented in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea. Lack of policy consistency within countries: Several cases of policy conflicts include situations where, on the one hand, there is a strong commitment to forest preservation but, on the other, large tracts of forest land are sold to foreign investors for commercial purposes. Similar conflicts exist in some countries between mining laws, often exploited by large corporations, and the agrarian reform laws that are supposed to encourage better access by indigenous peoples to their ancestral domains. International trading relations: Some participants expressed concerns about the unequal power relations between the players in the global and national market economy, which makes those markets inefficient and uncompetitive. One participant even raised concerns about the risk of an apparent imperialist colonization of agricultural lands in developing countries by transnational companies that promote the use of potentially dangerous pesticides and other chemicals, and the growing of genetically modified crops for quick profit. 50

53 Smallholder agriculture and unequal power relations: It was reaffirmed that smallholder farmers can produce enough food to meet local supply. Accordingly, it was noted that the focus should be on empowering farmers, especially small farmers, to negotiate on an equal footing with powerful commercial interests (large corporations and governments) interested in accessing their lands for increased food production and incomes. The question therefore is how to establish win-win-win partnerships with investors in agricultural production through appropriately designed business models that protect the interest of the farmers. Food sovereignty: Many participants requested that farmers be given control over the food production process. In particular, some participants believe the practice of mono-cropping should be discouraged and replaced by diversified farming systems that should include practices like organic farming. The role of national governments: It was noted that many large-scale investments cannot happen without government support. Therefore, advocacy is needed with governments to play responsible leadership roles in investments in agriculture rather than letting the national private sector or foreign direct investors usurp that role. Agricultural policies: Policies protecting farmers have reportedly been reduced in some countries by removing subsidies for farmers, which has led to major difficulties in increasing agricultural production, especially when coupled with low investments in agriculture by central governments. In some countries, food self-sufficiency is undermined by too much focus on export-oriented agriculture. Coastal lands: In some countries, especially those with long coast lines, coastal lands are being targeted by private companies for commercial interests, such as sugar cane production. Some of the examples cited have reportedly negatively affected the livelihood of fishers living in the affected areas. Co-existence of smallholder agriculture and commercial agriculture: Despite aversion towards big international corporations, agribusiness and mono-cropping by some people, the deliberations at the session highlighted the need to facilitate the co-existence of both production models in a way that enables them to mutually strengthen each other. The following are the main recommendations put forth by the participants: a global policy for regulating large-scale investments on land, including the finalization and subsequent enforcement of the bottom-up voluntary guidelines initiated by FAO; an agricultural production system based on the protection of biodiversity and the environment and on the empowerment of rural farming communities as equal partners and stakeholders; involvement of farmers organizations in all stages of decision-making, leading to regulations and laws that will safeguard land access rights; South-South cooperation, particularly between farmers organizations, in addition to North-South cooperation, which can be facilitated though the Farmers Forum; 51

54 more effort to design and implement different models of partnerships between farmers and large-scale investors that can lead to a win-win situation; support for a global code of conduct for investors in agriculture to ensure that unscrupulous investors, who are few, will not exploit the situation in countries that have weak land governance systems. The FAO representative, Paul Mathieu, announced the release of a study jointly sponsored by FAO, IFAD, the International Institute for Environment and Development, and the Swiss Development Cooperation, analysing various collaborative arrangements between large-scale investors and local smallholders, such as diverse forms of contract farming, joint ventures, management contracts, and new value chain relationships and partnerships. Key conclusions of the study include the acknowledgement that none of these models can be identified as the single solution. The context is fundamental, and I would very much like to thank negotiations are strongly characterized by power asymmetries between IFAD for organizing the Farmers investors, local or central government units, and local farmers. Forum. I go to a lot of international The report noted two fundamental preconditions for any investment meetings around the world, and partnership model to be equitable: symmetry in access to information; this one is music to my ears in and secure land rights of the poor. In light of the centrality of land terms of the quality of the debate governance rather than land acquisitions per se as necessary to a and the quality of the people engaged in the debate... and the successful win-win partnership, FAO has been engaged in developing a importance of smallholders rather set of Voluntary Guidelines for Good Governance in Land and Natural than of consolidating land and Resource Tenure, through a fully consultative process with a strong having larger acreage and fewer inclusion of civil society organizations. people on that land. In conclusion, Thomas Elhaut emphasized the important role of farmers organizations in addressing the challenges raised by Andre Leu, IFOAM large-scale investments in land by private corporations and investors. He encouraged the representatives of farmers organizations to continue being vigilant in the implementation of large-scale investments in land in their countries, but also to continue constructively engaging investors as equal partners for the benefit of their farmer members. He confirmed IFAD s willingness to facilitate further consultations on large-scale investments on land during 2010 and beyond. Such consultations will be based on the conclusions of the ongoing study commissioned by the ILC, with the support of IFAD s Asia and the Pacific Division, on the commercial pressures on land in a number of countries in the region. 52

55 54 IFAD/Susan Beccio

56 Section 6: Synthesis of Deliberations The Synthesis At the end of the plenary discussions, a synthesis of deliberations was drafted and presented to the Farmers Forum participants, IFAD management and representatives of member governments who were present at this final session. This was the first time that member governments were invited to participate in this session of the Farmers Forum. The synthesis was endorsed by the Steering Committee of the Farmers Forum and by the farmers organization representatives. It was read to the plenary session of the Governing Council of IFAD on 17 February by Alphonsine Nguba Ngiengo of the Confederation Paysanne du Congo (COPACO-PRP), who is a member of the Farmers Forum Steering Committee. The synthesis follows in its entirety. Agriculture around the world is not a priority. Thanks to IFAD, in this Forum we the farmers have an opportunity to discuss these issues and produce a declaration to submit to governments. In other fora we could maximize our potential as well, not by being observers but by actually dialoguing with governments. We should look into doing this. Pedro Rafael Alegria Moncada, La Via Campesina (Honduras) Synthesis of the Deliberations at the third Farmers Forum held in conjunction with the Thirty-third Session of the Governing Council of IFAD February 2010 Your Excellencies, Distinguished Governors of IFAD, Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen: We the participants in the Farmers Forum, representing millions of small- and mediumscale family farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers, worked over the last four days for the third meeting of the Farmers Forum at IFAD and agree on the following synthesis of our deliberations. Since the Farmers Forum last convened two years ago, the world has experienced multiple crises, exacerbated by the global recession and climate change. More people are poor and hungry. We mark the words of the President of IFAD at the opening of our Forum, who said that these crises alerted the world to the importance of developing agriculture as a source of economic growth and political stability... investment in rural development and serious attention to the role of poor rural women and men in agricultural growth, and particularly the role that smallholders play across the world, must be central to government policies and their development agendas. We acknowledge the significance of family agriculture in the world and we uphold the campaign for the UN Declaration of the International Year of Family Farming. We are witnessing all over the world an increasing competition for land and water, with rising land concentration and large-scale land acquisition by transnational corporations and local elites. These practices result in exclusion of people from land and water resources, the fundamental resources on which we rely as food producers. This includes our fishery resources, which are being increasingly depleted. It is important to continue promoting the engagement of farmers organizations for the 55

57 development of the Voluntary Guidelines for Governance of Land and Other Natural Resources as a follow-up to the ICARRD [International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development] Conference. We want agriculture to be controlled by us, the very people who cultivate the land and are feeding the world. There is no effective response to the challenges of food security for all, eradication of extreme poverty and mitigation of climate change without more and better investment in our farms and rural communities and more supportive policies for rural development. Country leadership and ownership of development policies have been recognized by the international community as a fundamental principle. But country ownership in agricultural and rural development must go beyond ownership by our governments and administration. Therefore as legitimate and autonomous membership-based producers organizations, we claim our duty and rights to be part of the design, implementation and evaluation of these rural development policies and programmes that are benefiting not only our rural communities, but our urban fellow citizens who rely on the food we produce. Partnership between IFAD and farmers organizations in country programmes. We note and highly appreciate the real progress in the consultation and partnership between IFAD, governments and our organizations since the creation of the Farmers Forum, and in particular over the last two years. We agree with the President of IFAD that IFAD s partnerships with the farmers organizations have improved IFAD s own understanding of rural poverty, that they have enabled IFAD to ensure a greater focus on the smaller and poorer farmers, and that they have also benefited from the local and indigenous knowledge and experience, which in turn have resulted in better projects and more sustainable benefits to smallholders. At the same time, we recognize that we need to do more and better to deepen this partnership. In order to seize all of the opportunities offered by a more inclusive participation of rural producers, we need time and resources to consult. We provide the following recommendations to IFAD: Extend the partnership to all countries where IFAD is operating, taking into account the diversity of the organizations of poor rural people. Systematically include at least one national apex organization in the IFAD Country Programme Management Team in order to contribute to the steering of the IFAD country programme (COSOP formulation, project and programme design and implementation, policy dialogue and other initiatives). Create a flexible, demand-led facility within IFAD s budget for facilitating the participation of farmers organizations in the COSOP and the project cycle. Develop operational guidelines to support the systematic engagement of farmers organizations at country level; in particular in the monitoring and implementation of IFAD programmes. Ensure that the already strong practice of consultation with farmers organizations is systematized; in this regard, IFAD and regional/international farmers organizations could maintain a roster of organizations that should be systematically invited when IFAD is about to embark on project design. Take stock of important lessons from programmes with farmers organizations, with a view to replication and upscaling, and to promote South-South exchanges and knowledge among the farmers. (In this regard, we recommend exploring the possibility of replicating the programme Learning Routes, which was successfully implemented in Latin America.) 56

58 Monitoring and evaluation. It is recommended that M&E systems for a project be systematically open to farmers organizations, as a way for them to be able to influence projects as well as to have access to key information. The involvement of farmers organizations in the Country Programme Management Team will be the entry point to collectively monitor the outcomes and impacts of IFAD country programmes and to assess the quality of the involvement of farmers organizations. Direct support to farmers organizations. We noted and appreciate the increasing direct support that IFAD has been providing to our organizations over the years through grant funding for capacity-building programmes. We agree with IFAD that direct support to our organizations should be channelled primarily through our regional networks and federations for the sake of economies of scale and efficiency. However, direct support to national or local organizations should remain an option. As support is expanded, IFAD also expects that farmers organizations should conduct their own M&E of the benefits and impacts of such support for IFAD s target group that accrue within their own organizations, particularly in terms of economic empowerment. In addition, there should be a more systematic approach to identifying synergies between direct support to farmers organizations for capacity-building and their capacity to benefit from the larger projects supported by IFAD and governments. Synergies need to be identified between these two processes. Farmers Forum process. We reiterate our request that the Farmers Forum be an ongoing, bottom-up process of consultation, inclusive of the diversity of our organizations and respectful of our autonomy. In this regard, we recommend that each regional division of IFAD develop and implement its own plans for dialogue and consultation at country and regional levels in partnership with the members of the Steering Committee of the Forum, with the objective of organizing regional or subregional meetings of the Farmers Forum in at least five regions/subregions over the next two years, with contributions from farmers organizations. Regional division plans should be developed over the next months and submitted to the Steering Committee of the Farmers Forum for comments and validation. It is suggested that, at the regional level, the consultation be systematically linked to existing opportunities directly linked to IFAD operations in its five regions. For example: For Latin America and the Caribbean, a dedicated session should be organized each year in the context of regional integration processes, including DR CAFTA [Dominican Republic Central America Free Trade Agreement] and REAF MERCOSUR. In the other IFAD regional divisions, national farmers organizations should be invited to attend the annual Regional Implementation Workshop and an additional day should be added to the agenda to take stock and define ways of accelerating the partnership, at the national level, among IFAD, farmers organizations and national governments. It is also recommended that IFAD develop a dialogue with the NEPAD [New Partnership for Africa s Development] Secretariat with the aim of establishing a CAADP [Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme] focal point to accelerate the partnership with farmers organizations. Women in Agriculture and Farmers Organizations 2 We, women farmers, fishers and pastoralists, call attention once again to the glaring disproportion between women s roles in all aspects of agriculture across the 2 This portion of the Deliberations was pepared during the Special Session of the Farmers Forum: Preparatory workshop on promoting women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations. 57

59 developing world and the limited recognition, rights, resources and services provided to us. We also raise an alarm over the effect that climate change and the financial crisis are having on us women as they result in increased poverty and food scarcity. Because of poverty and lack of services in rural areas, our sons and daughters do not wish to be farmers and continue to migrate to urban areas. This raises a critical question: How can the profitability and sustainability of farming be secured so as to ensure a future for the next generation of women and men farmers? Effective and representative producer organizations can provide a powerful instrument to make rural women s voices heard, so that we can have a greater influence over decisions that affect our lives and livelihoods. But as of yet, our voices have been heard too rarely in our organizations. The economic empowerment of women and their increased knowledge and skills are essential preconditions to improve our status and livelihoods, and for us to be able to assume effective roles in producer organizations. We therefore urge IFAD and other donors to bring new and significant resources to support the economic empowerment of women farmers. We need these resources to strengthen our knowledge, skills and leadership in order to produce and process food more effectively and sustainably, for our families and also for the markets. We urge IFAD and other donors to direct resources to women s structures in farmers organizations and to require quotas that are respected. We also specifically call upon IFAD to: continue and increase efforts to enable women to increase their access to and control over productive assets including land and water; support the development and provision of financial services suitable to agriculture, and to enable women s incomes to grow; earmark funds, wherever feasible, for women in IFAD-funded programmes as an affirmative action measure for example, under community development funds and in training in addition to mainstreaming gender equality concerns throughout projects and programmes; use grant funding for women s capacity-building including child care facilities where needed when it is not possible to finance such activities through a loan; seek to negotiate for joint titling where IFAD-funded programmes support access to land and other kinds of property supported with legal advisory services to enable women to defend their rights; give attention to the specific situation and needs of young women, in the context of a much-needed focus on rural youth. In the context of IFAD s engagement with farmers organizations, we recommend that IFAD: open spaces for women farmer leaders to participate in country and global policy processes, and also in IFAD country strategy consultations; establish quotas for women in the design of the projects and programmes that work with farmers organizations (where possible, not less than 30 per cent, with a view to reaching 50 per cent over time), provide incentives for producer organizations to achieve the targets, and monitor their implementation; invest more grant resources in increasing the capacity of farmers organizations to address gender issues and empower women, and to strengthen women s leadership where possible channelling funds directly to women s structures within organizations; 58

60 involve women leaders of farmers organizations in the supervision and monitoring of development programmes. Finally, we note with satisfaction that the 30 per cent quota of women participants recommended at the last meeting of the Farmers Forum has been exceeded this year. We urge that the current proportion of 40 per cent be maintained in subsequent meetings, with a view to increasing it further over time. Investing in Young Farmers We all share a recognition of the urgent need to address young farmers. Our family agriculture needs to be remunerative and give dignity. Young women and men farmers access to production assets land, credit, training has to be ensured. In this regard, we recommend that IFAD: map young farmer and rural youth organizations and their networks (national and regional); hold a Farmers Forum event similar to the one held for women this year, and ensure more representation of young people in subsequent Farmers Fora; designate within IFAD a focal point for youth; hold a global workshop on youth involvement in sustainable agriculture and rural development during this year (UN Year of Youth ); mainstream youth in all IFAD policies and programmes, with a gender balance and an emphasis on developing capacity-building and enhancement programmes for rural youth to engage in sustainable food production and agriculture and rural employment; launch pilot projects supporting rural youth; organize youth exchanges for experience-sharing on best practices and learning. Once again we sincerely thank IFAD for having responded positively to our request for establishing the Farmers Forum as a unique platform for inclusive dialogue on rural development and for giving us the opportunity to address its Governing Council. I thank you for your attention. IFAD senior management responds Kevin Cleaver, Associate Vice President for Operations, IFAD responded to many of the issues brought up in the Synthesis of Deliberations. He reiterated the importance of the Farmers Forum as a means for farmers organizations to articulate their views, views that are so often missing in dialogue with governments. He underscored the poignant situation of women and children and emphasized that IFAD was eager to address this situation. He also acknowledged that farmers organizations need more direct financial and technical support and demonstrated IFAD s commitment by stating that such support quadrupled between 2008 and He also took the point that fishers and indigenous peoples cannot be neglected. Kevin Cleaver explained that IFAD is accountable to governments and that its policy actions can create the link between farmers organizations and governments, whether it is voice, capacity-building or direct investment. He stated that IFAD will continue to finance farmers organizations through projects, regionally through grants, and internationally through conferences and other fora. He also reiterated IFAD s 59

61 We will always seek permission of the government. We will try to convince them, but we cannot fight them. Kevin Cleaver, Associate Vice President for Operations, IFAD demonstrated commitment to promote the participation of farmers organizations in COSOP and project design, affirming that the quality of projects is improving precisely because of the participation of farmers organizations in project design. At the same time, he stated that such financial commitment, as well as direct supervision of projects, cannot be guaranteed for every country, as some government do not permit this. He then went on to respond to what he termed some of the more contentious issues: Land grabbing and private foreign investment: This is one of the most contentious issues today. However, private investment can be very good and very bad. IFAD believes there is a need for principles for investors to follow. Private investment is going to take place. What needs to be done is to make it beneficial and not harmful. Monitoring and evaluation: The idea of monitoring and evaluation going beyond what donors use, and being available to farmers organizations, is a sound one. If farmers organizations participate in supervision and design and know what is going on, it is more likely that outcomes will be better. Value chains: IFAD s role is to help farmers participate in what already exists. Most farmers sell their products to someone. There is an imbalance of power, and IFAD s job is to strengthen the farmers part of that equation. Trade: Some believe in import barriers, in food self-sufficiency. There is an imbalance in many free trade agreements. The degree to which IFAD can enter into this debate is limited. But IFAD s efforts will go into listening to and respecting Farmers' Organizations' views, and helping them strengthen their capacity to have influence on their governments. Kevin Cleaver concluded by stressing the importance of listening to everyone s perspective: Only in that way will we move ahead. Member governments respond The plenary floor was opened up to remarks by representatives of member governments (in particular members of the Executive Board). One predominant theme was the request for a discussion of the Synthesis of Deliberations of the Forum in the Executive Board. A summary of remarks made by member governments follows: Sweden: I have never seen this type of set-up, with farmers from all over the world, and so many women. I think all of you have the right to have a profitable agriculture. Argentina. The Synthesis of Deliberations should be transformed into a working paper for the Executive Board so that the Board can use it to respond to some of the issues. There has been a call to bring the true beneficiaries of IFAD projects closer together with governments. Those on the Board have a role in achieving this rapprochement. France. I would like to vigorously support the idea of incorporating into the Executive Board your Synthesis of Deliberations. It is important for you to pass on these ideas and make them a 60

62 working document, not just for IFAD but for IFAD s governing bodies. The document might be debateable in some of its areas, but the time is ripe for debate. You have made a quantitative and qualitative leap forward. I would very much like to be here to work with you. Guatemala. Like some of my other colleagues, I have attended the previous Farmers Fora and would like to congratulate you on the significant improvement I have seen in this event. I also think we need to incorporate the Declaration and its suggestions into our work, in order to develop a vision of what is happening in the field, and to understand the reality of the beneficiaries of IFAD programmes. United Kingdom. The notion of farmers organizations being more engaged in design, implementation and other project phases is very compelling. How to integrate that governmental circle at the operational level, where it can really mean something? How can this be done when the feedback loop is not really working? What we can do is to hold IFAD accountable for creating these feedback loops at the level where they are going to be meaningful. Canada. Direct support has clearly emerged as an important issue, most likely as a means of ensuring that the money goes to the end users. Uganda. If governments are not in line with what IFAD stands for, then IFAD can engage with governments to emphasize that farmers organizations are another actor in the value chain. Governments need IFAD to organize us, however. There is good fighting and there is bad fighting. IFAD must do the good fighting. Closing of the Farmers Forum The Farmers Forum was officially closed by Yukiko Omura, Vice President of IFAD, who praised the Forum for the many important messages conveyed in the Synthesis of Deliberations. She assured participants that IFAD would make every effort to provide support, bridge gaps and diminish imbalances. She emphasized that the unique platform of the Farmers Forum is not only about exchanging ideas and opinions, but also about working together on the ground Yukiko Omura, Vice President of IFAD to produce results for poor rural women and men. She thanked the farmers organizations for coming such great distances to share their wisdom towards a way forward. She ended her statement with a statement made by IFAD s President at the beginning of the Farmers Forum We must invest in the rural youth of today, the farmers of tomorrow and assured the Forum that IFAD would be a part of this transformation. 61

63 APPENDIX I Agenda of the Forum Special Session of the Farmers Forum Preparatory workshop on promoting women s leadership in farmers and rural producers organizations Friday, 12 February 2010 (ARAN Park Hotel) Registration of participants Introductory session getting to know each other explanation of the agenda expectations (cocktail) 19:30 Dinner for participants and external guest Saturday, 13 February 2010 (IFAD HQ) Introduction and plenary discussion - Italian Room Coffee break Group meetings (in parallel) Oval A, Oval B, C 200, C Lunch (with organic food) Plenary: Feedback from groups and discussion - Italian Room Coffee break Group meetings (in parallel) Oval A, Oval B, C 200, C Plenary: Feedback and discussion - Italian Room Plenary: Conclusion - Italian Room Sunday, 14 February 2010 (ARAN Park Hotel) Preparatory and parallel meetings of networks of farmers and rural producers organizations (FOs) Registration of participants Briefing session with the members of The Farmers Forum Steering Committee 62

64 15-16 February: The Farmers Forum Global Meeting Monday, 15 February Opening session Italian Room Address by the President of IFAD Interventions by members of The Farmers Forum Steering Committee: IFAP, LVC, WFFP, WFF, ROPPA, AFA, COPROFAM (5 minutes each) Coffee break Plenary session: Trends and developments in IFAD s partnerships with FOs Plenary session: Feedback from Saturday s preparatory workshop on promoting women s leadership in FOs Lunch (with organic food) Regional working group sessions: Progress achieved and future goals for IFAD-FO partnerships at national and regional levels: West and Central Africa Oval A East and Southern Africa C 300 Near East, North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Newly Independent States Oval B Latin America and the Caribbean - Italian Room Asia and the Pacific C Preparation of the feedback from the regional working groups Cocktail Conference Area Evening working session of The Farmers Forum Steering Committee on recommendations for evolution of IFAD/FOs partnerships Tuesday, 16 February Regional thematic working groups (in parallel): West and Central Africa: Role of FOs in value chain development and how to scale up success stories Oval A East and Southern Africa: How to promote access to markets for smallholder farmers C 300 Latin America and the Caribbean: Policy and family farming: differentiated policies and investment programmes for smallholder agriculture Italian Room Asia and the Pacific: How to promote food security and smallholder agriculture in a context of growing competition for land and other natural resources Oval B Coffee break Plenary session: Reports of regional thematic working groups and general discussion Italian Room Lunch (with organic food) Preparation of the Synthesis of Deliberations (Farmers Forum Steering Committee) 63

65 Plenary session Italian Room Feedback from the regional working groups regarding IFAD-FO partnerships at regional and national levels; discussion on conclusions and recommendations Presentation, discussion and approval by FO representatives of the Synthesis of Deliberations to be delivered to the Governing Council Coffee break Final plenary session Italian Room (Session open to IFAD Governors and Executive Board Directors) Reactions of IFAD management to the Synthesis of Deliberations Discussion with Executive Board Directors Closure of Forum The participants in The Farmers Forum are invited to the Governing Council with observer s status. The Farmers Forum Synthesis of Deliberations is delivered to the Governing Council in the Plenary on Wednesday, 17 February during the morning session. Participants in The Farmers Forum will have the opportunity to participate in the four side events of the Governing Council on Thursday morning, 18 February. Side Events of The Farmers Forum Thursday, 18 February 2010 (IFAD HQ) How to help farmers and rural producers organizations provide adequate services to their members Oval Room What is Purchase for Progress (P4P)? Engaging with farmers and rural producers organizations at different levels Italian Room 64

66 APPENDIX II Opening Speech of the President of IFAD Representatives of farmers and rural producers organizations, partners, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, first of all let me say how pleased we are to welcome all of you to IFAD s headquarters for the third Farmers Forum. You are welcome. I would like to extend a special welcome to the women leaders represented here today, many of whom have already taken part in Saturday s leadership workshop. I am delighted to know that this year, women represent 40 per cent of participants in the Farmers Forum. This is major progress since the first Farmers Forum in 2006 when they represented only 9 per cent. IFAD is strongly committed to strengthening women s leadership and decision making in agriculture. Indeed, the second commitment I made for IFAD when I accepted the MDG [Millennium Development Goal] 3 torch initiative last year in Istanbul from the Minister of Development Cooperation of Denmark says exactly that. Before I say a few words about the Forum, let me say that IFAD joins the international community in honouring those who have lost their lives and suffered from the disaster that occurred on 12 January in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Just on this last Friday, one month after the disaster occurred, the Rome-based agencies announced a task force that will deliver coordinated assistance to Haiti. IFAD is at the forefront of helping Haiti to ensure that the next planting season is as productive as possible. More broadly and globally, to better support farmers, particularly the poor smallholders who are highly vulnerable to disaster impacts, we at IFAD are exploring opportunities to develop a rapid response framework for rehabilitation and reconstruction to enhance our operational capacity to assist in such extreme circumstances anywhere in the world. Let me now turn to smallholders and the Farmers Forum. Since the Farmers Forum last convened two years ago, the world has experienced multiple crises worsened by the global recession and climate change. These crises not only revealed decades of neglect of the agricultural sector but also alerted the world to the importance of developing agriculture as a source of economic growth and political stability. It also generated a commitment to long-term sustainable food security. If the Millennium Development Goals are to be achieved by 2015, assuming that we will achieve them, investment in rural development and serious attention on the role of poor rural women and men in agricultural growth and particularly the role that smallholders play across the world must be central to government policies and their development agendas. Over decades, IFAD has been a loud advocate for the agricultural sector, and particularly the role of smallholders: farmers, fishers and pastoralists. In the past year, we have been able to highlight to the global business leaders and governments and most recently at the Davos World Economic Forum last month, where I represented the voices of smallholders that the 500 million smallholders worldwide support about one-third of the world s population and produce 80 per cent of the food consumed in the developing world. Farming, irrespective of its size and scale, is a business. Every farmer would like to feed his or her family and would like to produce a surplus so as to generate an income from trade 65

67 66 and cash. This is the basis for the commercialization of farming, the transformation from subsistence to small agro-business entrepreneurs. If we know that 85 per cent of all farm land worldwide is less than two hectares in size, and in the developing world it is as low as one-quarter of a hectare; if we know that 500 million smallholders produce 80 per cent of the food we consume in the developing world; that these smallholders live in rural areas and make up the majority of the rural poor; if we know that over 60 per cent of the rural population is made up of young people, of youth, with over 50 per cent of them being young women and girls; if we know all this, I ask you, who will feed the world in 2020, in 2030 or in 2050, by which time we will have added another three billion people to the world s population 50 per cent of our current population? Therefore, we must invest in the rural youth of today for they are the farmers of tomorrow. National governments, development partners and the private sector must join hands in building their capacities, in providing them with the technologies they need, the rural infrastructures, the financial institutions, the market information and linkages that are essential ingredients for this transformation. IFAD is committed to being part of this transformation. This is about agriculture and rural development but it also means capacity development and employment opportunities. It means reversing the rural-urban migration. It means new business partnerships, a change in mindsets, a paradigm shift in development for investing in rural youth is the foundation for building viable economies. It is the link between agricultural productivity and food security, between political stability and national security the precursors of global peace. This is what IFAD stands for. So how is IFAD positioned in this new paradigm? Last year, IFAD s Governing Council agreed to a 67 per cent increase in the Fund s resources for the next three years This means that we at IFAD will be delivering an annual programme of work of around US$1 billion a year with the aim of reaching at least 60 million rural poor, many of them members of your organizations. Let me outline what we are already doing and planning to do. Through our projects and programmes, we will finance innovative investments that improve access and tenure rights to land and water and better access to financial services, farm inputs and equipment, infrastructures and markets. Within the country-led development strategies and in close consultation with the rural producers, we will continue to carefully target these investments on the very poor and particularly on women farmers. We are working hand-in-hand with your organizations to gain ground for rural women, who are increasingly the farmers of the developing world. They perform the majority of agricultural work and produce over 60 per cent of food crops. IFAD s projects target women smallholders who often have weaker rights to land ownership, finance and other production inputs than their male counterparts around the world. But financial services alone are not enough; our investments will not be effective if the right policy frameworks are not in place. For this we are also working closely with your organizations to urge governments to implement supportive agricultural and rural development policies. IFAD s projects emphasize that increasing smallholder agricultural production requires full harnessing of technological innovation and research. These are drivers of change and they require sustained investments both at the regional and national levels to enhance farmers production. One outstanding example of this process is the Green Revolution that took place in Asia. With these instruments in place, I am convinced that rural poverty and food insecurity can be overcome, and as China in the 1980s and Viet Nam more recently have demonstrated, this can be done rapidly. Viet Nam transformed itself from a food-deficit country to the world s second largest exporter of rice by developing the smallholder farming sector. As a result, poverty fell

68 from 58 per cent in 1979 to below 15 per cent today. I am also absolutely convinced that Africa can feed itself just as Viet Nam and China have done. Africa has the human and natural resources it needs to achieve agricultural growth and food self-sufficiency. What is needed in Africa is committed local leadership and this is what some of you called for on Friday last week, and this is what I have been calling out to African leaders all my career. This is what they signed to in Maputo in 2003, yet fewer than ten countries today allocate 10 per cent of their national budgets to agriculture as they pledged in Maputo in Africa needs commitment and leadership at the highest level of government just as we need it at the lowest level of community, and I will repeat my call. No nation, no people achieve economic development unless it comes from within and agriculture is the foundation for it. After all, development is an intrinsic and endogenous process. Yes, development can be helped from outside but, as I have said before and I say again today, a palm tree cannot make use of the energy from sunlight unless it is firmly rooted in its own soil. This leadership starts with your organizations. It also starts with the youth. Stronger organizations of smallholder farmers, fishers and pastoralists are essential if we are to seize the opportunities that arise from today s challenges. Equally important is to strengthen your ability to connect with the private sector to expand these partnerships to link the demand and the markets with smallholder production. We would like to see this Forum foster opportunities for you to network and enhance your leadership to achieve these goals. Since IFAD s Farmers Forum began to meet in 2005, we have already witnessed important results. Cooperation among agricultural producers, fishers and the private sector improves access to markets and knowledge, boosts farmer bargaining power throughout the value chain from production to marketing, produces employment and income-generating opportunities in the rural areas and strengthens the voice of rural producers to influence policy and development programmes. We at IFAD engage with the farmers organizations in many ways. Particularly important is that IFAD consults farmers when we prepare our country strategic and opportunities programme, otherwise referred to as COSOPs, and when we design projects. We also give large grants to the farmers umbrella organizations to support them and their networks at the regional or subregional levels. IFAD s partnership with the farmers organizations has improved IFAD s own understanding of rural poverty. It has enabled us to ensure a greater focus on the smaller and poorer farmers and we have benefited from the local and indigenous knowledge and experience, which in turn resulted in better projects and more sustainable benefits to smallholders. I welcome the progress that we have been able to achieve but we need to build on our experiences and expand our partnerships. So before I close, I would like to outline four areas where we can do better. First, there are still a number of countries where IFAD s cooperation with farmers organizations is limited. We need to reach out further and deepen and develop these connections. Second, we must work together to strengthen the linkages of your organizations with the grass-root levels and invest in village-level advocacy to have an impact at the ground level and improve the inclusive basis of our partnerships. Third, we need to develop the advocacy role of the farmers organizations in the national policy debate; for instance, while climate change presents a huge challenge to farmers, only a few policy-makers recognize the role that smallholders can play in mitigating its impacts. Working together we can sensitize national authorities to determine how best to reward smallholders for the environmental services that they can provide to reduce carbon emissions. Fourth, we need to engage rural youth in agriculture, help them organize themselves into young farmers associations or organizations, provide opportunities for capacity 67

69 68 building and training, institutional linkages and market information. They are the food producers of tomorrow. In conclusion, with agriculture in the world s spotlight as a result of the food security crisis we experienced in 2007 and 2008, this third Farmers Forum is a timely event for us to determine how we can work together with governments among ourselves to increase smallholders productivity and incomes. It is my hope that at the conclusion of the third Farmers Forum, we will have generated innovative ideas on how to use our partnerships to expand market opportunities for smallholders, that we will have developed programmes for rural youth engagement in agriculture, that we will be creating incentives for smallholders to make the transition from subsidized farming to profitable agro-businesses and wealth creation, investing in their livelihoods and contributing to food security, social empowerment and economic growth.

70 APPENDIX III Presentation of Partnerships in Progress

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