Growing the Wealth of the Poor - World Resources Institute

Associations can be important facilitators for achievingproduct certifications, such as “organic,” “sustainably produced,”or “Fair Trade”—designations that can add value to products andallow producers to enter select markets. In Nepal, FECOFUN,the national federation of Community Forest User Groups, hashelped pioneer new certification standards for many different“sustainably harvested” forest products through the ForestStewardship Council (FSC) and has encouraged forest usergroups to meet these standards as part of their business models.By 2006, 21 communities were harvesting forest products inaccordance with the new FSC standards (Pokharel et al 2006:27).Producer associations are also well positioned to help theirmembers conduct market analyses so that they can tailor theirproduction and marketing efforts better. This involves assessingthe current and potential market for a given product, determiningthe main actors in the commodity chain, and identifyingbottlenecks in the supply chain. In Honduras, the ConsorcioLocal para el Desarrollo de la Cuenca del Rio Tascalapa, a localconsortium of farmer organizations in the Yorito region,conducted a market chain analysis for coffee in which it identifiedcritical points and problems in the coffee chain. The analysis,which was jointly undertaken by producers, processors, andtraders, brought improved communication to the group andresulted in some farmers deciding to seek organic certification fortheir coffee (Best et al. 2005:38).B U I L D I N G O W N E R S H I P, C A P A C I T Y , A N D C O N N E C T I O NAccessing Credit and FinanceAssociations act as important channels for rural finance, providingan access point to microcredit, private finance, or governmentsupport programs for small businesses. They provide an organizedand recognized face for producer groups—one that funderscan use as a node for communication and contact with dispersedrural enterprises (Macqueen et al. 2006:8). When Indian artisanproducers of calico prints created the Calico Printers CooperativeSociety in 1999, they gained the attention of the government,which wanted to help small-scale textile producers increaseexports of their products by investing in new processes andmarketing contacts. As a result, the Small Industries DevelopmentBank of India created the Mutual Credit GuaranteeScheme for calico print makers, which provided microcreditworth Rs 1.5 million to 65 artisans in the co-op. Similarly, smallbusinesses in Nicaragua that joined producer associations orconsortia with the help of UNIDO benefited from more thanUS$300,000 in new investment that they would not haveattracted otherwise and gained access to US$100,000 in credit forjoint activities (Kanungo 2004:3–4).Building Learning NetworksBy participating in associations, small-scale producers can buildlearning networks through informal meetings, workshops, sitevisits, e-mail exchanges, and other types of knowledge sharing.Such exchanges can help spread the latest information on sustainablefarming practices, agroforestry, wildlife management,aquaculture, and other knowledge-intensive livelihoods. Thelearning networks that result allow producers to solve problemscollectively, share approaches, and break out of traditionalpatterns of resource use that may be unsustainable, inefficient, orunprofitable. This important aspect of capacity-building is oftenself-generated—and self-scaling—when producers are given aforum in which to interact.In Cuba, the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP)started a sustainable farming initiative known as the Farmer toFarmer Movement. ANAP worked with farmers, local cooperatives,and government agencies to quickly spread the adoption ofsustainable farming practices following the food crisis of the early1990s, using workshops, farm demonstrations, and other learningexchanges. The Farmer to Farmer Movement was so successful inits information networking that it grew to include 100,000 smallholdersin just eight years (Holt-Giménez 2006:37, 173).In the El Angel watershed of Northern Ecuador, a differentkind of learning network evolved, called the Carchi Consortium.The group originally formed as a forum for scientists to sharetechnical information on water issues in the area. It eventuallyevolved to include not just scientists but also representatives fromwater associations and farmer groups from around the watershed—manyof whom had long been concerned about the useand allocation of water. The consortium’s effectiveness rests on itsability to act as a clearinghouse for unbiased information on waterflows. As such, the consortium helped end much of the suspicionthat plagued earlier debates between farmers. Today, the consortiumhas expanded in its influence by pulling together additionalstakeholders, including representatives from three neighboringCONNECTION105