IFAD social reporting blog

By Monica Romano

The richness, passion and variety that emerged from the discussion at the Farmers’ Forum working group on institutional development and financial sustainability of farmers’ organizations (FOs) were striking. It will be challenging to capture all the valid points raised and to minimize the risk of missing something good.

Financial sustainability of FOs is not a new subject. It has been debated for long time. The tension between political autonomy and reliance on financial resources from Governments and the donor community emerged several times during the discussion, and participants did not always have the same views. There were supporters of financial autonomy who strongly believe that by asking for financial support, FOs de facto hand over their autonomy. Others tended to distinguish between political independence and financial reliance.

It was therefore enlightening, at least for me, when a young farmer from Cambodia referred to “inter-dependence” (that is, neither independence nor dependence) as the way out of the dilemma. ”Interdependence,” he said, characterizes the dynamic relationship between FOs and various actors in development – particularly Governments and public entities, international organizations and the donor community.

Certainly, challenges involving the financial sustainability of FOs are still there, and farmer representatives are aware of them. For example, can members’ fees generate sufficient income for FOs to engage in all the activities in their mandates – such as providing services to, and advocating on behalf of, smallholder farmers and producers? And how can FOs deal with their non-profit status, which, in a number of contexts, may end up inhibiting their capacity to generate resources on their own? What about exploring further opportunities for FOs to access credit services?

Some participants pointed out that it is of utmost importance to invest in strengthening the technical, managerial and organizational capacity of FOs, as well as their governance mechanisms and leadership skills. IFAD and other development organizations are playing a role in this area. One participant emphasised the need for FOs to become really professional entities that can compete at the same level as other professional service providers.

Various concrete solutions have been proposed as a way forward for FOs, in many cases by drawing on successful experiences that have potential for replication. It was suggested that IFAD and other development institutions provide a combination of loans and grants to financially support FOs. This could build their capacity while making FOs more responsible as owners of their own path towards sustainability. Others in the group felt that bigger does not necessarily mean better. For FOs – especially those not large in size or just starting out – they believe small grants are the most appropriate instrument of support.

We will soon see which of these suggestions IFAD will follow up on, and how, to enhance our joint action with FOs for the benefit of smallholder farmers and poor rural people.

To me, the key point in the end is that institutionally strengthening of FOs is crucial to provide demand-driven, appropriate, quality services for their members. It is also important for enabling smallholder farmers and their leaders to influence policies and negotiate with Governments and the private sector. As an audience member widely noted, institutional development of FOs could lead “if not fully, at least to some form of financial self-sufficiency.”

by Jeffrey A Brez

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda of FANRPAN, introducing herself as the daughter of tomato farmers, this afternoon inspired IFAD’s governors and attendees with her compelling call to put farmers first to allow them to produce food sustainably to feed a growing urban population.

She pointed out that there is a disjoint between technology and policy: the technologies are there (soil management, animal management, water harvesting) but policies don’t give poor rural farmers the tools to use them. These sustainable technologies need to be adapted to local conditions and then adopted by farmers - but investment must enable this. A policy process that does not enable this adaptation and adoption, she explained, has robbed African farmers of their natural assets, sending them into a downward spiral of poverty and environmental degradation. 20 years ago yields were double what they are today, she remembered, and farmers could make a decent living.

How to bridge the gap? She observed that governments took action when the food price crisis hit a few years ago. They had to, under strong pressure from civil society. In an acute crisis it is more likely for policymakers and political leaders to act. In slow onset environmental crises such as climate change the impetus to act can be less strong. She cited the lack of political leadership and commitment giving the example of the 2004 CAADP pledge taken in Maputo to dedicate 10% of national budgets in Africa to agricultural investment and lamenting the small number of countries (10) that have “put their money where their mouth is” to date.

A silo approach pervades development planning and is damaging the rural poor farmer. She gave the example of climate talks where for years agriculture was ignored – and even considered a “dirty word” - because it wasn’t an “environment” sector, despite the fact that agriculture is the most sector most impacted by climate change. The silo approach, she said, is killing us by slowing down policy progress and investments. She was relieved that we are close to having an agriculture work programme under the scientific and technical advisory body of the UNFCCC (SBSTA), which will be decided at the next climate negotiations in Qatar. Better late than never!

For Rio+20 she was optimistic that the main 7 areas of focus – food, jobs, energy, cities, water, oceans and disasters - were the right mix for rural poor people and smallholders. She counted three things we need to achieve “the future we want” in Rio and beyond. First, bold political leadership. Second commitments to invest in sustainable agriculture and food security with smallholders. Third a framework that takes an integrated approach to investing in agriculture to create green “dignified” jobs, engage youth and empower poor rural women who, despite producing 70% of the food only own 2% of the land.

By Jeffrey A Brez

The IFAD Governing Council began this morning with Rwandan president Paul Kagame telling us that environmentally sustainable smallholder agriculture is possible. IFAD president Kanayo Nwanze then reminded us in his Statement that environmental degradation and climate change are damaging smallholder farming systems.

With that challenge laid out before them, IFAD’s governors and other guests were ready to engage in a discussion on how smallholders can "Feed the World, Protect the Planet" (09:45-11:45), led by 5 expert panellists (see programme), and joined by viewers via the live webcast and social media channels (I also tweeted live from @jeffbrez).

The panellists gave excellent examples of sustainable approaches that are working, and in many cases being scaled up. Pamela Anderson of the CGIAR-affiliated International Potato Center explained how a new multi-functional smallholder agriculture provides a range of livelihood opportunities within households and communities, giving smallholders a “portfolio” of income opportunities, and spreading their risk. Nivedita Banerji of NGO Samaj Pragati Sahayog provided excellent examples of government incentives for smallholders to invest in durable assets and manage sustainable use of acquifers through mapping. Andre Leu of IFOAM explained how smallholders are the centrepiece of IFOAM’s policies on agricultural intensification through “eco-functionality” – where eco-processes are used to increase yields.

Bruce NcNamer of TechnoServe focussed on the imperative of creating business opportunities with smallholders through market systems and value chains that work, on top of which environmental sustainability should be “overlayed.” It was stressed that there are many steps in the value chain where sustainability needs to be injected with a big role for smallholders. Esther Penunia of the Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Rural Development described successes in the Philippines agrarian reform program that empowers smallholder communities to manage their natural resources for present and future generations.

There appear to be millions of healthy green shoots of approaches and technologies, virtual shelves stacked with sacks of potent fertilizing government policies, heady flows of energetic ideas on empowering women and farmers’ organizations and incentivizing youth to stay in or return to rural areas. The private sector appears poised to invest in relationships with smallholders. But where in all of this is our next green revolution – the sustainable one that will feed the world (9 billion people by 2050!) and protect the planet?

The comprehensive change of mindsets needed to open the floodgates so that all boats will be raised up through a concerted global upscaling effort remains elusive. A lot has changed and more ears are open than ever. We’re making progress, but there is still work to be done. Join us via the webcast today and tomorrow (including side events that you can watch here) and help us to increase the momentum we are building towards enabling poor rural people to escape from and remain out of poverty through more productive and resilient livelihoods and ecosystems. Rio is just around the corner.

(double check times and programme schedule here).

Learn more about IFAD’s ENRM Policy.

Suite à la signature de l’Accord de Financement du Programme d’Appui au Développement des Filières Agricoles (PADEF), un sentiment de satisfaction anime non seulement le Bureau Pays du Fida au Congo, mais aussi la partie nationale et notamment le Ministère de l’Agriculture et de l’Elevage. Cette signature consacre tout un cheminement depuis mars 2011, qui est passé par une validation au niveau national, une validation par la Division Afrique de l’Ouest et du Centre du Fida, une revue technique, une revue de qualité et une approbation par le Conseil d’Administration du Fida en décembre 2011. Il n’y a aucun doute que les grandes difficultés et contraintes que rencontrent les petits exploitants du Congo et dont résulte la pauvreté rurale, méritent des actions de longue durée en faveur du désenclavement des zones rurales pour l’écoulement des productions, de l’approvisionnement en semences et boutures améliorées, en petits équipements agricoles, et la conservation, transformation et commercialisation de la production. Le Bureau du Fida et les ministères en charge de l’agriculture et de la pêche, espèrent vivement que le développement des filières et le renforcement des capacités des différents acteurs à travers ce financement, devrait permettre d’améliorer durablement les revenus et la sécurité alimentaire des populations rurales au Congo.

Bernard Hien
Country Manager
IFAD/ Congo

By Kevin Cleaver
 
The following post by IFAD’s Associate Vice President for Programmes also appears on Impatient Optimists, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation blog.

For the past three decades, I’ve had the privilege of working with smallholder farmers around the world. They are among the poorest people on the planet, and yet I’m consistently struck by their constancy and dedication to the land.

Tomorrow in Rome, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will launch an expanded partnership to help these farmers increase their productivity and lift themselves out of poverty. At IFAD’s 2012 Governing Council, Bill Gates and IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze will sign a statement of intent to accelerate our collaboration on ensuring food security and improving rural livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

We drafted the text through an extraordinarily business-like process that took just two or three days from start to finish. In the world of high-profile partnerships, that’s all but unheard of. To me, it demonstrates that IFAD and the Foundation are embarking on our joint enterprise with the same level of commitment that smallholder farmers have always brought to feeding their families and communities.

This is critical because of the many competing priorities in the vast realm of international development. At times, the public, donors and the media may be tempted to turn their attention to the next big thing – the latest trend or more “attractive” cause. In the end, however, the soil provides our sustenance. Food security is a prerequisite for progress on every other development goal.

In any case, agriculture must be a top priority as the global population climbs toward a projected peak of 9 billion by 2050. To meet the world’s need for 60 per cent more available food, farmers will have to increase crop yields on a limited quantity of arable land. And they’ll have to do this sustainably, while adapting to the insidious effects of climate change.

The partnership between IFAD and the Foundation can give farmers a boost in their admittedly uphill struggle. In many ways, our organizations complement each other perfectly.

IFAD brings to the table 35 years of experience working with smallholder farmers, governments, NGOs and the private sector on multilateral investment projects worldwide. We know how small-scale agriculture works, and we have developed workable models for financing smallholders’ projects and marketing their products. The Foundation brings its own formidable resources, a world-class platform for advocacy and a proven capacity for innovation. It also offers technological prowess and effective systems for monitoring and evaluating the impact of our work.

Technology is key. The simplest advances – more robust seeds, or even better ploughs and hoes – can tilt the scales toward food security and poverty reduction. We simply have to find out what works and then replicate it feverishly.

This is not entirely new ground for IFAD and the Foundation. In fact, the Foundation has already contributed $155 million in co-financing for several IFAD-supported projects, including initiatives to develop drought-tolerant maize in sub-Saharan Africa and stress-tolerant rice in Africa and South Asia. By formally endorsing an expanded partnership tomorrow, Mr. Gates and Dr. Nwanze will build on what we’ve already accomplished together. But more important, they’ll open a new chapter in agricultural development for millions of men and women who toil in the fields every day.

Smallholder farmers deserve nothing less than our all-out support. As long as they remain impoverished, we are all that much poorer, because their dedication to the land is the world’s best hope of feeding itself for generations to come.

• Build the capacities of small-scale producers’ networks
• Involve these networks in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of country programmes and projects
• Advocate for programmes to train rural young people in sustainable agricultural technologies
• Work with governments to adopt and implement FAO’s recently issued voluntary guidelines on responsible governance of land tenure and fisheries
• Support the participation of smallholders’ organizations in Rio+20.