Finnish Agri-Agency for Food and Forest Development

Farmer to farmer cooperation

since 2012

Member agri-agencies:AFDI Agriculteurs Français et Developpement International, FranceAgri-agence de la FNSEA, APCA, Jeunes Agriculteurs, CNMCCA

Agriterra NetherlandsAgri-agency of LTO, the foundation of rural women’s organisations SSVO, NCR and NAJK

Trias BelgiumAgri-agency of Boerenbond, Landelijke Gilden, KVLV and KLJ

UPA DI Union des Producteurs Agricoles- Développement international, CanadaAgri-agence de l’UPA, Union des Producteurs Agricoles (Québec)

FERT Formation pour l’Epanouissement et le Renouveau de la Terre, FranceAgri-agence partenaire du Groupe "Céréaliers de France”(AGPB, ARVALIS, UNIGRAINS) SCC Swedish Cooperative Center, SwedenAgri-agency of LRF (Lantbrukarnas Riksförbund), Federation of Swedish Farmers

CSA Collectif Stratégies Alimentaires , Agri-Agence de Fédération Wallonne d’Agriculture, Belgium

AsiaDHHRA Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan-ROC and Japan

Asprodeb Organisation agricoles du Sénégal members d’Asprodeb, Senegal

FFD Finnish agri-agency for Food and Forest Development, FinlandAgri-agency of MTK, SLC, Pellervo, ProAgria

AHA - Germany ACODEA - Spain

  

Principles:1.Only proposals from membership-based farmer organisations are eligible.2.Support combines funding with advisory services.3.Funding is mobilised by the agri-agencies, with the support of OECD farmer organisations and their governments.4.Advisory services are based on the “peer-to-peer” principle. 5.Flexibility (short/long duration, small/larger budgets) of funding and advisory services.6.Comprehensiveness (cover all genuine needs of farmer organisations).

Farmers Fighting Poverty program

Background idea: Strong farmers’ organisations contribute to democracy, to economic growth, and to a more equal income distribution

FFP’s work areas

• Supports 17 key competencies of farmers’ organisations• Structured into 4 work areas:

1/ organisational strengthening and inclusiveness2/ institutional development3/ policy elaboration and advocacy4/ farmer-led economic activities

• Follow-up of the projects using common AgriCord deliverables and their indicators

Finnish Agri-Agency for Food and Forest Development - FFD

Ethiopia – forestry - 5929Zenbaba Bee Products’ Marketing Cooperative Union and

MTK Southern Western Finland • Zenbaba Union received a

permission to engage itself to pole marketing (VII 2015)

• Pole marketing highly profitable business but in hand of middle men

• At the moment 12 cooperatives focusing on pole marketing

• The number of members has grown by 45 (6 women)

• The profit made per cooperative (January-August 2015) ~ 2000 EUR

Birhan Aligaz sold 1,5 ha Eucalyptus forest to Kober cooperative

Ethiopia – forestry 5929

• The cooperatives have sold poles (January-August 2015) for ~ 20.000 EUR

• First larger buy from a farmer to a cooperative in May 2015 (value ~ 10.000 EUR)

• Nurseries are profitable (10 cooperatives ~ 30.000 EUR together) and offer jobs for women

• More than 420.000 seedlings planted

Research linkage: A study on management and income generation of forest cooperatives – presented in World Forest Congress, Durban, 2015

Tanzania vegetables – Zanzibar 5947Tanzania Horticultural Association and Finnish Garden Women

• In 2013 more than 90% of vegetables and fruits for tourist industry was imported to Zanzibar

• TAHA has trained more than 1300 farmers in Good Agricultural Practices and 80 % applies the method

• Yields, quality and price improved (80-200%)

Tanzania vegetables – Zanzibar 5947

• The harvesting season has been doubled due to coordinated sowing and nurseries

• 80-90% seeds used germinates

• Shelf-time of product is now 9 months (from 3-4 months)

• Contracts between farmers and tourist business established

Research linkages: A study on packaging needs among farmers in 2014

on

Vietnam – forestry 6123Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Ngai Cooperative Alliances

with Savotta Forest Management Association

• In Central Vietnam there are furniture factories that import certified timber

• Piloting a PEFC certification has started in collaboration with PEFC secretariat and the Vietnamese forest authorities

• Sustainable forest management practices have been trained since 2010 and give a foundation for PEFC

Vietnam – forestry 6123

• Nurseries are profitable and offer jobs for women

• In some cases there are nurseries which are too close to one another and compete for the same clients

Other research initiativesSurvey on cooperative support through Farmers Fighting Poverty

• Carried out as a part of AgriCord network’s initiative to improve its efficiency and effectiveness

• A desk survey carried out in 2014• Two workshops planned to validate the results in East Africa (January 2016) and in

West Africa (December 2015)• Aim to improve the content of Farmers Fighting Poverty programme and the project

management cycle of AgriCord

An initiative to develop sustainable packaging solutions for vegetable and fruit value chain in Tanzania and Ethiopia in pipeline.