Farmers' Organisations

A magazine on drylands development and sustainable agriculture / Issue 64, September 2012

Farmers’ Organisations - the way to go -

Editorial

Dear Reader,

T

his issue of Baobab focuses on Farmers’ Organisations. The theme is informed by the reality that farmers are able to achieve better outcomes for themselves and for national and global aspirations of food security and food sovereignty when they are well organised and able to speak in one voice. Globally, it is becoming increasingly common for agencies that support farmers, particularly small scale farmers, to seek out and listen to farmers directly where this is possible. Whereas it is good and beneficial for other groups such as civil society organisations, cooperatives and ministries of agriculture to advance the cause of farmers, the truth is that farmers are most familiar with the challenges they face with respect to optimising production in a sustainable manner; accessing needed inputs and eventually fair markets for their produce.

As noted by Jun Virola in the Theme Overview, there are myriad issues in the contemporary global environment that call for farmers to get more organised now than at any other time in the past. There are real threats such as land appropriation by national governments and having such land leased out to foreign governments (the so called land grabs); trade agreements whose ultimate effect is to limit farmers’ access to fair markets and; the increasing power of agribusinesses.

These threats are impacting on farmers negatively in many countries and farmers can only counter them as groups.

There are also positive developments that support farmers to work in the context of groups for their benefit and the benefit of national food security efforts. In Kenya for example, the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute has institutionalised programmes that require its research projects to work with farmers as groups. This is well articulated by Dr. Immaculate Maina and her team in the article titled: Role of external actors on the growth of farmer organisations. Concrete outcomes have been achieved while gains of consultative action research in strengthening farmers groups benefits from agriculture have been well demonstrated.

This issue carries a range of articles showing successful local best practices by farmers emerging because farmers are working in more coordinated groups. We have featured examples from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. We have also highlighted good practices in forming and sustaining farmers’ organisations.

Our popular Stock Story in this issue contrasts what could happen when farmers form groups based on inappropriate motivational factors such as to secure funding or purely as a result of pressure or conditions of outsiders. This is contrasted with the desirable state of affairs where farmers groups should ideally form as a result of real needs of farmers resulting in a situation where benefits are felt directly at farmers’ household level.

As usual, we welcome you to this issue of Baobab and encourage you to contribute towards the different thematic topics that will be the focus of future issues. The December issue of Baobab will focus on desertification and its potential impact on sustainable family and small scale farming. Have a look at the Call for Articles contained in this issue and get writing!

Please feel free to share Baobab with people in your network to whom the issues highlighted here are important and relevant.

James Nguo Regional Director

2 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Contents

4 8 12 20

THEME OVERVIEW:

Farmer Organisation

PROJECT FOCUS: Village Savings

OPEN COLUMN: Locally Rooted

on the subject of: Using Smallholder Farmer-Groups to Dig Out Poverty

Other Pages...

OPEN COLUMN: Locally rooted .................................................................... Pg 30 Stork Story ................................................................................................................. Pg 18

ISSN: 0966-9035 Baobab is published four times a year. It is a magazine on small scale sustainable agriculture which is the East African edition of the AgriCultures Network global magazines.

Editorial Board James Nguo Anthony Mugo - Chief Editor Noah Lusaka Esther Lung’ahi Illustrations Shadrack Melly Layout and Design Lisa Waweru (Noel Creative Media) Important Notices Copyright Articles, pictures and illustrations from Baobab may be adapted for use in materials that are development oriented, provided the materials are distributed free of charge and ALIN and the author(s) are credited.

Copies of the samples should be sent to ALIN. Disclaimer Opinions and views expressed in the letters and articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or ALIN. Technical information supplied should be cross-checked as thoroughly as possible as ALIN cannot accept responsibility should any problems occur.

Regional Editions 1. Farming Matters global edition by ileia 2. LEISA REVISTA de Agroecologia, Latin America edition by Asociacion ETC andes.

3. LEISA India, by AME foundation 4. AGRIDAPE, French West African edition by IED Afrique 5. Agriculture, experiences em Agroecologia, the Brazilian edition

by AS-PTA 6. Chinese edition by CBIK Talk to us The Baobab magazine Arid Lands Information Network, ALIN P. O. Box 10098, 00100 GPO, Nairobi, Kenya AAYMCA Building, Ground floor, Along State House Crescent, Off State House Avenue, Nairobi Tel. +254 20 2731557 • Telefax. +254 20 2737813 Cell: +254 722 561006 E-mail: baobab@alin.net • Or visit us at www.alin.net About ALIN Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN) is an NGO that facilitates information and knowledge exchange to and between extension workers or infomediaries and arid lands communities in the East Africa region. The information exchange activities focus on smallscale sustainable agriculture, climate change adaptation, natural resources management and other livelihood issues.

TECHNICAL NOTE: Strengthening Farmers’ Organisations.......... Pg 27 GUEST COLUMN: Role of external actors ..................................... Pg 29

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 3

themeoverview

Farmers’ organisations 4 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Photo: AFA

we are up to the job Farmers’ organisations are not a new idea and their advantages are widely recognised.

Yet most are facing new challenges. There is growing competition for land, while international trade agreements are having a very negative effect on rural communities.

Food prices are rising and climate change puts additional pressure on farming, but only a few national governments are providing an adequate response. How can farmers work together, and how can their organisations support them? These questions are now more relevant than ever.

By Jun Virola BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 5

W

hether they

are co-operatives, unions, committees or associations, farmer organisations play an important role in all rural areas. The vast majority of these organisations are the result of farmers’ own initiatives and willingness to work together and have been formed with the objective of improving farmers’ incomes and livelihoods. They help farmers acquire inputs or gain access to specific resources, and are part of many commercialisation and value-addition processes. Farmer organisations, large and small, are a key stakeholder in many capacity building projects and programmes, and in the exchange of knowledge and information at a local level.

The recognition of common aspirations, struggles and experiences is often the stimulus that drives individuals and groups join hands. Yet this is also a response to the need to make ourselves heard at international, regional and also at a national level – especially in the face of the serious challenges the world is facing today. As a result, a growing number of farmer organisations are advocating farmers’ rights, presenting farmers’ opinions and representing their interests at the national, regional or international level. One of these groups is the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), a regional federation of farmer organisations in Asia, with members in 10 Asian countries. The farmers and representatives who came together as AFA in 2002 found out that we shared similar problems and objectives, and that we could achieve these objectives by working together. Ten years later, we are proud to say that we’ve come a long way.

Common Challenges The benefits of working together are easy to see.

Our work in AFA, however, has also shown some of the challenges we all face when trying to be heard by researchers and project officers, or when trying to influence policy makers. How can farmer organisations become strong and effective?

The experiences of the various organisations, federations and networks that make up AFA have shown the need to build strong and effective organisations: ensuring that we are relevant, participatory and inclusive, and sustainable. These challenges are dealt with by continuously focusing on each organisation’s governance structures, and also by partnering with supportive individuals and 6 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

institutions. Just as important, however, is for each organisation to look at the possibilities to draw lessons from their own experience when making future plans.

In a changing context, farmer organisations need to remain relevant and directly related to their members’ needs and aspirations. This is easier when they focus on needs that are felt strongly by farmers, such as securing land rights, ensuring access to seeds, or on improving productivity and incomes. These are issues that are likely to capture the motivation and interest of all members. The local conditions and contexts in which they operate deserve special attention, as does the need to strike a clear balance between the provision of short-term benefits to individual members, and the long term benefits of the group as a whole. This “balance” defines the objectives of some of AFA’s members. Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), for example, is a national confederation of peasants in the Philippines that has successfully waged campaigns to help farmers gain access to the land they work. In a similar way, Making ourselves heard.

Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API), a peasant federation in Indonesia, has run an effective land reform campaign. Both organisations group many landless farmers and farm workers.

At the same time, farmer organisations need to be strong in order to make the voices of their members heard. In many cases, strength comes in numbers, as seen with the Korean Advanced Farmers’ Federation (KAFF) and their capacity to mobilise thousands of farmers to march on the streets of Seoul, and deliver their demands to government.

Strong organisations are also the result of the work of committed and dedicated leaders, and of committed and involved members. This is very clearly seen in Kenya Agricultural Research Institute’s (KARI) experiences in the Role of external actors on the growth of farmer organisation and Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs): Platform for Wholistic Empowerment By Thomas Ayamga and Romanus Gyang.

Farmer organisations are most effective when they develop proposals and activities that are evidence-

based and subjected to genuine consultation processes, right down to the village level. This can only be reached if these organisations follow inclusive and participatory approaches. Whether in a district or at an international level, this is achieved through a commitment to democratic governance, and by setting up systems, structures, and policies that encourage the participation of all members, especially women and youth, and that encourage all farmers to join. This approach partly explains, without a doubt, our success.

With activities in different countries, AFA regularly consults its members, from the village to the national level, following participatory research processes where the voices of all groups are heard. As part of these efforts, we encourage the participation of women, both as women farmers’ groups (such Gabula Atudde Women), and also as individuals.

Most important, perhaps, is the need to pay attention to the long term sustainability of farmer organisations. This means developing a long-term vision and approach, and ensuring the continuous presence, support and representation of farmers.

It also means securing the necessary funds, and setting up democratic and transparent structures for the use of these funds. This is one of the biggest challenges faced by AFA and its members, and is tackled in different ways. The Farmer and Nature Net in Cambodia, for example, forms savings groups at the village level, helping farmers develop skills to manage their resources and take on bigger projects and sustain them. Others have membership fees, or are developing their skills to provide specific services.

We are Ready Like many other networks and federations, we in AFA have been struggling to “take root” and make ourselves known and heard at the international, regional, and national levels as a regional alliance of small-scale farmer organisations that represent both women and men. Slowly but surely, these efforts are paying off. Farmers’ voices have been heard in Rome and in Rio, and farmers themselves are already busy preparing for the 2014 International Year of Family Farming.

About the Writer Jun Virola works as knowledge and learning officer at AFA, the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development.

E-mail: junvirola@yahoo.com ; afa@asianfarmers.org.

Photo: AFA

For more information about AFA, please visit their website: http://asianfarmers.org

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 7

projectfocus

Village and

8 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

loans associ

Savings

iations (VSLAs) Platforms for wholistic empowerment

The Village Savings and Loan (VSL) model is a selfmanaged and self-capitalised microfinance methodology.

By having its members mobilise and intermediate local pools of investment finance, it offers savings, insurance and credit services in markets outside the reach of formal institutions.

By Thomas Ayamga and Romanus Gyang

T

he

Photo: Mohammed Hardi

concept of working with and through the based groups spans wide and large across governmental and non-governmental organisations in Ghana. At CARE International in Ghana, the Village Savings Loan (VSL) methodology is a proven predictor of providing sustainable services (financial, technical and livelihood empowerment) for the poor. The combination of simple, transparent procedures; financial products that respond to members’ needs; ownership and control over the VSLA fund; and the high probability of groups generating a surplus means that members highly value these local institutions and will work towards preserving them.

Village Savings and Loans programme evaluations not only report VSLA survival rates of above 90%, but also document the spontaneous replication of groups. Achieving scale has been proven to be a function of two factors: first, working with multiple local NGO partners capable of organising professional training and outreach to establish a high quality VSLA infrastructure. Second, deploying local individuals (Village Facilitators) who work to form and train new groups under the supervision of the local NGO partner. A combination of NGO field officers and community based Village Facilitators strategically positioned geographically, record high rates of participation and rapid increases in membership, all within a reasonable timeframe.

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 9

Benefits of Participation The CARE International Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa (ALP) Ghana seeks to increase the capacity of vulnerable households in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Niger to adapt to climate change and variability and contribute to local, national and global learning and policy processes about adaptation, especially with regards to empowering poor women. ALP does this through promoting Community Based Adaptation (CBA) as a set of integrated activities which strengthen resilient livelihoods, community managed disaster risk reduction (DRR), local and organisational adaptive capacity and addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability, for example, relating to gender inequality, governance, land use rights or natural resource management. These four elements are informed by knowledge of climate change trends and predictions and of the risks and uncertainty climate change brings.

ALP supported the communities in self-help microfinancing initiative using Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) model to mobilise financial resources to support livelihoods diversification.

Under the Adaptation Learning Programme for Africa in Ghana, this model has been employed to address the underlying causes of vulnerability: Vulnerability to household abuses due to over-dependency on men, limited access to credit from financial institutions and lack of productive assets to serve as collateral for loans.

Beyond this financial empowerment, the scheme has largely become a platform through which innovative technologies are disseminated to the masses. Its cohesiveness and ability to influence rapidly widespread learning among members has also been acknowledged.

Cost of reaching an erstwhile target group individually has definitely been of immense benefits resulting in both financial and human resource gains to effectiveness and efficiency of projects implementation. The Banking on Change (BoC) Project Baseline 2010 indicates that the cost of establishing a VSLA through local NGOs is $30.00 and with time decreases to $28.00 with the complement of those village facilitators (community monitors in ALP) who are geographically located in the communities.

The VSLA in Ghana has become an even starting stage for all projects. It is proven to be a wholistic approach bringing empowerment and bridging inequality among the vulnerable in society.

10 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Success Stories

Pioneering VSLA in Zambulungu Community in the East Mamprusi District of the northern region shared their successes at a community forum; stemming from their inability to increase trades in various businesses, the village women joined the VSLA in 2010 and have since been contributing and making their periodic savings.

Many neighboring communities are seeking to be involved into the VSLA concept and other households in the communities beyond the existing ones due to the feasible benefits enjoyed by those involved. In the Farfar community, engagement in VSLA among men and women has reduced suffering and increased the number of members who are able to afford national health insurance scheme. They express happiness for the support from the VSLA social fund assistance, pay their children’s school fees, open bank accounts and donation of fixed financial amount to bereaved members. Madam Baby Issaka, a member of VSL group recounted her story from the support with soya seed and fertiliser, said the support yielded positive gains through the sale of seed produce from the block farms to save and contributed to household needs and helped in paying school fees. Largely, interest in compost manure technology usage for crop land farming has contributed to better yields in their crop harvest, thus arousing the interests of more based organisations adopting the use of compost manure for farming in the community.

Capacity Building Activities To assist vulnerable communities to improve their capacity to adapt to climate variability and change, the ALP Ghana builds on the CARE VSLA model which is a voluntary association of persons with common interests to economically empower members for improved livelihood. The project makes use of local resources and structures such as the community facilitators who voluntarily accept to lead as facilitators. In 2012, a total of twentysix (26) community facilitators received capacity building in the concept and practice of VSLAs. The trained facilitators are currently building the capacities of many groups and supporting them to set up VSLA in their various communities. Their knowledge in group dynamics like constitution, savings and investments is enhanced which goes to add to the local community capacity strengthening.

Photo: Mohammed Hardi

Place of VSLA in community mobilisation and policy approaches The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) began the implementation of projects and programmes using the farmer based organisations (FBOs) concept in the 1990’s. This became a strategic approach to bridge between the higher rate of farmers to extension officers’ ratio, reduced cost of rendering services to the target groups and basis for influencing peer learning. The model has grown to be institutionalised as a basic concept for all projects in the ministry. Currently, the FBOs like the VSLAs are being complemented with business development strategies like the value links or chains and agriculture as a business (AAB) concept. As a result of the proven success gains of this concept, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture has prepared a farmer based organisation manual and training guide. Lately, there have been plans to develop the farmer based organisation policy.

Challenges There are several models, concepts, approaches or platforms making use of groups and built around similar parameters. These are practised in the development arena and thus, pose a huge challenge for the same target group being engaged. Codification of the indicators of a successful association or group would go a long way to harmonise learning and synergy of resources at common grounds with

governmental and non-governmental organisations, projects, interventions and programmes alike.

Another constraint working with community based organisations such as FBOs, VSLAs or self help groups (SHGs) is the absence of apex bodies which would coordinate the gains, graduation points and ensure the sustainability of these groups to their utmost visions.

Lessons Learnt There are clear and crystal learning points along the VSL development chain and for all other community based groups; it has become a platform for reaching target groups with project interventions, nucleus for wholistic empowerment (financial, human and economic) and useful platform for enhancing learning and adoption of innovations. Its cost effectiveness in delivery of services to the community has also been a stride worth recording for further learning. At the centre of the VSLA concept is women who are in majority thereby addressing the gender inequality and vulnerability between women and men with regards to access to credit is greatly enhanced.

About the Writer Thomas Ayamga is the Monitoring and Evaluation OfficerAdaptation Learning Programme for Africa, Ghana Country Office Email Thomas.Ayamga@co.care.org Romanus Gyang is the ALP country manager based in Ghana.

Email: Romanus.Gyang@co.care.org

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 11

PHOTO: Rajkumar Pujari

Locally Rooted:

Ideas and initiatives from the field Examples from all over the world show that collective action is the most efficient and sustainable way for farmers to achieve higher incomes.

Beyond the economic benefits, however, farmer organisations support their members and local communities in many other ways.

12 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Associations make the difference Sudan

S

udan is the world’s largest producer of

Arabic gum. Consisting of the dried exudates of Acacia trees, this is an ingredient in many food and pharmaceutical products. During recent decades, drought, desertification, civil strife and low prices have led small-scale farmers to fell many Acacia trees, often in order to expand their production of cash and food crops. This has led to worrying levels of deforestation in areas that are already hardhit by droughts and desertification. To turn the tide, more than 100 producer associations, with a total membership of more than 10,000 households (of which 25% are women), decided to join a government effort to generate better revenues from gum cultivation in the country’s “gum belt”: Western and Central Sudan. The farmers received technical, managerial and financial training. They worked together to distribute seedlings and jointly purchase water reservoirs, gum stores, tractors and wells. After four years, their income levels have increased by 65%, and their living conditions improved notably. Reduced income inequality between urban and rural areas is providing a “peace dividend” to the waraffected population of Sudan. The revitalisation of the Arabic gum

E-mail: abualaa_hamad@hotmail.com

distribute important traditional seed varieties through community seed banks. Drawing on local traditions of self-help, the Bondo Food Hub is helping farmers work together and co-operate at a time when farming has become riskier than ever. Their objective is to show how, together, farmers can be more productive, earn a decent income, and contribute to the district’s food security and sovereignty.

Kenya

More information contact Amy Lint at Grow Strong.

E-mail: amy@growstrong.org

sector is also contributing to the much needed reforestation of the country.

More information contact Ibrahim Rahamtalla, at the Sudan Gum Arabic Production & Marketing Project in Khartoum.

Like many rural areas, Bondo district, in western Kenya, is witnessing a strong urbanisation process.

This means a higher demand for farm products, and farmers cannot always respond. Grow Strong, a small NGO working towards food security, initiated the Bondo Food Hub in the first part of 2012. The Hub aims to enhance co-operation by pooling resources and information. Farmers with similar interests form interest groups within the Hub, focusing on, for example, beekeeping or sesame production. The Hub helps these farmer groups by housing processing equipment, developing market opportunities and assisting with packaging and quality control standards. The Hub will soon have a space for dryland farming demonstrations and kitchen gardens for the urban population and plans to collect and

India Community fish culture In India, freshwater aquaculture in man-made water bodies, such as tanks and ponds, is on the rise. In Malliyabad village, in the state of Karnataka, 33 landless families depend on fishing in a minor irrigation tank in the village. However, they were being squeezed by middlemen who control fishing rights, fish harvesting and marketing. These families have responded to these problems by developing and strengthening a community based approach to fish culture and have signed up to the state government’s Jala Samvardhane Yojana Sangha

PHOTO: Amy Lint

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 13

PHOTO: Natasha Leetion

project. Under this project, fishermen and women form Tank Users Groups (TUG) to obtain longterm fishery leasing rights, as well as to ensure the operation and maintenance of the tanks. Income from fisheries and other revenues (such as water tax or the royalties on fisheries) are deposited in the Tank Development Fund: 50% of the revenue generated goes to the fishermen and women, and 50% to the TUG which operates and maintains the tank. The organisation also gives fisherfolk access to trainings and to inputs such as fish fingerlings and harvesting nets. Members have also received technical, marketing and legal support. The participation of women as group members is helping develop a more diverse and sustainable production system.

More information Contact Rajkumar Pujari of the Jala Samvardhane Yojana Sangha project, Government of Karnataka.

E-mail: dr_rajkumar_p@yahoo.com

The Netherlands Governing environmental services In the Dutch province of Friesland, the North Friesian Woodlands (NFW) farmers’ co-operative is 14 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

unique in its efforts to protect the local landscape.

This umbrella organisation provides information and training on natural landscape and biodiversity management to 90% of all the dairy and livestock farmers in the region. It also offers administrative help to its 1,050 members – especially in relation to the government subsidies offered in order to support the ecosystem services that farmers provide: the maintenance of forage space for geese, for example, and of hedgerows between grazing lands that maintain biodiversity in farmlands. During the past 20 years, NFW has challenged Dutch and European policies and regulations related to landscape management. Under the framework of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union, NFW convinced the Dutch government of the value of a collective, regionally tailored approach to payments for ecosystem services. NFW is currently one of the pilot projects under the CAP. Its continuous dialogues with the municipal, provincial and state governments have been a catalyst for change. The proposals for the 2014-2020 CAP follow this example, suggesting that groups of farmers should be eligible to receive payments for the public services provided by their approach to agriculture.

More information contact Ingrid van Huizen at the North Friesian Woodlands co-operative.

E-mail: ivhuizen@noardlikefryskewalden.nl

opencolumn

Efficient e-marketing options for Laikipia

farmer groups Small-scale farmers are often constrained by poor access to markets and limited entrepreneurial skills for adding value to their produce. Rapid urbanisation is however opening up domestic and regional markets and offering new market opportunities for small-scale farmers to supply higher value produce. Supplying these markets offers both higher income and improved business relations for farmers but accessing these markets also requires significant upgrading in terms of product quality, quantities and business management practices.

PHOTO: Charles Bett Kipsang

By Mwangi Mumero

Farmers packing passion fruits for export

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 15

G

In the semi-arid Laikipia County, where cattle rustling is common, dairying is virtually impossible. Last year, Ng’ang’a made a profit of $3,597 (Ksh 300,000) from selling 11,000 kg of passion fruit. He put one-and-half acres of his four acre farm at Karungu Bii area under passion fruit. He has since invested the $3,597 (Ksh 300,000) earned from passion fruits in buying three acres of land which he plans to put under mangoes, avocadoes and passion fruits. “We could actually make more money from fruit farming if we had better markets – local or export, which will reduce the involvement of middlemen or brokers. Currently, we have to sell through brokers who transport the fruits to Nakuru or Nairobi”, laments Ng’ang’a, a married father of five.

E-Market access

PHOTO: Charles Bett Kipsang

Across the country, poor market access by cereal, vegetable and fruit farmers has consistently denied producers their profits with middlemen

PHOTO: Charles Bett Kipsang

rowing

of passion fruits is serious business in dry Sipili Location in Laikipia County within Rift Valley, Kenya.

Almost every farmer in the region has an orchard where passion and other fruits are grown. “Fruits are always in demand as buyers come all the way from big urban areas such as Nairobi and Nakuru. Fruits help to cushion farmers from low prices offered for other cereal crops”, said Daniel Ng’ang’a, one of the prominent passion fruit farmers in the region and a member of the Sipili Passion Fruit Growers Self Help Group, which has 60 members.

or brokers becoming the beneficiaries. “We felt the need to organise farmers into commodity groups which can help them bulk their produce, bargain collectively and be able to negotiate for better prices for their produce. It also brings in economies of scale – further reducing transportation and handling cost for individual farmers”, said Mr. Anthony Mugo, Deputy Director of ALIN, which runs a programme to enhance farmers access market in the area.

Under the project, farmers have formed seven commodity groups through a process supported by ALIN, initially working with a consultant from the Horticultural Crops Development Authority (HCDA).

The project involved training farmers about group formation and dynamics, finance management, quality control and bulk marketing. Through the initiative, farmers have been linked to government extension services to better their crop husbandry skills and increased production.

“At the same time farmers learn the use of technology to get market information - mainly the internet and a mobile text message based platform ALIN’s online market access platform known as Sokopepe (virtual market) (http://www.sokopepe.co.ke/). Farmers send SMS to 3227 to get real time prices of commodities from distant towns in Kenya”, reported Bett Kipsang, ALIN’s field officer at Ng’arua Maarifa (Knowledge) Centre.

The Maarifa centre, has computers with internet access and an assortment of books, journals, magazines and a range of other information products which farmers can use to obtain agricultural information.

Export Market for passion fruits Through Sokopepe, passion fruits and tomato farmers have been able to get an export market

16 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

for their produce as well as better local markets in Nakuru, Eldoret and Nairobi - previously inaccessible. “We sold 400 kg of passion fruits to Kenya Fresh Company, which exports passion fruit and got a better deal compared to what brokers offered us”, said Peter Muturi, the Chairman of the Sipili Passion Fruits group. Another company East African Growers has also shown interest in passion fruits from the area.

On their part, Olmutunyi Conservation Self Help Group, which produces tomatoes, sold 14 tonnes of the fruit under the initiative. “We no longer have problems in getting markets since we are linked with many buyers in bigger towns such as Eldoret”, said Mwangi Muthee, the group’s chairman.

Where Product quality matters Even with the initial success of the market linkage programme, challenges remain for the farmers before they can fully benefit. These include:

• Low volumes of commodities by individual small scale farmers requiring them to form groups to sell in bulk • Pressure to sell cash to middlemen, even at lower prices • Poor post-harvest handling due to lack of skills and capacity to maintain good post-harvest quality • Pest and diseases, particularly die back disease that affects passion fruit.

In order to support the farmers to overcome these challenges, ALIN plans to partner with agencies with capacity and experience to support farmers groups to help Sipili farmers to consolidate their new commodity groups for sustainability.

About the writer Mwangi Mumero is a freelance journalist based in Nyahururu E-mail mwangimumero@gmail.com

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 17

storkstory

18 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 19

Using smallholder

Farmer groups to

Dig out After years of dependence on food aid in the semi-arid Eastern Kenya, Stephen Mwangangi from Kinyatta village in Yatta district, Eastern Kenya has discovered how to keep his family food secure using just one acre piece of land despite the droughts. He attributes his success to the farmer organisation he joined two years ago.

By Isaiah Esipisu

T

he entire region, in Kenya

known as Ukambani is dry.

But through a church-led self help group known as Christian Impact Mission, farmers have discovered a means of survival – combining indigenous knowledge with emerging technologies to grow high value horticultural crops for domestic and the export market.

“On my plot, I grow maize purely for domestic consumption, and horticultural crops such as soy beans, French beans, bullet pepper, cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes among others for both domestic and export market,” said John Mwangangi. The father of three learnt the technique of high value farming in extreme conditions two years ago, when he joined a group that has since then vowed to drive hunger and food-aid out of the entire Ukambani region.

“There is a special reason why smallholder horticultural farmers like me have to work within a group, especially if the target is the export market,” he said. “The produce from my farm alone for example is so little that it cannot support the 20 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

quantity required by the export agents. But with groups, we usually grow similar crops at the same time, then harvest and combine produce from several plots in order to achieve the required quantity,” he explained.

Furthermore, Mwangangi reckons that working in groups encourages experience sharing, innovation and is an encouragement especially for smallholder farmers who might have experienced losses due to given reasons.

Through small groupings of up to 15 farmers, which form the larger Christian Impact Mission group, Mwangangi among other farmers has learned different methods of adaptation to climate change, through selection of appropriate crops, rain water storage, value addition and many other methods that have helped him transform his life from dependency (on food-aid) to independence.

“Many studies have shown that most of the foodstuffs eaten worldwide are produced by smallholder farmers. Yet in our group, we have realised that such smallholder farmers cannot benefit from the high value export market if they have to work as individuals,” said Dr Bishop Titus Masika, the

Photo: Isaiah Esipisu

poverty

An example of Zai pits where maize has just been transplanted in Eastern Kenya

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 21

founder of the Christian Impact Mission which brings together 3000 households from Yatta district within Ukambani region.

Instead of working on community projects, the 3000 households have discovered that they can harvest rain water for irrigation at a household level, grow maize in nurseries for easy watering before transplanting the same into zai-pits once it rains, use method of moisture preservation in zai-pits, and grow high value horticultural crops for income generation. (a Zai-pit is a hole, a planting pit with a diameter of 20-40 cm and a depth of 10-20 cm - the dimensions vary according to the type of soil dug during the dry season it retains water for a long time It has been used to grow bananas, sorghum, maize and millets successfully).

Christian Impact Mission is supported by Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to promote the green revolution agenda in Africa. AGRA is an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to improving farm productivity for smallscale farmers across the continent.

Launched in May 3, 2012, AGRA’s new project dubbed Farmer Organisation Support Centre in Beatrice Mueni Mutisya inspecting her maize crop grown in the semi arid Eastern Kenya. Photo Isaiah Esipisu.

Africa (FOSCA) aims at strengthening managerial, organisational and technical capacity of farmers’ organisations with an aim of transforming them to provide demand-driven and income enhancing services to their members. “Using FOSCA, we are targeting 220,000 smallholder farmers through not less than 70 farmer organisations across Africa,” said Dr David Ameyaw, AGRA’s Director for Monitoring and Evaluation.

Through the Christian Impact Mission, Mwangangi is able to earn at least Sh40, 000 ($500) per week from the export market. “We have no particular season because we do not depend on rainfall. We use irrigation instead,” said Mwangangi with a broad smile on his face.

Anita Onumah is another smallholder who hails from Kitase village, Ekropong District in Eastern Ghana.

In her early 20s, Onumah is able to pay her own college fees at the University of Ghana in Accra, thanks to her small chili pepper faming project for the export market. “I specialise mainly in chilli farming because it doesn’t need much attention.

And as a student, I can always manage it from a distance,” said the agriculture student, majoring in post harvest handling at the University of Ghana.

She attributes her success to the Vegetable Producers and Exporters Association of Ghana (VPEAG), which was her link to the export market.

From a two acre piece of land, Onumah harvests 500 boxes of chili, each weighing 5.5kilograms in an average season. “Each box fetches me up to five US dollars, which earns me up to $2500 every three months,” she said.

Her produce ends up in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

About the writer

Isaiah Esipisu is a science writer based in Nairobi, Kenya. esipisus@yahoo.com See also http://bit.ly/OzZLcn

22 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

onthesubjectof

Women farmers

a pillar to African agriculture

PHOTO: Esta Kiwazi

Farmers, particularly women, face a high degree of economic, legal and institutional uncertainties when investing in their land and other resources. They contribute to commercial agriculture, which includes high-value products such as vegetables and cut flowers for local and export markets. The decentralisation of decision-making towards local and community organisations is the key in changing people’s behaviour and implementing sustainable farming strategies.

By Esta Kiwazi

A

magezi Gabula Atudde is a

Luganda connotation meaning, “The proactive are part of the solution; the passive remain a problem”. Gabula Atudde Women Grip is a women’s farmer group serving two sub counties of Mukono and Goma Town councils in central Uganda. It is called “Grip” because of the firmness with which it has embraced women’s issues for the past 18 years.

In 1994, three elderly women saw the need to mobilise women with no formal employment, school dropouts, people living with HIV/AIDS and other disadvantaged members of the community into gainful activities. The group which started with 25 women now boasts a membership of over 50. It engages in activities that contribute to sustainable agriculture and development and uses basic information and communication technologies (ICTs) for accessing relevant resources. The group operates within the pillars of sustainable agriculture as below:

Use of locally available resources: The group has embraced the use of locally available resources  which has enabled them save both money and time while conserving the environment. For example  they use grass for mulching their gardens, fibers from banana plants are used to make crafts while decomposed plants are used to make compost manure for use in their farms.

Environmental protection: The group has established a tree nursery and is involved in tree planting, soil and water conservation activities. In addition they promote use of biogas technology as an alternative fuel within the community and schools in the district.

Nutrient recycling: The group recycles all forms of “wastes” including water from kitchens that is channeled to farms, food taken to kitchens and back to the farms as manure.

Innovative sustainable agriculture practices: Such best practices include fanya juu (pile up) & BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 23

fanya chini (dig down) terracing, mulching, mixed farming where each family has at least one zero grazed livestock, chicken, rabbit, bee keeping and recycling of livestock’s waste that provides manure for crops’ healthy growth especially vegetables.

These best practices provide income and food all year round. “We have a working constitution in place to ensure that all members abide by the rules and our meetings are twice a month on Thursday from 1600-1800 hrs,” said Esther Kiwazi, coordinator of the group.

Capacity building activities The group has been involved in capacity building activities that have enriched the members’ capacity in farming, entrepreneurship, and education. Among partners who have supported them include; Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), Environmental Alert and Kasenge River for Organic Agriculture among others. The group acquired computers with support from WOUGNET. They use ICTs for networking and fundraising. In addition, they get research and internship students from Makerere University’s School of Gender and Women Studies with whom they work to strengthen their activities.

Gabula Atudde embraces farmer-to-farmer extension which they have found very useful. Members learn from each other and from other farmer groups.

The group has yearly competitions during which it awards the best farmer on sustainable agriculture which has kept members motivated.

Mukono District where the students plant vegetables such as amaranth and cabbage, which they sell in the schools and to the local market.

Challenges facing Gabula Atudde • Limited access and control to cultivatable land coupled with prohibitive prices of land and the women’s meager income have been a major setback for the group. However, they innovatively use other farming techniques like growing amaranth, kales, and eggplants intensively in sacks, key-hole-gardens; raised beds and hanging gardens among others.

• The group finds it hard to access formal markets for their products hence it has been a challenge to sell their produce.

• Like any other group, Gabula Atudde has had conflicts and misunderstandings among members. However they have a well established conflict resolution committee which has always resolved the issues that arise.

• The group has suffered from false promises from some of the funding partners who withdrew before completing what they had promised to do thereby demoralising them.

• The group has written many project proposals on sustainable agriculture but unfortunately they haven’t managed to secure any funds from donors. The struggle continues!



Promotion and use of renewable energy especially biogas and solar has reduced costs of fuel for lighting and cooking. The group received support from East African Technology Development Network (ENERGY NETWORK-Uganda) to establish biogas among members and the community at large. It is currently promoting institutional biogas with an aim to tap on a bio-toilet project to earn income.

About the writer

Kiwazi Esta Nnassanga is the executive coordinator of Gabula

  Atudde Women Grip in Mukono in central Uganda.

Email:gabulaa@gmail.com

Achievements Because of The commendable performance, Gabula Atudde has hosted many dignitaries, as on 26th April 1998, members met with President Bill and Hillary Clinton. This came as a result of their activities by Heifer Project International (HPI).

Members are able to earn income from the sustainable agriculture activities and pay school fees for their children. In addition the group has partnered with Pride; a micro finance institution which has enabled them to access loans. They have so far established micro gardens in five schools in 24 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

PHOTO: Esta Kiwazi

PHOTO: Sanam Chaikhet Organic Farmers’ Group

Agrobiodiversity

@knowledged farmer groups and the biodiversity dividend

Many different agricultural practices contribute positively in terms of biodiversity.

Joining hands and working together is clearly one of them. This was shown by Green Net, the co-operative that recently hosted the participants of the agrobiodiversity@ knowledged programme in Thailand. There they also saw the benefits that biodiversity can bring to both producers and their organisations.

By Michael B. Commons

S

ince 1993, Green Net co-

operative has been working with small-scale farmer groups, under two key principles: organic farming and fair trade. The primary motivation for starting to work together was not our interest in biodiversity, but rather our desire to link farmers applying sustainable ecological practices to consumers interested in having access to quality foods, thus benefiting both sides. Yet, from the start, this linkage has been very positive in terms

of local biodiversity. Our work supports the use of integrated ecological practices, contributes to the economic development of farmers and farmers’ communities, and has helped to preserve and enrich farm ecologies, and to preserve and enrich farm communities. Most of the Green Net farms show a much greater diversity of life then those managed under a regime of chemical inputs. Farmers adopting organic methods consistently point to the return of species of fish, frogs, and wild vegetables and so forth that they had not seen since their childhoods.

We have also seen that working together to produce quality agricultural products that are marketed BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 25

collectively can help farmers improve their economic well-being. However, the benefit of being part of a farmers’ group and of a network, goes far beyond this. Whether in Thailand or elsewhere, the modern world does not seem to value local, indigenous, and personal knowledge and experience, especially when it has to compete with the knowledge and information coming from academic and official channels. For many years, Green Net members have been using participatory learning methodologies to develop skills in organic methods, and more recently for developing technologies to adapt to climate change.

This process enables farmers to share their knowledge and experience with others and to become researchers and innovators themselves. All of our groups have regular village and district level meetings, and we also host an annual Green Net Co-operative meeting. With new confidence in one’s knowledge and a spirit of innovation, each meeting is an exchange of knowledge and ideas and, usually, also of seeds and growing materials. New species are integrated onto farms and new ways to use natural resources are learned – and the area’s biodiversity wealth increases.

Our biodiverse “rice based-farming systems” While most Green Net farmers are primarily rice farmers and (organic) rice is the main product the co-operative trades, economic stability, time and an interest in innovation and exchange, have led our farmer members towards more diverse and integrated production. This is in strong contrast with many other farmers in their own and in neighbouring communities, and has led to the successful establishment of many local “green markets” where organic/sustainable farmers sell their local vegetables, home processed foods and snacks, harvested fish, frogs, bamboo worms, mushrooms, rice or vegetable seeds. In other cases, communities apply their traditional knowledge to make special products such as naturally dyed fabrics or basketry handicrafts, and adapt them to tap into interesting new markets. While it may not be evident that this diversified production system comes from groups originally established to produce organic rice, without the existing group dynamics and the market linkages, most of these farmer members would probably not be applying organic methods, and many would probably be supplementing their incomes by selling their labour in cities and factories. They would probably also have lost more of their cultural knowledge and their varietal diversity. They would not have had the marketing, accounting, and management experience they now hold to move forward in new ventures that are founded on their own strengths; their knowledge and the biodiversity they care for.

26 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Take out box “Make every aspect of biodiversity a part of your life” Forty-three people from all over the world met in Thailand in July for a three day conference as part of the agrobiodiversity@knowledged programme. Following on from the first meeting in Thika, Kenya, in October 2011, this second meeting was meant to help consolidate the group and kick-start activities. According to M.P. Vasimalai, a participant from India, “the meeting in Thika was like the germination of a seed. This second meeting brought a kind of binding that will only strengthen in the future.” The venue and the set-up of the meeting was special (the green, airy grounds of a Buddhist ashram, surrounded by water and only accessible by a rope raft), but it was the approach which impressed participants most. Quoting the same participant, “the preparatory committee and the facilitator saw to it that the content came from the community, and therefore the ownership lies with the community”.

The three-day discussions helped the group map out ideas and define a strategic direction. Maryleen Micheni, from PELUM Kenya, described the meeting as a “kind of thinktank”. Participants from many civil society organisations together identified five strategic fields of action (policy and government, market and trade, the development of resilient communities, information and networking, and seeds and technology), and then drafted plans to develop with research institutes, governments and the private sector. “The message I take home is that it is very important to understand the interactions between land and resources, local legislation, and the market forces.” “We will go for an agrobiodiversity network on seeds, and set up action programmes. It doesn’t need a lot of money to do that. And I intend to target the universities we work with.” “Our intention is to make every aspect of biodiversity a part of our life” All these plans are built on the many lessons and ideas that emerged at the meeting. The challenge at home is now “to test the plans we have formulated, interact with others, and further develop our strategies.” The sense of success was summarised by Zimbabwe’s Prosper Matondi: “I like the feeling that this is our business. We are in charge.” (Karoline Bias)

About the writer

Michael Commons (michael@greennet.or.th) works with Green Net in Thailand. More information can be found on their website: www.greennet.or.th. For more information about the OxfamNovib / Hivos knowledge programme please get in touch with Willy Douma (wdouma@hivos.nl) or Gine Zwart (gine. zwart@oxfamnovib.nl).

TECHNICALNOTE

Farmers’ organisations

A Prerequisite for Better Markets and Food Security Over the past decades Africa’s farmers have organised themselves at local, national, regional and continental levels. They have demonstrated their capacity to build their organisations contributing to food security.

By Esther Lung’ahi Types of Organisations Farmer organisations can be grouped into two namely: Community-Based, Resource-Orientated Farmer Organisations and Commodity-Based, Market-Orientated Farmer Organisations

M

any government

agencies have developed national policies for rural development and designed frameworks to help rural communities become formally organised so that services could be channeled through such organisations. Some of the policies have led to development of blueprints for farmers’ organisations such as cooperatives and commodity groups among others, helping farmers to better access inputs, markets and capacity building services.

Historically, formation of farmers’ organisations was mainly supported by extension workers who initiated farmer groups but often did not train them properly.

As result, many groups would disintegrate after just a few years.

Community-Based, Resource-Orientated Farmer Organisations can be village-level cooperatives or associations dealing with inputs needed by the members, the resource owners, to enhance the productivity of their businesses based on land, water, or animals. These organisations are generally small, have well-defined geographical areas, and are predominantly concerned about inputs. However, the client group is highly diversified in terms of crops and commodities.

Commodity-Based, Market-Orientated Farmer Organisations on the other hand specialise in a single commodity and opt for value-added products which have expanded markets. They are designated as outputdominated organisations. Not specific to any single community, they can obtain members from among the regional growers of that commodity who are interested in investing some share capital to acquire the most recent processing technology and professional manpower. These farmer organisations are generally not small and have to operate in a competitive environment. Research, input supply, extension, credit, collection of produce, processing, and marketing are all integrated to maximize the returns on the investments of the members. Their rate of success requires a high caliber of representative and enlightened leadership from among the members. It is a challenging and demanding task to conceive, design, build, and nurture this type of farmer organisation.

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 27

Challenges facing farmers’ organisation Weak organisational capacities - With the decline of co-operatives and other farmers’ organisations, many farmers lack a collective voice. They cannot access affordable production inputs such as finance, technology, land and water, and are thus locked out of markets. As a result, a large number of small-scale farmers live in poverty and cannot influence policies that affect their livelihoods.

Strong and vibrant farmers’ organisations can provide opportunities for farmers to effectively play a role in the market economy and benefit from it. However, identifying and promoting authentic farmers’ organisations that empower smallholders, is a big challenge for governments and their development partners. Most groups are hastily formed, often with no regard for the socialcultural and economic structures of the farming communities. Such groups are not viable and incapable of serving as channels through which farmers can take part in decision making.

Lack of economies of scale - Farmers are not only scattered geographically, but often produce for subsistence or far below potential. Many are locked in a vicious circle of poverty. Extension services compound the problem by emphasising support to individual farmers instead of groups that would provide better opportunities to use limited resources more effectively.

Focus on production rather than the market - small-scale farmers mainly aim at increasing production and food self-sufficiency, rather than producing for the market and making profit. This problem is partly due to the fact that different departments outside agricultural extension are responsible for marketing, processing and value addition of farm produce.

Technology vs. social organisation-Agricultural extension has emphasised the promotion of technologies that improve production rather than developing institutional arrangements to encourage the adoption of such technologies.

Partial application of “participatory methods”There is little regard to the farmers’ socio-economic realities and their felt needs. The farmer organisation approach could correct this as it is bottom-up.

Poor farmer-extension-research linkages Links between farmers, extension services and research are weak. Well organised farmers’ groups and improved communication with stakeholders can help overcome this problem and focus efforts on solving farmers’ problems.

28 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

Extension messages not matched with farmers’ incomes In many instances, individual farmers cannot afford the technologies promoted. However, if organised in groups, they can pool resources and gradually help one another adopt such technology.

Poor monitoring and evaluation strategies Many groups lack strong monitoring and evaluation component which would analyse the extent of progress and achievement of objectives to enable them plan effectively.

Strengthening farmer organisations Participatory methods that enable extension service providers play an active but catalytic role in identifying potentials, opportunities and appropriate enterprises for common interest groups should be promoted. In addition, short training courses, study tours and regional workshops that encourage crossfertilisation of ideas and exchange of experiences among extension staffs, farmers and institutions should be encouraged. Developing, repackaging and disseminating extension materials are necessary to ensure replication of best practices.

Conclusion Promoting farmers’ organisations is a process that cannot be hurried. The ideal farmer organisations are those that represent farmers’ interests and are as a result of their own needs. However, external catalysts play a big role of widening their perspectives. For the farmers’ organisations to be effective there is need for supportive policies that encourage the mushrooming of organisations with farmers in charge. Such support include organisational support, technical support and financial support. National policy makers should recognise the role that farmers’ organisations play in tackling environmental issues and food security. Farmers are required to take charge, be well organised to influence policies to benefit from emerging markets.

Reference

1. Millie Biruma Abaru, Anthony Nyakuni and Gideon Shone: 2006. Strengthening farmer’s organisations: RELMA’s experience in eastern and southern Africa. ICRAF Working Paper no 23.

2. Kristin Davis, Ephraim Nkonya et al : June 2010.Impact of Farmer Field Schools on Agriculture Productivity and Poverty in East Africa, IFPRI Discussion Paper 00992

See also

http://www.fao.org/docrep/W5830E/w5830e0n.htm

About the writer

Esther Lung’ahi is a Project Officer at ALIN Elungahi@alin.net

GUESTcolumn

Role of external actors on the growth of farmers’ organisations

Farmers’ organisations are voluntary member associations of farmers within particular localities formed to undertake common activities of interest to members. These organisations often coalesce around particular production systems or members’ priority value chains. Their intended outcomes include increasing household assets and availing agricultural services to members.

By Immaculate N. Maina

I

n Kenya, most extension services, as well as, agricultural

research and development (R&D) activities by government and non-governmental agencies interrelate with farmer organisations. This increases efficiency in terms of the number of farmers an agency can reach and also increases returns in monetary investments. It also triggers peer review mechanisms within the farmers’ organisations as members review activities of external agencies.

Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) works closely with farmers’ groups in development and implementation of its research agenda within priority value chains. The projects below demonstrate the value of having researchers working with farmers groups.

The agri-food systems project “Making agri-food systems work for the rural poor in Eastern and Southern Africa” is a project funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Rural Poverty and Environment Programme Initiative. Its overall goal is to stimulate the adaptation of pro-poor agri-food systems innovations as a contribution to improving food security and sustainable natural resource management. The project has sites in Kenya, Uganda and Malawi. The Kenyan project sites are in the districts of Nyandarua North (Kiriogo Location), Kirinyaga West (Kariti location) and Mbeere South (Kiambere and Mutuaobare Locations).

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 29

The project adopted an iterative process of progressive problem solving with action research in its implementation. Action research involves utilizing a systematic cyclical method of planning, taking action, observing, self-evaluating and critical reflection prior to planning the next cycle.

Researcher-extension-farmer interactions are ensured through an integrated system of demonstration plots, farmer field schools, farmer field days and mother-baby trials. Learning networks developed around this integrated system have yielded lessons in local organisational development, action planning and experiential learning.

Integrated system for researcherextension-farmer interactions This integrated system builds the capacity of farmers to improve their production packages, their organisational skills and also their decision-making capabilities. The farmers’ groups directly linked to the project focus on production and marketing of priority traditional crops of high value like cowpeas, sorghum, sunflower and runner beans.

The groups increased collective action evidenced by formation of marketing federations for the priority crops. They have identified specific collection and storage points and potential buyers. These activities are coordinated by a marketing committee representative of all the groups.

Success story: Innovating for resilient farming Systems Another project “Enhancing ecologically resilient food security through innovative farming systems in the semi-arid midlands of Kenya” is funded by the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF) and implemented by KARI and McGill University of Canada.

This project catalyses adoption of high value traditional crops; imparts knowledge on improved agronomic management practices, encourages increased consumption of high value traditional crops for health and nutrition, links farmers to local and external input and output markets and contributes to formulation of policies focused on resilience.

The project is currently working with 54 farmer groups in various locations in seven semi-arid districts of Makueni (Wote, Watema and Kivani); Mwala (Masii, Miu and Kyawango); Kathonzweni (Kithuki, Kathonzweni and Mavindini); Makindu (Nguumo, Makindu); Yatta (Ndalani, Kinyaata and Katangi); Tharaka North (Thiti) and Tharaka South (Ntugi, Nkondi and Nkarini).

30 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

To link with farmers’ groups the project uses an integrated innovative design that allows farmers, extension agencies and researchers to interact directly at the Primary Participatory Agricultural Technology Evaluation (PPATE) sites. The PPATE sites are managed by groups of farmers at sub-location level. Three PPATEs come together to form a Focal Research and Development Area (FRDA), which administratively lies at Location level.

Through participatory processes, farmer groups prioritise preferred crop types. From KARI’s repositories, two new/improved crop varieties to match one of the landraces selected by farmers are offered. The three crop varieties are grown side by side at PPATE level. The appropriate agronomic management systems are demonstrated, learnt and discussed by the farmers, officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and KARI researchers. At the end of the season, the groups managing the PPATE sites open their evaluation farms to the larger community and interested stakeholders in field days to explain what they learnt throughout the season and the knowledge they gained.

Through this interaction, each PPATE farmer group has identified other farmer groups in their sub-locations (3-10 farmer groups) that they “mentor” through exchange of information and knowledge gained from the PPATE sites. These groups are potential scaling up entities known as the Secondary Participatory Agricultural Technology Evaluation (SPATE).

Through this innovative structure the project reached 1253 households in the PPATE groups in one planting season. Through the SPATE process, the project plans to reach over 10,000 starting the short rains of 2012.

This project design empowers farmer’ groups to take decisive actions in managing their environment, in adopting improved technologies for crop and livestock management, soil and water management, nutrient recycling, and in utilisation of bio-diversity.

The PPATE groups have coalesced at the FRDA level to form collective marketing groups for prioritised enterprises. The top three priority enterprises are indigenous chicken, cowpeas and green grams.

The groups have undertaken participatory market appraisals to assess capacities of local markets to purchase their produce and are now developing business plans to coordinate production of produce for the market in the October/November short rains of 2012.

Pro-poor agro-enterprises project Development of pro-poor agro-enterprise value chains for sustainable rural livelihoods-up-scaling of lessons learnt (Ford Foundation funded project) is geared towards scaling-up of methodologies for participatory value chain development and improved farmer-research-extension-private sector engagement. The project activities include identification of partnerships, capacities, methodologies and policies necessary to develop and implement gender appropriate participatory value chains for pro-poor enterprise development.

The priority agro enterprises are rearing indigenous chicken, bee keeping and growing passion fruits and banana.

The project is working with farmers groups in four districts in Kenya. Indigenous chicken keeping is in Malindi (Ganda, Jilore and Gongoni Divisions) and Naivasha (Mirera and Kongoni Divisions) Districts, where the project is working with 64 and 50 farmer groups, respectively. Banana and passion fruit activities are in Imenti South District in Abogeta and Nkuene Divisions with up-scaling activities in Igoji Division. The four passion fruit groups are umbrellas groups that comprise of about 20 sub groups. These groups have gained skills in passion fruit nursery management for production of clean planting materials. This has translated to renewed interest in passion growing following earlier loss of orchards to disease. In Transmara District (Lolgorian and Angata Divisions) 16 farmers’ groups, which include women, among the Maasai community have embraced beekeeping.

These farmer groups were identified through a process of ground truthing, followed by profiling to ascertain their status in terms of length of existence; certification by the Ministry of Social Services, and composition of women, men and youth. This exercise enables categorisation of farmers groups into different levels on a continuum of forming → storming → norming → performing → adjourning/ mourning.

To guide engagement with farmer groups an adaptation of the PRADAN model of group engagement is used. This model allows farmers, researchers and extension agents to engage differently with farmers’ groups at their different resource levels. Farmers who progress to higher levels of the continuum ‘hand-hold’ other farmers who are less endowed.

Ready to Scale up: Dynamic poor

Focus is on Scale up plans (Phase 2) Strong organisations & chain relations Trusting relationships with all chain actors Relatively stable relations

Exploring opportunities: Coping poor

Focus is on demonstration at scale (Phase one) Farmers groups get stable, form linkages Individual advantages consolidated Lessons from previous experiences applied

Survival: Resigned poor

Focus is on trust building Few or no, organisations Weak organisations Few permanent relationships Lack of trust

The project integrates the Participatory Extension Approach (PEA) to simultaneously popularize technologies and upscale to other farmers. This approach shifts the extension paradigm of engaging farmers to assuming a catalytic role for social change in “learning together for change”.

Lessons learnt • Farmer organisations have strategies and innovations that through the consultative effort of research, development and public policy can be mobilised for development.

• Effective participatory learning processes enable farmer organisations assess and apply R&D outputs on a more demand driven basis to solve specific problems.

• Farmer organisations are important agencies for uptake, promotion and scaling up technologies to promote agricultural production.

• Farmer organisations enhance researchextension-farmer linkages that enable smallholders spread risks, enhance food and nutrition security, gain income opportunities and adapt to effects of climate change.

• Creating strong chain relations and market linkages for priority value chains of farmers acts as an impetus for development of relevant skills among farmer organisations.

• Continuous capacity building, particularly in leadership skills, of farmer organisations leads to higher sustainability of groups and increases the sense of ownership of R&D outputs.

About the writer Corresponding author: Immaculate N. Maina (PhD). Is a Senior Research Officer, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Headquarters, Nairobi Email: immaculate.n.maina@gmail.com and inmaina@kari.org Co- authors include: Esther Njuguna, Maureen Miruka, Muthoni Muta, Patrick Wahome, Lewa Kadenge, Lutta Muhammad and Festus Murithi from KARI. BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 31

How to water

Baobab Magazine

Introduction

The Baobab is a quarterly magazine that is published in March, June, September and December. Every issue has a theme that guides the topic one can write on. Topics for 2012: • December: Desertification: A threat to livelihoods in arid and semi arid lands.

How to Write

Know what you are writing about in advance and think clearly, carefully reflecting on: • WHAT was the initial context and what were the difficulties faced?

• WHAT were the reasons for the approach taken to improve the situation?

• HOW did they go about it and who took the initiative?

• WHEN did all this happen, and to what extent was the timing important?

• WHAT happened as a result?

• WHY did it work out as it did? (We appreciate opinions/analysis/conclusions relevant to field level, as well as recommendations for policy makers).

magazine. We would also appreciate a contact phone number for our own use.

1) Thoroughly read the call for articles and check that the article fits well with the theme being covered.

The editor reserves the right to decide whether or not to publish an article or contribution after receipt of the first full draft. Articles that are accepted will be edited to the Baobab house style and shortened if necessary.

Contributions edited in this way will be returned to the authors for approval before publication. Articles accepted for publication in the Baobab may be chosen for translation in any of the six regional editions. We will endeavour to inform authors if their article appears in other editions.

2) Explain any terms or ideas that may not be understood in every part of the world.

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• WHERE did the action take place?

Please Ensure that You

3) Acknowledge all sources and references used.

4) Explain any abbreviations used.

Full editorial support is provided. As the articles go through a rigorous editorial process, authors are usually requested to provide additional information or clarifications. We would therefore rather have too much information than too little in the first draft!

Format 1. Articles should be about 700 to 1000 words (one, two or three-page articles) and should be emailed to Baobab@alin.net or Elungahi@alin.net as a word document attachment.

2. Include no more than five references. Each reference should include title, year of publication, name of author, and publisher.

3. Please provide a current contact address at the bottom of the article. This will also be published in the

32 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

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Please note that we use the “Creative Commons License Attribution non-commercial share alike 3.0 unported’’ policy regarding copyright. We encourage free and open exchange of information. As such readers and authors are encouraged to copy and circulate articles from the Baobab quoting the source. In addition, this means that we may use submitted photos or text in our other publications. We will try to contact you and credit your work in accordance with the license.

Call for Articles Desertification: A Threat to Livelihoods in Arid and SemiArid Lands According to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), there is a widespread consensus that the pressing issues of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought (DLDD) are not yet properly included and addressed in today’s political and private sector agendas on a global, national and local level and that it is therefore of vital importance to raise awareness of the effects - costs and benefits - that decisions related to land management and ecosystems have.

With respect to small-scale sustainable agriculture and compounded by the negative impact of climate change, desertification poses one of the greatest threat to food security. Arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found deserve special attention. They bear the brunt of desertification. The December issue of Baobab will focus on desertification and how communities are innovatively combating the process. The timing coincides with the preparation for the upcoming UNCCD 2nd Scientific Conference which will be held in Fortaleza, Brazil.

We welcome articles relevant to this topic as well as commentaries which are globally relevant and also those experiences relevant to the East African region. This issue will provide an additional platform to increase the range of perspectives and approaches that need to find their way into the global agenda for combating desertification and the threat it poses to the environment and livelihoods particularly in subSaharan Africa.

Please write to Elungahi@alin.net by November 15th 2012.

Let us Know by SMS!

D ear Reader,

The short messaging service (SMS) option of getting in touch with the Baobab editorial team is back! Send us an SMS letting us know what you think about a certain article, suggestion for future articles or any other general comment.

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Farmer organisations There is a variety of resources available on farmer organisations. Practical manuals to support the setup of co-operatives include “Starting a cooperative” (R. Koopmans, 2006), “Project design manual: A step by step tool to support the development of cooperatives and other forms of self-help organisations” (ILO, 2010) and the distance learning CD-ROM “Understanding and supporting rural producer organisations” (FAO, 2006). Other interesting documents include “Producer organisations and market chains: Facilitating trajectories of change in developing countries” (G. Ton, J. Bijman, J. Oorthuizen, 2007), “Dealing with small scale producers (E. Mangnus & B. de Steenhuijsen Piters, 2010) and Alexander Chayanov’s classic, but still highly relevant, “Theory of peasant co-operatives”. The United Nations proclaimed 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives; relevant resources and activities can be found on the dedicated website. There is also a small but growing body of literature on territorial and environmental co-operatives.

Interesting papers include “Territorial cooperative networks: new social carriers for endogenous rural development” (Rooij, 2006) and “Peasants, territorial cooperatives and the agrarian question” (J.D. van der Ploeg, 2010). Information for and about farmer organisations can also be found on the websites of different membership organisations such as the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and La Via Campesina.

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 33

Book Reviews The community development handbook: How to build community capacity

This handbook has been created to support the understanding and effective application of the community development. This hand book is designed to look at community development. It is not designed to be a text book for practitioners, but as an introductory guide to community development and capacity building. It is designed primarily for those who have interest in community development but who may not have an in-depth understanding of the concept, the process or the resources available across Africa. It provides a resource for exploring and initiating community development and reviewing the basics of the community development process.

It is written by John Chikati and published by Regional Partnership for Resource Development.

It can be purchased from Regional Partnership for Resource Development and also available in leading bookshops in East Africa.

For more information please contact; Regional Partnership for Resource Development IFDM Gardens, off Ngong road, P.O Box 3934-00506, Nairobi Mobile: +254 722656856/721637584 Email:info@repared.com

Passion fruit farming hand book

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is an important cash crop in East Africa.

It’s mainly grown for both local and export markets. Passion fruit has enormous economic potential in alleviating poverty by creating employment along the value chain through the production, processing, transport and input supply systems. High incidences of pest and disease attack, lack of pathogen-free planting material as well as inadequate knowledge and skills on good agricultural practices are among the major pointers to low yields in passion fruit production.

Passion fruit farming hand book contains technical information on all the critical cultural aspects of passion fruit farming.Moreover,it has coloured photographs of various pests and diseases of passion fruits and gives tips on cultural, biological and chemical control options to optimize yields sustainably.

The editors, Muthomi Ernest and Janet Njogu are practicing agronomists with professional qualifications from University of Nairobi, The University of Pretoria-S.A, The Royal Institute of the Public Health-UK, The natural Resources Institute-UK among others.

To purchase the book kindly contact; KENGAP publishing Ltd P.O Box 12898-00400, Nairobi Tel: 020 8026476/7 Mobile: +254 722575544/723491549 Email:books@kengap.co.ke 34 BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012

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Dear Editor, I am an Agricultural Extension Development Officer in the Ministry of agriculture, Malawi. I am currently pursuing a diploma in Agriculture at the Natural Resources College, Lilongwe due for completion in June, 2013. I would like to be more knowledgeable about the principles and practices of agriculture. I am sure that Baobab magazine will provide the same and assist me provide the necessary skills to the rural farmers I work with. I would be grateful to be receiving a copy of every issue.

Arthur H. Nyirongo, Agricultural Extension Development Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Chilumba, Karonga, MALAWI.

Dear Arthur, Baobab magazine focuses on small-scale sustainable agriculture and is dedicated to continue passing on knowledge and skills to farmers. Be assured that readers in Malawi will benefit from it. Please visit http://www.alin.net/Baobab%20Magazine to read past issues of Baobab .To subscribe to the magazine please visit our website and follow the link: http://www.alin.net/i/Subscribe .

Dear Editor, Concerned Group for Appropriate Greenness (CGAG) is a group which deals with sharing practical applications and advocating on the need to adhere to environmentally and socially sustainable ways of development especially agricultural practices seeking alternative methods to the environmentally negligent “Green Revolution� way of agriculture recently being heavily advocated for and applied in our agricultural system. Our current activities involve introduction of low-input small scale organic gardening methods.

I learnt about Baobab from an advert on SPORE magazine (Issue No. 153). I would like to request for a free subscription of the Baobab magazine and further partnerships with ALIN in future. I would also request for copies of previous editions of the Baobab either on hard copies or in CD-ROMs. Mesfin Hailemariam, Organizer, CONCERNED GROUP FOR APPROPRIATE GREENNESS (CGAG), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dear Mesfin, Thank you for your interest in the Baobab. Please feel free to write to us on specific issues and assistance needed by your organisation. Subscription is free, to subscribe, please visit our website on the link below: http://www.alin.net/i/Subscribe to Baobab Magazine. For previous issues of the Baobab, visit http://www.alin.net/Baobab.

Dear Editor, Greetings from Ghana and from our organisation. We would like to subscribe for the BAOBAB Magazine as you published in the SPORE Magazine recently. We have realized that the content will be good for our educational and training activities. Kindly inform us about other relevant materials that would be of help to us.

Joseph Agbeko, Ghana

Dear Joseph, Thank you for finding Baobab useful in your activities. For particular themes, please let us know and we shall send you all the relevant materials. To subscribe, visit our website on the link: http://www.alin.net/i/Subscribe and http://www.alin. net/Baobab for past issues.

Dear Editor,

Having learnt of the Baobab magazine from the Spore magazine of June-July No.153, I got an interest in it and would like to subscribe.

My address is; District Agricultural & Livestock Office, P.O. Box 94, Mbozi, Tanzania Myson S.Sobe, Tanzania.

Dear Myson, The Baobab is keen to continue offering information that is helpful on sustainable agriculture to improve livelihoods.

Please visit our website on the link below: http://www.alin. net/i/Subscribe to subscribe and http://www.alin.net/Baobab for past issues.

BAOBAB ISSUE 64, SEPTEMBER 2012 35

‘’Farmers’ voice cannot be obtained without farmers’ organisations. In the world, for instance, there are hundreds of millions of farmers. To engage in any sensible dialogue with the rest of society, farmers need their representative organisations, the farmers’ organisations, structured from grassroots to the international level, as their legitimate voice. This is why farmers’ movement gives a lot of importance to farmers’ organisations, organisations by farmers and for farmers, as an important pillar of today’s society’’.

-Rashid Pertev Mediterranean Committee of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Paris (France)

‘’Farmers’ Organisations (FOs) are essential institutions for the empowerment, poverty alleviation and advancement of farmers and the rural poor. Politically, FOs strengthens the political power of farmers, by increasing the likelihood that their needs and opinions are heard by policy makers and the public’’.

-Esther A. Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Sept, 21, 2011.

“The major reason why most rural farmers in Uganda live in poverty is because they are poorly organised. This has been caused by development bodies’ poor approach to agricultural development , they have not emphasised the importance of unity among farmers” Christopher Mulindwa, Chairman of the Watubba pig Farmers, Association in the Wakiso district, Nangabo, Uganda, participating in the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition, July 2012.

ag r i cultures

NETWORK

Baobab is published by ALIN with support from ileia - The Centre for learning on sustainable agriculture. ALIN and ileia are members of AgriCultures, a global network of organisations that share knowledge and provide information on small-scale, sustainable agriculture worldwide.