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Issue 34 : Producer organisations and value chains
Farmers must be given the opportunity to strengthen their position in global food value chains. Value chains represent the sequence of activities through which value is added to a product from its raw form until it reaches the consumer. The more farmers participate in value chains, and the more they benefit from higher prices, the better they can help tackle the food crisis. However the individual small farmer is often a marginal participant in value chains. Producer organisations can help farmers to strengthen their position in value chains. Therefore building the capacity of farmer organisations should be considered an important element in a wider strategy to address the global food crisis.
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Weaving the oilseed food web
29 October 2010
The Ugandan government has chosen oilseed as one of several strategic commodities to spearhead the transformation of its agricultural sector from subsistence to commercial farming.
MoreThe farmer ownership model
29 October 2010
Uganda’s National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises (NUCAFE) has adopted a new approach to encourage coffee farmers to expand the scope of their activities in the coffee value chain.
MoreThe Bonn Workshop Consensus: priorities and action
29 October 2010
On 15–16 May 2008 the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the German government sponsored a workshop in preparation for the third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which will take place in Accra, Ghana, 2–4 September.
MoreProducer organisations and value chains
29 October 2010
With the renewed attention to agriculture as a major driver of development, development agencies now recognise the importance of producer organisations. These organisations help farmers improve their position in value chains.
MoreProducer organisations and the food crisis
29 October 2010
The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) represents over 600 million farm families. Former IFAP president Jack Wilkinson talks to Capacity.org about the role of producer organisations in addressing the food crisis.
MoreMaking contract farming work with cooperatives
29 October 2010
The World Development Report 2008 is optimistic that contract farming can help reduce poverty. For it to succeed, producer organisations must play a big role.
MoreFruit producers in a fair-trade chain
29 October 2010
The Zebediela Citrus Estate in Limpopo province, South Africa, was returned to the Bjatladi community in 2003. The community now co-owns and manages the enterprise and its productive assets.
MoreCooperating to compete – easier said than done
29 October 2010
Since 1990 the Chilean government has supported the participation of small-scale farmers in one of the most competitive economies in the developing world.
MoreBuilding the capacity of producer organisations
29 October 2010
One might think that the recent rise in global food prices presents an opportunity for the developing world’s 450 million smallholder farmers. But too few are responding by increasing production. Why is this so? In this issue, Jack Wilkinson, former president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), and a farmer himself, gives this rhetorical response: ‘ Imagine being a farmer in an area where there is no road and no credit system, and yet you are hearing about a global food shortage. It wouldn’t mean anything to you, because you would be so removed from the whole system’.
MoreAgriculture can’t wait
29 October 2010
Farmers face a wide range of risks, including depleted soil, irregular rainfall, unexpected drought, rising input prices, decreasing output prices, diseases and sudden changes in demand, to name but a few. Many of these issues could be dealt with very effectively if farmers could get organised and if external stakeholders could provide a helping hand. The role of government is to put in place consistent agricultural policies that encourage increased production, as well as legal institutions that ensure equity and transparency in providing land titles and access to water for farmers. Stakeholders in a value chain can collaborate in initiating relevant research and establishing systems for sharing knowledge and information.
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