Improving Institutional Capacity:
Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries
55
Figure 12: Relative performance of the KPA on major dimensions
The KPA’s technical assistance to members is its strongest function. The KPA conducts
assessments of its member’s needs, in order to shape its TA offerings; however, it does not yet
have the capability to provide much-needed market information to its members. The KPA also
offers an extensive amount of legal and paralegal assistance to its members, in response to
recent land grabs and other land issues, a service subsidized in great part by the Government.
The KPA also provides training to its members in participatory organic farming techniques,
which allow farmers to access a potentially higher-value market.
Governance is another strong area for the KPA. The FO gives significant power to members
through its deliberative body, the General Assembly. The KPA’s communication infrastructure
allows it to engage its members frequently, keeping them informed and involved. In addition,
the organization also has a Council of Experts comprising agricultural experts, academics and
legal experts as well, to advise on its programmatic activities. The organization’s financial
management system is transparent, and its financial statements are subject to independent
audit on an annual basis. The KPA business model is relatively diverse, driven by member
contributions and donor funding from the Ford Foundation, Oxfam, and the International Land
Coalition.
Challenges of the KPA
However, the FO is unable to provide the resources and clout members need to bargain for
better prices and improve their income. In terms of accessing finance, the KPA supplements
this gap by linking members to credit and savings unions and other co-operatives for their
borrowing needs. In terms of inputs, Iwan Nurdin, the Secretary General of the KPA, stressed
that the organization hopes to address this soon by offering more commercial services, in part
by establishing a seed bank, which will ensure competitive prices and collective buying and
marketing (and thus bargaining) power for members.
Going forward, the KPA wishes to access different markets, in particular the export market,
milling and processing, and small-scale agro-processing. It hopes that the opportunities these