Improving Institutional Capacity:
Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries
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largely of representatives from different types of FOs at the local and regional levels.
Federations are often registered as NGOs and are funded by donors and state agencies, as well
as membership or affiliate fees.
1.2.2. Marketing Organizations
Commodity associations, which are marketing organizations, provide farmers with
marketing assistance and policy advocacy around a specific commodity. Commodity
association constituents are often individual farmers or enterprises grouped by specific cash
crops. For example, the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) works with government and
development institutions to encourage the production of cocoa and to improve the state’s
cocoa value chain. More specifically, CAN is involved in quality control, contract violation
disputes, trade regulations, and government policies affecting cocoa marketing. They are
typically funded by small commissions on output marketed by their members.
Producer groups are organizations of individual farmers that collectively market, transport,
and negotiate prices with buyers. These groups are often registered as limited liability
companies, unions or co-operatives, and their resources come from membership fees and,
increasingly, donor and state funding.
While this report examines FOs in terms of conceptual service offering and business model, the
other defining aspects of these organizations should not be overlooked. Cognizance of
alternative ways of grouping FOs; i.e. by geographic footprint or membership profile (see
Figure 2), enable more effective policy interventions that target underserved and socially
marginalised groups, such as smallholder farmers or women.
1.3. The role of FOs in Farm Productivity and Income Improvement
Farmer organizations allow collective action that improves farm productivity and incomes.
Members realize economic benefits that they would not otherwise achieve by working alone.
This is best achieved by FO engagement at specific points in the agricultural value chain
shows that farmer organizations, through the various activities they undertake, can be found
at all stages of a typical agricultural value chain. This also illustrates the other actors that they
must work alongside of.