Project profile — Farmers’ Knowledge

This project aims to increase the food security for 790,000 persons, including 400,000 women in the rural areas of Senegal, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project’s objective is to strengthen small farming business organizations’ capacities as well as the capacity of their members to ensure sustainable agricultural development. Strengthening small farming business organizations improves farmers’ access to production and marketing services necessary to improve nutrition and livelihoods. Small farmers become the driving force behind the sustainable development of targeted rural communities, by contributing to the country's food reserves, diversifying nutrition and increasing rural households’ income. Project activities include: (1) providing entrepreneurs with training and mentoring for implementing agricultural business improvement projects (i.e. family business-oriented plant production or cattle farming); (2) providing targeted communities with training, leadership and mentoring for implementing environmental projects; (3) providing farmer groups with training and mentoring (i.e. collective farming product marketing systems); (4) providing regional and national organizations as well as regional and national small farming business organizations’ leaders with training and mentoring for implementing a collective project to improve financial and administrative systems; (5) implementing activities for training the trainers based on creating training and outreach tools (i.e. training modules on climate resilience, gender equality, governance); (6) implementing an interactive platform that facilitates long-distance exchanges between trainers and technical support with Canadian experts between missions; and (7) organizing missions, visits and North-South, South-North and South-South experience and expertise sharing, putting farmers in contact with each other to help them find solutions to common problems. The Union des producteurs agricoles – Développement international is implementing this project in Haiti in partnership with Fondation pour le développement économique et social (FODES-5), Centre d’éducation et de développement intégré Village de l’Espoir (CEDI-VE), Fédération des organisations de producteurs agricoles pour le développement économique et social (FOPADES), Fédération de l’encadrement des petits paysans des mornes et des plaines d’Haïti (FEPPMPH), Konbit Famn Kaskad Dibrey (KOFAKAD), l’Union des coopératives caféières de Baptiste (UCOCAB), Association des planteurs de Limbé (APL) et la Coopérative agricole et de services de Duricy (COPASED); in Senegal with Association sénégalaise pour la promotion du développement par la base (ASPRODEB), Conseil national de concertation et de coopération des ruraux (CNCR), Centre interprofessionnel pour la formation aux métiers de l’agriculture (CIFA), Fédération des groupements associés des paysans de Baol (FEGPAB), Fédération des producteurs maraîchers des Niayes (FPMN), Cadre de concertation des producteurs d’arachides (CCPA), Union des groupements paysans de Méckhé (UGPM), Fédération des périmètres autogérés (FPA), Union nationale des coopératives du Sénégal (UNCAS), Société d’approvisionnement de production, de commercialisation et de conseil agricole des ententes des groupements associés du Sénégal (SAPCA-EGAS), Réseau national des coopératives de producteurs de semences du Sénégal (RNCPS), Fédération nationale des groupements de promotion féminine du Sénégal (FNGPFS); Fédération des ONG du Sénégal (FONGS); in Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Confédération paysanne du Congo (COPACO).

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) 200,000 women, men and youth in three countries benefit from small farming entrepreneurs’ sustainable food production increase and diversity and increase farm profitability; and (2) agricultural innovations systems are strengthened, sustainable and equally accessible to all, regardless of gender and age.

The results achieved as of December 31, 2020 include: 1) all 514 agricultural enterprises benefiting from funds for family projects report an improvement in their food security, i.e. 13,610 people whose livelihoods depend on agricultural enterprises. 8% of those report a small improvement, 70% an average improvement and 22% a significant improvement; (2) the funding of 996 individual projects (including 639 projects initiated by women) out of a target of 514, implementing sustainable and profitable agricultural practices thanks to an initial loan repayment rate of around 93%, allowing 228 additional funded projects; (3) an increase in average agricultural income of CA $ 1,150 (22%) across all three countries (16% for Haiti, 38% for the Democratic Republic of Congo and 32% for Senegal); (4) 690 out of 742 projects (including 459 set up by women), acquire, adopt or integrate innovative and environmentally friendly practices.