August 2004
News from the other Stakeholders
Farmers' Organizations
Farmers' OrganizationsProfile Article: The creation of the Apex Farmers' Organization of Ghana
"Millions of farmers - One voice!" With the chanting of this slogan the Apex Farmers' Organization of Ghana (APFOG) was officially created on October 2nd, 2003 at Sogakope, Ghana. After years of discussions and negotiations between several leading farmers' organizations, approximately thirty organizations came together under an umbrella organization with the main aim of lobbying and advocating for favorable agricultural policies. In May 2004 APFOG attended the 36th World Farmers Congress and became a member of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP).
APFOG is an apex organization for farmers' organizations engaged principally in agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries and agro-processing. The vision of APFOG is Harnessing opportunity to grow farmers and better their lives. The mission statement is to unify farmers' organizations in Ghana to lobby, provide services and information in order to enhance security, financial and economic advantages of its members.
The specific objectives of APFOG are:
- To unify all farmers' organizations in Ghana under one umbrella;
- To be a self-financing organization with a professionally run secretariat;
- To lobby and advocate for farmer friendly policies;
- To provide services and to disseminate information to members;
- To provide capacity building to members and to stimulate them to form bodies on national level;
- To facilitate access to financial and economic security;
- To assist members to market their produce both locally and international, and to process and store their produce.
APFOG is run via a national office based in Accra, the capital of Ghana, and is supported by four zonal offices which are spread strategically throughout the country. The National Executive Council is the decision-making body and consists of five members representing different commodities. The five members, including the president and vice-president, are elected during the Annual Meeting of the General Assembly.
While the council is responsible for the formulation of APFOG's policies, the committees take care of the implementing of activities. The Lobby Committee's acts as the 'one voice' of APFOG by ensuring the involvement of farmers in decision making for agricultural policies. The Committee for Proposal Writing identifies possible donors and other supporting organizations, and assists members in formulating proposals for sponsorship and access to credit. Others are the Information and Communication, and Training Committees. The Women's Committee deals with the specific and peculiar needs of women in agriculture and ensures the integration of gender in all activities.
The need to form an umbrella organization representing farmers was strongly felt after the change of government in December 2000. Farmers' organizations that were on good terms with the previous government were suddenly not involved anymore in government decision-making. Since this has been the case with previous governments it was found necessary to create an a-political independent apex organization to enable farmers influence the political agenda. Over a time-span of almost two year several organizations were consulted. In general they were enthusiastic about the initiative of their colleagues, although every organization consulted expressed their fear for government interference. During this process IFDC was asked to facilitate the discussions, because the involvement of a third party was desirable.
In December 2002 a workshop for leaders of farmers' organizations was held in Dodowa to discuss the creation of an apex organization. To guide the participants in their discussions apex organizations from Uganda (The Uganda National Farmers Federation, UNFFE) and Nigeria (All Farmers Apex Association of Nigeria, ALFAAN) were invited as resource persons to share their experiences. After three days of intensive discussions, participants were convinced of the need to establish an apex organization. The positive experience of learning from other umbrella organizations and the impression that there was much to be learned, IFDC organized a study tour for leaders of eight farmers' organizations to UNFFE in Uganda. During this tour participants grasped the basic ideas for the formulation of an apex body.
In October 2003 the study tour group, supported by IFDC, organized a workshop in Sogakope to form an apex farmers' organization for Ghana. With 63 representatives from 37 organizations attending the workshop, it turned out to be the biggest ever farmers' organizations conference held in Ghana. Participants discussed in detail the structure of the Executive Council, the function of an Executive Secretary, the first draft of the constitution and the details on membership. The name Apex Farmers Organization of Ghana and the slogan Million of Farmers - One Voice was adopted and a National Executive Council was elected.
Since APFOG's formation on 2nd October 2003 the organization has been registered, and the constitution finalized. A national office has been established in Accra and an executive secretary recruited. A lobby training was organized for the executive members and a Strategic Review Program has been organized for all members to gather information for the formulation of a Strategic Planning Document. APFOG has participated in national events such as the Farmers' Day in Cape Coast, and international events such as the 36th World Farmers Congress. Besides, APFOG signed a memorandum of understanding with IFDC for technical and financial support during the first year of its existence. Recently APFOG was accepted as member of IFAP. The official launching of APFOG will be held on August 20th, 2004 in Kade, Ghana.
For more information on APFOG, please contact our national office in Accra (e-mail: [email protected] or telephone +233-21 763 890 / 21 780 829 / 21 780 830).
Juliet Biney
APFOG Executive Secretary
Farmers' OrganizationsIFAP 36th World Farmers' Congress
The 36th World Farmers' Congress of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) was held in Washington D.C. during the period May 29-4 June under the theme Farmers Speaking for Themselves. About 400 farmers from 70 countries and representatives from regional and international institutions gathered to discuss, exchange views and find solutions to the problems faced by the agricultural sector and farming communities worldwide.
GFAR Secretariat, for the first time, facilitated the participation of Regional Fora in the IFAP's biennial farmers' Congress with the objective of strengthening the linkages between farmers and researchers. Regional Fora representatives made various presentations during parallel regional sessions. These papers were prepared in most cases by tandem of a farmer and a researcher from the respective Regional Fora. The GFAR-Secretariat prepared a short introductory paper on GFAR, and presented this at each of the regional sessions, before the regional forum paper was presented. In addition, and in collaboration with the Rural Institutions and Participation Service of the Department of Sustainable Development of FAO, contributed a paper on strengthening the linkages by drawing on past experiences, to analyze the why and how- to strengthen these linkages. (Read the paper).
There was a consensus among participants/farmers on the importance of agricultural research and the role research can play not only in alleviating poverty but also in improving livelihoods of small farmers in developing countries. A theme that was frequently emphasized by farmers, especially those from developing countries, during the many discussion periods was the importance of developing FOs capacity in order to have fruitful and true farmers-centered research, since they currently lack the capacity to interact and work with researchers as equal partners.
Dr. Ola Smith, GFAR Executive Secretary also touched on this issue in his message to the plenary session, in which he focused on the crucial role farmers and their organizations could play as equal partners within the global scientific community in developing a multi-purpose agriculture that effectively contributes to poverty alleviation, food security, and sustainable natural resources utilization. (Read the speech).
Other topics that were discussed during the Congress include environment and natural resource management, agriculture and the WTO trade negotiations, strengthening farmers' involvement in rural development, and industrial concentration in the agri-food chain. For further information about the 36th World Farmers Congress, please visit IFAP's World Farmer page.
The ultimate goal of the IFAP's biennial Congress is to provide a platform for farmers from both industrialized and developing countries to debate and discuss issues of mutual interest and set common priorities to challenge decision makers at national, regional and global levels.
IFAP is an international organization that represents 500 million farm families and groups in 100 national organizations from 70 countries. It was founded in 1946 and has General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Its Secretariat is based in Paris, France.
Donor Contribution Acknowledgement
In the hustle and bustle of everyday activity that we undertake to address our mandate, and meet often self-imposed deadlines we forget to acknowledge the generous contributions of many bilateral and multi-lateral Institutions that support us and make it possible for us to provide the services we provide to our many stakeholders. We would like to take a pause from the hustle and bustle for once, and publicly acknowledge the support of our many benefactors whose generosity has made it possible for us to do many things including the regular publication of this newsletter. Our special gratitude goes to: Canada (CIDA/IDRC), France (MAE), Italy (MAE), The Netherlands (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) European Commission, FAO (SD), Germany (GTZ), IFAD and the Rockefeller Foundation.
GFAR Secretariat
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