Report of the 2008 global meeting - IFAD

Section 3: Regional perspectives
During the afternoon session of the first day of the Farmers’ Forum global meeting,
participants divided into five Regional Working Groups (Western and Central Africa,
Eastern and Southern Africa, Near East and North Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin
America and the Caribbean) in order to discuss among each other and with IFAD the
progress made in their partnership since the first global meeting in 2006. All groups
presented a synthesis of their deliberations to the plenary.
In spite of the diversity and richness of the debate developed within each regional
group, a number of issues emerged in all groups: i) institutionalization of FOs’
engagement in the design and implementation of IFAD country strategies, projects and
programmes; ii) direct grant support to FOs for their engagement in policy dialogue;
and iii) creation of a joint IFAD-FO monitoring and evaluation system.
Discussions at regional level allowed regional complexities and specificities to be
explored as well as to enable proposals to be put forth.
3.1 Common issues emerging from the regional discussions
Institutionalization of FOs’ engagement in the design
and implementation of IFAD country strategies, projects
and programmes
Considerable time was devoted to the discussion of how FOs can be
more effectively involved in IFAD country strategies, programmes and
projects. All regional groups pointed out the sustainability of IFAD
projects as a common issue of concern, which could be enhanced
though FOs’ involvement in country strategies and project
implementation, while reducing the number of issues that arose in the
post-project phase. As the Asia and the Pacific group pointed out, FO
involvement throughout the various stages of IFAD activities would also
contribute to increasing ownership.
Bassiaka Dao, CPF, Burkina Faso and
Jacques Bonou, FUPRO, Benin
“I think that the value added of FOs in COSOPs is that these will be more relevant,
more responsive to FOs’ realities and needs […] I also think that farmers’ involvement
should not stop only during the consultation on what COSOP is or just reviewing it.
The COSOP as a strategy paper can be much owned by the farmers.”
E. Penunia Banzuela, Secretary General, AFA
FOs from the Western and Central Africa and the Latin America and the Caribbean
regions stressed the need to provide them with greater capacity-building so that they can
be effectively – and on an independent basis – involved in the COSOP and project
design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation processes. Direct financing for FOs
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