Farmers' Organizations in Bangladesh: a Mapping and Capacity
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Farmers’ Organizations in Bangladesh: Investment Centre Division A Mapping and Capacity Assessment Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Viale delle Terme di Caracalla – 00153 Rome, Italy. Bangladesh Integrated Agricultural Productivity Project Technical Assistance Component FAO Representation in Bangladesh House # 37, Road # 8, Dhanmondi Residential Area Dhaka- 1205. iappta.fao.org I3593E/1/01.14 Farmers’ Organizations in Bangladesh: A Mapping and Capacity Assessment Bangladesh Integrated Agricultural Productivity Project Technical Assistance Component Food and agriculture organization oF the united nations rome 2014 Photo credits: cover: © CIMMYt / s. Mojumder. inside: pg. 1: © FAO/Munir uz zaman; pg. 4: © FAO / i. nabi Khan; pg. 6: © FAO / F. Williamson-noble; pg. 8: © FAO / i. nabi Khan; pg. 18: © FAO / i. alam; pg. 38: © FAO / g. napolitano; pg. 41: © FAO / i. nabi Khan; pg. 44: © FAO / g. napolitano; pg. 47: © J.F. lagman; pg. 50: © WorldFish; pg. 52: © FAO / i. nabi Khan. Map credit: the map on pg. xiii has been reproduced with courtesy of the university of texas libraries, the university of texas at austin. the designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. the mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. the views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of AOF . © FAO, 2014 FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO’s endorsement of users’ views, products or services is not implied in any way. all requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via www.fao.org/contact-us/licence- request or addressed to [email protected]. 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Table of contents Contents Foreword v acknowledgements vii abbreviations and acronyms viii executive summary xi Background 1 1.1 Farmers’ organizations: definition 2 1.2 Farmers’ organizations: Benefits of being organized 2 1.3 Farmers’ organizations: Key factors for success 3 approach and methodology 5 iii 2.1 Objectives 5 2.2 Geographical coverage 5 2.3 Theme 5 2.4 Timing and participation 5 2.5 The initial mapping 5 2.6 In-depth mapping 6 2.7 Limitations 6 enabling environment for farmers’ organizations 9 3.1 Breakdown of the 10 relevant policy instruments 9 3.2 Registration of famers’ organizations 13 3.3 Agricultural training institutes 15 3.4 Potential way forward 16 Mapping f indings 19 4.1 Summary 19 4.2 Typology 20 4.3 Autonomously-formed farmers’ organizations 23 4.4 Farmers’ organizations formed with support from government extension agencies 27 4.5 Farmers’ organizations formed with support from international non-governmental organizations 34 4.6 Farmers’ organizations formed with support from national non-governmental organizations 36 capacity needs assessment 39 5.1 Institutional development capacities 39 5.2 Business and market-related service provision 40 5.3 Facilitation skills of those working with farmers’ organizations 42 5.4 Access to credit 42 5.5 Post-harvest and value addition technology 42 5.6 Strengthening the enabling environment for farmers’ organization development 42 the way forward 45 6.1 Targeting 45 6.2 Farmer organization to farmer organization exchange 46 6.3 Training 46 6.4 Capacity development of those working with farmers’ organizations 47 6.5 Ensuring participation of civil society organizations and farmers’ organizations in government decision-making bodies 48 6.6 Facilitation of dialogue between stakeholders to address enabling environment issues 48 conclusion and immediate next steps 51 annexes annex 1 - Methodology of in-depth mapping 53 annex 2 - Mapping instruments 58 annex 3 - Syllabus of diploma in agriculture of ATis 64 annex 4 - Extra details on autonomous farmers’ organizations 66 annex 5 - Extra details on farmers’ organizations formed with support from government agencies 67 iv annex 6 - Extra details on farmers’ organizations formed with support from international non-governmental organizations 107 annex 7 - Extra details on farmers’ organizations formed with support from national non-governmental organizations 129 annex 8 - A brief history of the cooperative movement in Bangladesh 133 annex 9 - Causal diagram and capacity needs assessment 135 annex 10 - List of farmers’ organizations met during mapping exercise 138 Bibliography 141 Foreword in Bangladesh, roughly half the population depends on agriculture for its livelihood. however, farmers face many challenges to earning a living. one challenge is access – access to markets, information, agricultural technologies, and related services and public goods. another challenge is the lack of awareness of individual farmers of their basic rights. organizations, groups or associations among farmers have the potential to address these challenges, increase and diversify production in a sustainable manner, improve food and nutrition security, and act as major agents of change in Bangladesh. Farmers’ organizations are increasingly seen as key partners in global initiatives, including in the World committee on Food security, the global agriculture and Food security Program (GAFsP) and the scaling up nutrition movement. there is a role that organizations of farmers can play in the design and management of investments under the country investment Plan (CIP) of the government of Bangladesh – a plan that covers agriculture, food security and nutrition. developing farmers’ organization capacities - in the design and implementation of activities under the CIP - is one of the key goals of the integrated agricultural Productivity Project (IAPP) technical assistance component, financed by theGA FsP and implemented by the Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO). v in 2013, FAO launched its new strategic framework. the framework refocuses the work of the organization around 5 objectives: (1) eradicating hunger and malnutrition; (2) sustainable agriculture; (3) reducing rural poverty; (4) ensuring efficient and fair food systems; and (5) increasing resilience. For each of these objectives, the ability of farmers to organize is key to developing lasting solutions. Further, the vision of FAO highlights the critical role of agriculture in ending hunger and malnutrition. Farmers’ organizations are major stakeholders here, as they bring a nuanced understanding of the local context and actual needs, as well as important social capital. the first step in Bangladesh to further this work has been to identify the types of organizations that exist, and understand the factors that contribute to their success. this review was undertaken in partnership, between FAO, the Ministry of agriculture of the government of Bangladesh, the asian Farmers association, and a variety of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). it aims to provide information for practitioners interested in deepening their work with farmers’ organizations in Bangladesh. it provides a mapping of farmers’ organizations throughout the country, an assessment of their capacities, a review of enabling environment issues, and proposals to strengthen organizations and increase their involvement in investment programming in agriculture and food and nutrition security. these proposals will be taken up by the IAPP and, we hope, by many others in Bangladesh. gustavo Merino Md. nasiruzzaman Mike robson director Project director FAO representative FAO investment centre iaPP Bangladesh Bangladesh Acknowledgements the mapping and capacity assessment exercise covered in this report was undertaken as part of the technical assistance (TA) component of the Bangladesh integrated agricultural Productivity Project (IAPP), funded under the global agriculture and Food security Program (GAFsP) and implemented by the Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO). the authors of this report, Florentina Williamson-noble, Project officer and capacity development specialist from the FAO investment centre, and imanun nabi Khan, institutional development consultant from the FAO IAPP TA team in dhaka, would like to express their deep gratitude and appreciation to the many partners and collaborators who made this exercise possible. the authors would like to thank, first and foremost, the many farmers’ organization representatives and those who facilitate them, for their time, openness and candor. Further, the exercise would not have been possible without support from the following: vii >> From the FAO IAPP TA team: Mahmud hossain, FAO team leader; asna zareen, Programme and M&e officer; enamul haque,