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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Since 1990 the Chilean government has supported the participation of small-scale farmers in one of the most competitive economies in the developing world.

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.