IFAD Calls for Farmers’ Organisations to Have a Bigger Role in Rural Development Planning

Governments and development agencies have been urged to work more closely with farmers’ organisations when designing and implementing rural development programmes, with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) saying stronger partnerships are needed to ensure investments reach smallholder farmers.

IFAD Associate Vice-President for Country Operations Donal Brown said governments should be central to discussions involving development partners and farmers’ organisations because of their role in turning investments and partnerships into lasting rural development outcomes.

Brown said about 95 percent of IFAD resources are channelled through governments, making their involvement important in strengthening the participation of farmers’ organisations in development programmes.

He was speaking during the Farmers’ Forum for Eastern and Southern Africa in Nairobi, where farmer representatives and development partners discussed how to improve collaboration around rural transformation.

Brown said governments should recognise farmers’ organisations as important institutions within rural communities rather than viewing them as competing interests.

He also called for greater coordination among development agencies as concessional financing for rural development becomes increasingly constrained.

According to Brown, development partners, governments and farmers’ organisations could achieve more by agreeing on common priorities instead of running numerous small projects that operate independently of one another.

He advocated for simpler and longer-term interventions, arguing that substantial changes in rural economies often extend beyond the five- or 10-year periods commonly associated with development programmes.

Brown said development partners should also involve farmers’ organisations earlier in programme planning so that priorities are jointly established before projects are designed and funded.

The Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF) is pushing for national farmers’ organisations to be formally incorporated into Country Strategic Opportunities Programmes (COSOPs), which guide the implementation of IFAD-supported programmes at country level.

EAFF President Elizabeth Nsimadala said farmers’ organisations were sometimes left out of national programmes and COSOP processes despite representing the smallholder farmers that many of the programmes are designed to support.

She said current discussions with IFAD were aimed at improving farmer participation in national processes and ensuring farmers’ organisations receive adequate information about IFAD-supported initiatives.

Nsimadala said EAFF was prepared to work with IFAD as an equal partner in programmes focused on transforming food systems and rural economies.

The federation’s priorities include market access, aggregation, structured markets, policy engagement, institutional capacity, youth and women’s participation and climate resilience.

Nsimadala said the extensive grassroots structures of farmers’ organisations give them an established channel through which development programmes can reach smallholders at local, national, regional and continental levels.

EAFF represents more than 25 million smallholder farmers across Eastern Africa, according to Nsimadala, who said the federation could therefore provide an important implementation and feedback mechanism for IFAD programmes.

She also called for farmers’ organisations to participate in monitoring programme performance and identifying areas requiring improvement, rather than being involved only during implementation.

Such participation, she said, would allow farmers to contribute to policy development, strengthen grassroots organisations and help successful initiatives reach more communities.

EAFF and IFAD are working towards a more formal partnership involving an action plan, defined deliverables and regular consultations. Progress under the partnership is expected to be reviewed at the Global Farmers Forum in Rome in 2028.

Pieternel Boogaard, IFAD Managing Director of the Office of Technical Delivery, said consultations with farmers and rural communities had highlighted three broad priorities for the Fund’s strategy and replenishment: market access, employment and resilience.

She said resilience should extend beyond climate-related shocks to include disruptions affecting rural economies, such as El Niño events and challenges in fertiliser supply.

The Regional Farmers’ Forum for Eastern and Southern Africa is running alongside the ESA Business Planning Meeting from September 29 to October 2 in Nairobi.

The discussions are bringing together farmers’ organisations, IFAD and other development stakeholders as they seek to strengthen dialogue and improve how rural development priorities are identified, financed and implemented across the region.