Role of Farmers Organizations in Management of Agricultural Services

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Role of Farmers Organizations in Management of
Agricultural Services

• Demand as a learning process

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Thesis

• Demand for services is diverse, it is not
  spontaneous, and relies often on existing offer
• In each context, there is a supply of more or
  less relevant services
• A specific institutional set-up facilitating a
  continuous dialogue is a condition for building
  demand and improving the listening capacities
  (as learning process).

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The Niger Office (ON) Irrigation Scheme in Mali
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(No Transcript)
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• 162 villages
• 65 000 ha irrigated
• Population 270 000,
• Rice but also vegetable production (shallot,
  tomatoes) and cattle
• From centralized management to liberalization
  (1984-94)
• One strong stakeholder the Office du Niger
• Economic differentiation and pressure on land

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Different Views on Farm Diversity

• 20 000 family farms
• Conventional Farm Types classification (economic
  differentiation and farm size) (average 3,25ha
  / family of 14)
• Three types accumulation (20), security
  first (50) and impoverishment (30)
• Farmers visions on their farm (social
  differentiation by personal engagement for
  farming) social esteem and solidarity

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Existing Services

• Water management (water fees, maintenance ON)
• Financial services (3 MFI)
• Input supply (traders and Village Associations -
  VA)
• Rice post-harvest processing (VA, private)
• Agricultural advice (FSCs, ON and NGOs)
• Diversity but no real choice at village level

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Limits of conventional extension
Yields are increasing but we dont know were the
money has gone !

• Technical advice doesnt answer farmers
  questioning
• Improved yields are not sufficient to raise the
  income of farmers.
• There is a challenge for producers better
  understand their farm and the local and global
  environment

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AFD support to ON zone

• Agence Française de Développement (AFD) project
  since 1986
• AFD recent project 2 phases (1996-2000-2004)
  with 3 components (irrigation infrastructure,
  support to FO and Research-Development)
• Other interventions NL cooperation, World Bank,
  EU, GTZ,
• Important events liberalization of rice
  commercialization (1984-87) and ON reform (1994).
  

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The institutional set-up

• ON (1994 reform).
• IER, regional research center (1994)
• Local FO (VA, GIE), Farmers services centers (5)
  and Chambers of Agriculture (APCAM)
• URDOC a R-D unit supervised by ON and other
  stakeholders ), 10 staff, implemented by CIRAD
  and local partners (NGO, IER).

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The Farmers Services Centers project

• Context of indebted VA (92-94), due to the
  liberalization of rice marketing.
• Specific component to support VA
• FSCs provide 3 services
• Accounting and management of VA
• Legal support (contracts,)
• Support to Womens activities
• And later
• Management Advice for Family Farm (MAFF)

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Farmers Services Centers
APCAM
FSCs Federation (2001)
SEXAGON 1997
Niono 1996
Molodo
NDébougou
Kouroumari
Macina
38 FO 91
21 FO 68
21 FO 28
19 FO 50
18 FO 38
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An emerging demand

• 1996 demand from farmers to receive specific
  support at farm level
• Initial demands on two topics assistance in
  farm accounting and management (by FSCs) and
  economic and technical advice (by URDOC).
• From demand to implementation of service (6
  years) a learning process

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Steps to family farm advice

• Experimental phase 1997 1999 (15 farmers).
  Build references. Support to isolated farmers,
  more emphasis on accounting and the calculation
  of production costs
• Implementing phase 2000 2004, group dynamics,
  interest of FO (FSC), adaptation of tools and
  methods to different categories (women, cattle
  owners, rice huskers,)
• 245 farmers in 19 groups (2001)
• 800 in 46 groups (2002)

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Three different implementing institutions

• By FSCs (following slides)
• By ON, advisers in charge of many other tasks,
  only 25 advisers and 7 trained in MAFF.
• By NGOs, specialized in milk production and
  veterinary services (service paid by cattle
  owners because it is linked to economic activity
  or animal health).

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Characteristics of the Service (MAFF)

• Participatory approach through group meetings
  plus individual follow-up (farm visit by the
  adviser)
• A modular approach in a two year progression
  (training logic)
• all farmers standard modules (rice growing,
  working animals,)
• Specific modules (livestock production, market
  gardening, rice husking enterprises,)
• Backstopping from URDOC

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Characteristics of the Service (MAFF)

• One adviser per FSC (sub-contracting)
• Groups of 10-18 farmers (local FO member,
  literate, decision maker in the farm, 50 are FO
  leaders), one group meeting every 2 weeks except
  during the working season.
• Cost participation inscription (1000 to 2500
  CFA 1,5 to 4 ) and annual fees (10 000 CFA -
  15 ). 40 of farmers paid in time.

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Difficulties

• Payment of service (bad influence of numerous Per
  Diem meetings 1000 CFA per day, service free of
  charge with NO!)
• Service provision still depends for 90 on
  external financial support (private and public
  interest)
• How to deal with the diversification of demand
  (toward illiterate farmers, rural entrepreneurs)
  ? (it is expensive to diversify the supply of
  services)
• Weak national policy face BM with new instruments
  (PSAOP).

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Cost recovery elements

• Cost of the service 6 000 per adviser/year
  (without training and elaboration of tools
  R-D).
• Cost by farmer (80) 75
• Cost adviser per day (225) 27
• Annual fees 15 (20 of cost) necessarily
  combined with other funds.
• How to deal with experimental phase and
  competition with free charge services ?
• Water fees 50 to 90 /ha

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Impact of farm advice

• Group participation improves the quality of
  demand (more specific)
• Improvement of food security manage-ment (staple
  food storage) and cattle management
• From improved farm management to an impact on
  management of FOs, rural councils
  (decentralization),

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Response to a non-demand

• Women do have a key role in the production of
  vegetables (URDOC)
• A specific approach is needed for women's
  vegetable production, shallot processing)
  adjustment to illiterate groups (mental
  calculation of gross margins)
• Listening and observation capacities are
  important to facilitate emergence of new demands

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Demand without response

• A local Farmers Union SEXAGON (1997)
• Farmers have questions about the increase of
  crop diseases and plagues the use of fertilizer
  the compatibility between rice and a new maize
  variety
• Directly asked to the research centre but.. No
  concrete answer!

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Key conditions for demand-driven services

• Strong involvement of FOs in the conception and
  the management of the service.
• Existence of sustainable R-D activities
  (reference production appropriate methods and
  tools adapted to the needs of diverse clients,)
• Continuous dialogue among stakeholders
  (intermediate institutions, mediation,).