Improving Institutional Capacity:
Strengthening Farmer Organizations in the OIC Member Countries
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Agriculture-focused development agencies
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations, established as an international financer of
agricultural development projects, primarily for food production in developing countries. IFAD
is increasingly engaged in policy dialogue, to increase awareness of how macro-level policies
and programmes are linked to micro-level decisions of millions of smallholders, rural
entrepreneurs, and farmer organizations. IFAD engages in capacity building on a case-by-case
basis and hosts Farmers Forums for information exchange among FOs, donors, and other
stakeholders.
One example of IFAD’s work is the Support to Farmers’ Organizations in Africa Programme
(SFOAP), which was piloted in 2009 with US$1.5m IFAD and EUR 5m from the European Union.
The pilot phase, which ran from 2009 – 2012, helped 55 national organizations in 39 countries
to increase management capacity and leadership accountability, improve internal farmer
organization democracy and governance, and establish policy positions. SFOAP also increased
the recognition, reputation and credibility of the FOs with their respective governments, local
authorities, and partners by including the FOs in the policy processes. Full details on the
SFOAP are given in Section 4.3.4.
The World Bank has played a leading role in the promotion of producer organizations, helping
them to further rural development goals, enhance accountability, consolidate local governance,
and strengthen market links. In pursuit of their wider development framework to open
agricultural markets through increased liberalization and deregulation, the World Bank has
actively partnered with associations to develop capacity within FOs.90 For example, an FAO
evaluation of the Bank’s activities found that the World Bank has in past decades established
over 500 projects in Africa alone aimed at farmer organizations, including 398 projects to
improve smallholder infrastructure, 87 projects focused on capacity building (mainly literacy-
related), and a further 48 providing managerial training. 91 One example is the National
Agriculture Services Development Programme (PNDSA) II, which invested USD 4.3 million
invested in producers’ organizations and smallholder-focused rural infrastructure in Burkina
Faso.
FAO field projects also support some FOs. A new program to integrate participatory
approaches in national agricultural organization has been launched. It is bolstered by the
development of software and information management systems for cooperatives, as well as
some printed cases, materials, and tools for best practices in the field.
The EBRD is a multilateral development bank that uses investments to build market
economies. It has instituted some specific initiatives to expand and intensify the activities of
commercial co-operatives. For example, French co-operative Axereal has recently received
EUR 38 million in investments from the Bank, intended for strengthening the region’s
agribusiness sector. Another relevant loan from the bank sent USD 30 million to Ukraine’s
Desnagrain, a wholly owned subsidiary of French agricultural cooperative Champagne C. Both
these investments illustrate the banks’ increased interest in developing cooperatives’
economic standing. Similar examples can be seen in the AfDB and ADB portfolios.
USAID has committed to strengthening smallholder farmers and their organizations,
particularly women, as part of its mandate to fight world hunger. Its New Alliance for Food
90 FAO annual report on activities in support of producers’ organizations and agricultural cooperatives, 2011
91 FAO policy brief: producer organizations, 2010