Pioneers for food security

Sharing knowledge for better development programmes at the IFAD-EUFF capitalisation workshop in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

How can we effectively introduce new seed production techniques? Which roles do farmer organizations play in helping smallholders to grow more food? How can agricultural research support seed production? These are some of the issues that the participants of the capitalisation workshop on the IFAD EU Food Facility project in West Africa discussed at today’s opening of the meeting – and you will find the answers below.

The EU Food Facility (EUFF) was created as an answer to soaring food prices in developing countries in 2007/2008. With the Facility, the European Union provided one billion euros for projects that:

• improve the access to agricultural inputs and services,
• maintain or improve the agricultural productive capacity and
• address the basic food needs in developing countries

and chose IFAD as one of the implementing partners in West Africa.

Since the programme has been launched one and a half years ago, much has been achieved. Building on existing IFAD projects, 20 million euros were used to support small farmers achieve higher yields, grow more food and earn more money. The projects in Mali, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Ghana were implemented in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and reached more than 200 000 rural families.

Now, that the programme’s activities have closed at the end of 2011, project partners are coming together for a capitalisation and a closing workshop. During the next days (23-26 March), they will share experiences, draw lessons and discuss the way forward.

“The first meeting of all implementing partners showed, how beneficial it is, to exchange knowledge and experiences. It has been an important part of our collaboration since,” said Adriane del Torto, IFAD’s EUFF coordinator for West Africa. All participants have brought one or two examples of capitalization products – success stories, videos, posters or other materials – which will be reviewed by their peers to improve and enrich the products, before they are officially released. “The sharing of knowledge in this way has helped everyone involved in the projects. We all have learned how to properly identify and explain what works in our programs. This could potentially help to raise funds and to scale up our projects with relevant and efficient activities. From the experiences that will be shared here today, some have successfully been replicated in other settings. In the long-run this will lead to better and more sustainable results in development programmes. And this is why we have organized this capitalization workshop,“ explained Adriane in her opening statement (scroll down for the video).

Following the opening ceremony, every project presented their cases, followed by a short Q&A, and as promised, here are the answers to the questions raised above: How did the projects manage to spread new, more efficient seed growing techniques within such a short time, was one of the questions that came up. The answer came from the Ghanaian participants, who used a proven knowledge-dissmenination technique for their Root and Tuber Improvement and Marketing Programme (RTIMP): word of mouth. Many of the farmers, participating in the programme, produced their yam seeds on sites that were close to roads or other places with many people passing by every day . Soon, they realized that these farmers weren’t following the traditional seed production technique. They became curious. And learned from the farmers about the benefits of this new seed production technology – and how it works. In this way, the project reached a much larger, and growing group, who now uses the new technique.

The role of farmer organizations, was another issue, that came up frequently. All participants agreed, how important the organizations, such as cooperatives, are in enabling smallholders to increase their production. In some projects, for example the Management of Certified Groundnut Seeds Production in Senegal, cooperatives and their establishment were a constituent part of the project design.

And last but not least, how can agricultural research support seed production? The answer to this was given by Prof Corneille Ahanhanzo from Benin, who highlighted the need for strong links between agricultural research and seed producers: “Researchers help to find improved techniques and better seeds. We are pioneers for food security.”

Cooperatives - A purpose beyond the profit

It’s the last hours of the last day of the 4th global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum, and you would think that the energy of the participants would be running low. I am happy to tell you that this was not the case of the side event on the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). The meeting room was full of chatter and energy, and simultaneous translations were being done in every corner. We were there to discuss cooperative enterprises, and their role in transforming smallholder agriculture into profitable business. Most importantly we were there to listen to and learn from the experiences of three representatives from cooperatives in Armenia, Cambodia and Kenya:

• Mr. Vardan Hambardzumyan, President of Federation of Agricultural Associations (FAA), Armenia
• Mr. Pan Sopheap, Executive Director of Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), Cambodia
• Mr. Philip Kiriro, President Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF), Kenya

Why cooperatives, why now?

The United Nations (UN) has declared 2012, as the International year of Cooperatives (IYC). Nora Ourabah Haddad from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) opened the conversation and told us that the IYC has been one of the most popular UN years with a support from over 90 countries. The Rome based UN-agencies have joined forces to promote agricultural cooperatives throughout the IYC and beyond. Nora started her presentation by underlining the definition of a cooperative:

“A cooperative is an autonomous association of women and men, united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.” (International labour organization recommendation 193)

It is important to stress the definition, since the terminology might not be familiar to everyone, and cooperatives may have different meanings in different contexts. An agricultural cooperative is an important platform for rural development because of its financial and social dimensions. The panellists were asked to elaborate on two important aspects of cooperatives: What makes cooperatives viable? And how do you build ownership of the cooperative among its members?

What makes cooperatives viable?

Mr Hambardzumyan said that services offered by cooperatives to their members is one of the main factors of making cooperatives viable. The services need to be targeted and benefiting the members. He said: “The cooperative is a tool in our hand to solve our problems”. Financial turnover is another factor that is of key importance to make a cooperative viable.

Mr Sopheap continued on the same note and said that empowering members to help themselves is one important aspect. He then went on to say that making a profit is also essential, and to allocate a collective fund so that the cooperative can sustain itself. Additionally Mr Kiriro emphasized the importance of having the right policy framework and support to make cooperatives become strategic business partners. Leadership at political level is another relevant and important factor.

In other words, empowerment, policies and profit are key elements in making the cooperatives self-sufficient and viable.

How do you build ownership of a cooperative?

This leads us to the next question that was posed to the panellists, how do you make the members feel real ownership of the cooperative? Building ownership of a cooperative is important. If a cooperative is to live up to its definition it needs to: Be supported by its members and embrace voluntary membership paradigm. It also needs to have grassroots support and to be democratically governed.

Mr Sopheap suggested three key elements to make sure cooperatives and their members are in sync: First of all, introduce the cooperative’s principles to members, make sure everyone knows and understands them. Second, build the members’ trust. The members need to trust that they will benefit from the cooperative. Last but not the least, create an institutional collective fund.

The need for training and resources

The need for capacity building was something that came up several times in the discussion. Training is needed for members of cooperatives and for stakeholders. A representative from the International Labour Organization (ILO) presented the My.coop training package. This package is freely available online and has many learning programmes. My.coop is designed for managers and members of cooperatives, as well as organisations and individuals that train agricultural cooperatives. Its objective is to enable people to address challenges specific to cooperatives in market oriented agricultural development. Try it out!

What came out loud and clear from listening to the experience of the participants was the power and potential of cooperatives in rural development. Cooperatives can help people help themselves and give a voice to poor rural people. During the event new connections were made, and experiences and challenges shared. A conversation with multiple stakeholders started that hopefully will carry on throughout the IYC and beyond.

Read more about how IFAD work with rural institutions and cooperatives:

http://www.ifad.org/english/institutions/index.htm

Rural organizations in focus for the International Year of Cooperatives

Written by Sarah Hessel

In 2012 the United Nations celebrates the International Year of Cooperatives. As important partners for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), cooperatives are helping to improve the lives of millions of smallholder farmers and their families. On the occasion of the International Year, Tom Anyonge and Monica Romano , who are leading IFAD’s work with cooperatives, offer a background brief on the organizations of rural people:

What opportunities do cooperatives offer to poor rural people?
IFAD has been supporting formal and informal rural organizations, which include cooperatives, for many years. And still, as the Rural Poverty Report 2011 highlights, there is a continued need to strengthen the collective capabilities of rural people for several reasons. They give people confidence, security and power – all valuable attributes in overcoming poverty. Worldwide cooperatives provide 100 million jobs. They enable small-scale producers to access market opportunities and information, and services such as technologies, credit and training. Cooperatives facilitate small producers’ participation in decision making at all levels. Cooperatives support secure land-use rights and help negotiate better terms for engagement in contract farming as well as better prices for agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizer and equipment. They also represent a powerful means of supporting marginalized groups, such as youth and women. The Smallholder and Community Services Development Project in Kenya or the tea cooperative in Rwanda are good examples of how members are empowered economically and socially, creating sustainable rural employment through business models that are more resilient to economic and environmental shocks.

Why are cooperatives important for IFAD’s work and what opportunities does the thematic year offer IFAD?
One of IFAD’s objectives is to facilitate poor rural people’s access to services and build their capacity to influence the policies and institutions that affect their lives. Cooperatives are an important vehicle to reach these objectives. This is why we place a lot of emphasis on rural agricultural cooperatives and will continue to enhance our work with them.

The International Year of Cooperatives is a good opportunity to promote engagement with cooperatives and strengthen smallholder farmers on a larger scale. Together with the Rome-based United Nations agencies, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), IFAD will act as a driving force during the year to raise awareness of the potential role of agricultural cooperatives in increasing benefit streams to rural women and men. In addition, we will support the strengthening of existing networks and assist policy makers to create enabling environments that allow agricultural cooperatives to evolve.

How do you think the International Year of Cooperatives will change the way United Nations agencies and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) see cooperatives in planning their programmes?
The International Year of Cooperatives raises awareness about the central role that rural organizations, and cooperatives in particular, play in reducing poverty and increasing food security, hence putting this topic on the top of the planning agenda of both policy makers and development practitioners. In partnership with our sister organizations in Rome, we work to reinforce the commitment of United Nations agencies, development organizations and INGOs to put farmers and peoples’ cooperatives in the centre of their planning processes and programmes.

Cooperatives are owned and controlled by their members. Is this bottom-up structure a challenge to effective decision making?
In our work with rural cooperatives we have experienced that they actually represent the views and interests of poor rural people far more effectively than any outside party. However, it is also true that effective, transparent and accountable decision-making processes can be a challenge for them. These processes require full ownership by the members – the poor rural people themselves – including pragmatic leadership and sound management. We work to build the capacity of cooperatives so that they become effective and sustainable and represent the needs of poor rural people.


Suggested reading:
Agricultural Cooperatives: Paving the way for food security and rural development

Agricultural cooperatives are key to reduce hunger and poverty

Recognizing the importance of rural institutions to socio-economic development: 2012 The International Year of Cooperatives.

2012 has been declared by the United Nations (UN) as the International Year of Cooperatives. However, it all starts today on the 31st October, when the year is officially launched at the UN Headquarters in New York.

At the launch the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will host a side event that focuses on agricultural cooperatives and their importance for food security. The event will be webcast and you can tune in at 1.15 pm (GMT -4).

Cooperatives are business enterprises owned and controlled by the members they serve. The difference between cooperatives and other types of businesses lies in the importance of keeping the balance between pursuing profit and meeting the interests of the community and their members. According to ILO cooperatives provide 100 million jobs worldwide. Agricultural cooperatives are important in supporting small agricultural producers and marginalized groups because they create sustainable rural employment, and they facilitate access to markets, food and productive assets. They also help them influence policy and decision making.

For the International Year of Cooperatives and beyond, the three Rome-based United Nations agencies (FAO, IFAD and WFP) will continue to raise awareness and support rural institutions, farmer and producer associations, and cooperatives.

For more information: Agricultural Cooperatives: Paving the way for Food Security and Rural Development.

Photo credit: ©IFAD/Radhika Chalasani