Based on developments in the pilot countries and the support received from various networks, the World Agriculture Watch (WAW) Secretariat is developing concept notes and in talks with diverse stakeholders in a number of countries. In Africa, with WAW’s support, the “Réseau des Organisations Paysannes et de Producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest” (ROPPA) plans to adopt a quantitative approach in its farm observatories in eight countries (Burkina Faso, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo).

WAW’s cooperation with ROPPA started during the pilot phase and has developed recently. WAW’s invitation to key meetings has led to a number of project-formulation activities with various farming organizations, including a support project for ROPPA observatories, to develop quantitative information systems on family farming. WAW is also in talks with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Union to drum up support for the ROPPA‒WAW project in West Africa.

Because of the data collected, the main beneficiaries of WAW – family-farmer organizations and family farmers themselves – will reap the rewards of investment policies tailored to their type of farm. In acknowledgement of family-farmer organizations’ strategic importance in this context, ROPPA invited WAW to attend regional workshops for its network of national observatories: in Thies, Senegal, in September 2017 and in Ganta, Liberia, in July 2018. WAW also attended ROPPA’s Seventh Convention in Banjul, the Gambia, in December 2018. WAW’s objective was to better understand ROPPA’s needs with a view to jointly developing a concept note and formulating a collaborative project in line with their new 5 years plan.

Click here to watch an interview with Nadjirou Sall of ROPPA at the WAW International Workshop on Understanding Farming Diversity for Better Policymaking and Project Targeting, 19‒20 December 2017, IFAD Headquarters, Rome, Italy.