Support to farmers' organisations in Africa

Participants at the Start-up workshop in Johannesburg

17-19 June 2009 Johannesburg, South Africa. Start-up workshop of the programme “Support to Farmers’ Organisations in Africa”. The workshop was hosted by SACAU on behalf of the four regional farmers’organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa, namely EAFF, PROPAC, ROPPA and SACAU.

PROPAC

The Programme in support of African Farmers’ Organisations (FOs) is the result of a dialogue started two years ago between African Leaders of regional and national FOs and the European Commission (EC) as to find ways to increase direct support in the EC programmes aimed at strengthening FOs’ capacities support.

The Programme follows the endorsement in 2007 of the Communication 'Advancing African Agriculture' (AAA), by the European Council and the Parliament whereby the European Commission included support to farmers’ organisations as a critical element of its approach for the development of agriculture and rural development.

There are four sub-regional FO networks in Africa: ROPPA in West Africa, EAFF in East Africa, SACAU in Southern Africa and PROPAC in Central Africa. Each of the four FO networks has a unique position as structures representing the national FO´s and their membership base at regional level.

The Programme will be implemented over three years and its cost will be of 5, 365 million euros; 5 million euros contributed by the EC and 365 000 euros by IFAD.

Related blogpost:

Interview with Stephen Muchiri of the East Africa Farmer Federation (EAFF)
Stephen Muchiri comments NAFIS: the National Farmers Information Service which was launched as a pilot project in Kenya begin of May 2008. He was interviewd during a workshop held at FARA between 9 – 11/06/2008. This workshop was organised together with the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS) & the Neuchatel Initiative. The National Farmers Information Service (NAFIS)enables farmers and other interested parties to receive timely agriculture information through their mobile phones in national languages.