FAO strengthens producer organizations and family farming in Lebanon, Oman and Sudan

30 October-2 November 2018, Lebanon – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has organized a regional workshop on strengthening national capacities of producer organizations and cooperatives in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture in Lebanon.

The workshop comes under the framework of the Regional Initiative on Small-scale Family Farming and Strategic Programme 3 for reducing rural poverty. It provided an opportunity to discuss achievements made and the way forward in the three countries involved in the regional project: Lebanon, Oman and Sudan.  

The project comes as a response to the official request from the three countries to enable small-scale family farmers to respond to common challenges, build up partnerships and exchange experiences among producer organizations and cooperatives.

“Producers’ organizations and cooperatives have a history of alleviating poverty. It was poor people who created cooperatives to climb out of poverty. The cooperative model has proved to be resilient in times of crisis. This is because cooperatives can provide employment opportunities, security, protection, voice and representation when effectively organized and sufficiently empowered,” said Alfredo Impiglia, Delivery Manager of the Small-scale Family Farming Initiative in the NENA Region.

A number of producer organizations and cooperatives participated in the two-day workshop, including the International Cooperative Alliance, the Arab Peasants and Agricultural Cooperatives Union and the Sultan Qaboos University.

The workshop was followed by a two -day study tour in the North and South of Lebanon as well as in Beirut, as part of the capacity development process envisaged in the project for representatives of POs from Oman and Sudan. The study tour visited beekeepers’ cooperatives in Quayteh, Le Bon Lait in Megrhraka, Atayib Al Rif in Gemmayzeh, Mawassem Al Dayaa in Deir Qanoum Ras El Ain, as well as lands cooperatives in Jezzine. Participants evaluated the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and market strategies for each cooperative.

 POs and Small-scale Family Farming

Strengthened POs can help small-scale family farmers overcome barriers and develop innovative organizational arrangements that broaden their capabilities. Inclusive and efficient POs provide access to and management of natural resources, markets, credits, inputs and information, in addition to influencing policy-making processes.

In light of this, POs are essential for a thriving agricultural sector and boosting rural economies and they can encourage rural populations to remain in their territories instead of migrating to urban centers or to other countries.

Governments have a critical role to play in creating conducive conditions by enabling the collective action of producers. These conditions include developing transparent and sound regulatory frameworks, a conducive investment climate, as well as facilitating the creation of frameworks and policy dialogue spaces between governments and various stakeholders.

Since 2013, FAO has strengthened its effort to supporting capacity development processes and building partnerships among all the relevant actors that can contribute to the development of the family farming sector including governments, producer organizations, cooperatives and the civil society.