Improving Institutional Capacity:
Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries
59
4. Recent Trends in Strengthening Farmer Organizations at a Global
Level
4.1. Basic principles for strong farmer organizations
As discussed in Section 1, strengthening of farmer organizations is an important and relevant
goal. The question then becomes: How? “Good communication, a sense of common purpose
and cohesion, socio-economic homogeneity, as well as autonomy and freedom from harmful
outside interference are factors that contribute towards successful collective action,” writes
Ostrom in an analysis of the design of successful rural organizations86. The analysis further
describes eight design principles that can be applied to strengthen farmer organizations:
 Clearly defined boundaries. In specific cases where the right to draw from any common
resource pool is reserved for specific members of the community, definite lines should be
drawn between individuals and households. (Such lines are often blurred in cases where
those same members are part of agricultural households as well.)
 Congruence between appropriation and provision rules and local conditions.
Appropriation rules restricting time, place, technology and/or quantity of resource units
should relate to local conditions and to the provision rules requiring labor, material
and/or financial resources.
 Collective-choice arrangements. Decisions that impact the collective should be made in
consultation with the affected collective group, allowing members to participate in
modifying operational rules.
 Monitoring. Where applicable, monitors – who actively audit the organizations – should
be accountable to the appropriators or should be the appropriators.
 Graduated sanctions. Appropriators who violate the agreed-upon operational rules
should be given sanctions (depending on the seriousness and context of the offense) by
other appropriators, by officials who are accountable to the appropriators, or by both.
 Conflict-resolution mechanisms. Appropriators and their officials should have rapid
access to low-cost local arenas to resolve internal conflicts that may arise within the
cohort.
 Minimal recognition of rights to organize. The rights of appropriators to devise their
own institutions should not be challenged by external government authorities.
 Nested enterprises . In cases where organizations are part of larger systems,
appropriation, provision, monitoring enforcement, conflict resolution, and governance
activities should be organized in multiple layers of nested enterprises.
Such principles are the bedrock of a thriving FO but even when instituted, seamless operation
is not assured. Strong FOs share five characteristics that together help them achieve success.
A trusted, shared agenda. FO members often have divergent goals, which can derail collective
progress; as Stockbridge et al. note, “an agreement to participate in collective activities is
86 Ostrom, Elinor, “Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action.” New
York, 1990.