Title: Farmer organizations in value chain policy making Chair: Mr ...

Title: Farmer organizations in value chain policy makingChair: Mr Stephen Muchiri, CEO, Eastern Africa Farmers' Federation (EAFF)Farmers’ organizations have a key role to play in advocating for change in policies andinstitutional arrangements to ensure that such arrangements meet the needs of their membership,specifically smallholders. However, organizations often lack access to the evidence needed todevelop proactive proposals to influence policy. An interface between farmers’ organizations andnational and international researchers facilitates better evidence to support policy proposals andto provide research results on topics that matter most to farmers’ organizations and theirmembers.The Empowering Smallholder Farmers in the Markets (ESFIM) 1 programme generates demanddrivenaction research supportive of the policy priorities of farmers’ organizations. It presentlystrengthens the advocacy capacities of national farmers’ organisations in ten countries: Bénin,Bolivia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Perú, Philippines, Uganda and Uruguay. Theprogramme aims for the development of public and private sector policies and institutionalarrangements that enable smallholder access to and participation in markets and thus contributeto the wider objectives of poverty reduction and food security.The objectives of this breakout session are to:Share first-hand experiences of national farmers’ organizations on how they haveidentified and used research evidence to formulate feasible, evidence-based propositionsfor changes in policies and institutional arrangements that empower smallholders andtheir organizations in local, regional and international markets.Present the key lessons learned through such processes: what works well, what works lesswell, and whyExplore how such processes might be strengthened and scaled-up1 ESFIM is co-funded by IFAD, the European Alliance on Agricultural Knowledge for Development European Economic InterestGrouping (AGRINATURA-EEIG), the Dutch Ministry of Economy, Agriculture and Innovation, Agriterra and CTA(www.esfim.org).

Speakers will include:Mr Giel Ton, AGRINATURA/LEI Wageningen University and Research Centre,Netherlands.Ms Meike Carmen Willems, Development Cooperation Unit, Junta Nacional de Café(JNC), PeruMr John Mutunga, Kenyan National Federation of Agricultural Producers (KENFAP)Mr Hajasoanirina Rakotomandimby, Coalition Paysanne de Madagascar, MadagascarMr Alexander Chikapula, National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi,Malawi