Report of the 2008 global meeting - IFAD

“Involvement in policy processes is about influencing a policy document, but also
about pushing for the policy to become a true political act. It is a long-term and
complicated task.” – Mr Ibrahima Coulibaly, President, CNOP
The group discussions brought about an agreement among participants
on the need for involvement and inclusion of poor rural people and
the most marginalized, and their organizations, in all policy and
decision-making processes. Participants also asserted FOs’ capacity to
promote policy change and propose solutions, since they have their
own political thoughts.
“Involvement in policy processes is
about influencing a policy
document, but also about pushing
for the policy to become a true
political act. It is a long-term and
complicated task.”
Ibrahima Coulibaly, President, CNOP, Mali
“I think the major challenge here, as farmers’ organizations, is how do we get
ourselves positioned to be able to ensure that as governments move along,
committing themselves around policy issues at all these different focal points, how
do we ensure that our concerns are actually properly represented, our concerns are
properly taken?”
P. Kiriro, President, East Africa Farmers’ Federation (EAFF)
The fact that policy change is not an immediate action but rather a
long-term process was also reiterated; a broad message for IFAD
therefore was the need for a long-term perspective when supporting
FOs’ engagement to promote equitable policy processes.
Some regional working groups also addressed how policy processes
develop at regional level. As explained in the regional partnerships
section, the Latin America and the Caribbean group discussed the REAF
and Central America experience, highlighting the importance of the
specific political environment in every sub-region for the creation of a
conducive environment for a tri-partite policy dialogue between IFAD,
governments and regional economic commissions and organisations of
the rural poor. The Asia and Pacific group suggested that IFAD engages
in price support policies, policies that promote food security and food
sovereignty and, very importantly, policies that support access to natural
resources, in particular land and water. The Eastern and Southern Africa
group instead discussed how policy processes are developed at national,
sub-regional and regional level.
The group made a number of recommendations to IFAD in relation
to national and regional policy processes. At regional and national
levels IFAD should:
• Create the conditions for dialogue between FOs and
governments, and regional bodies through institutionalized fora
and councils for dialogue as done for the REAF at regional level
• Support regional and national FOs’ networks capacity-building
efforts through training, long-term support and rural schools and
universities for FO leaders
• Support the formulation and institutionalization of public policies
and investments that support family agriculture
“I think the major challenge here,
as farmers’ organizations, is how
do we get ourselves positioned to
be able to ensure that as
governments move along,
committing themselves around
policy issues at all these different
focal points, how do we ensure that
our concerns are actually properly
represented, our concerns are
properly taken?”
Philip Kiriro, President, East Africa Farmers’
Federation (EAFF)
Philip Kiriro, EAFF and Ajay Vashee,
SACAU, and Vice President, IFAP
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