Promoting Farmer Entrepreneurship Through Producer Organizations In Central And Eastern Europe

On 1 May 1 2004, after a 14-year transitional period from central planning to market economics, eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia) became members of the European Union (EU). Bulgaria and Romania are preparing for accession and are expected to join in 2007. Croatia submitted its application for membership in 2002 and Macedonia in 2004. Part One of this paper presents an overall analysis of the situation and development of producer groups and farmer cooperatives across the CEE countries, including the new EU members, the applicant countries and Balkan states alike. Part Two provides a case study of FAO's experiences and lessons learned with technical assistance programmes and projects in the subregion. The example presents a number of practical suggestions as to how development organisations, governments, donors and advisers might be best able to facilitate the formulation and implementation of policies and strategies that promote the further development of more autonomous and financially sustainable producers' organisations and cooperatives in CEE countries.

The Farmer Field School (FFS) has been one of the most successful approaches developed and promoted by FAO over the past three decades, empowering farmers to become better decision makers in their own farming systems. Initiated by FAO in 1989, and subsequently adopted by many other organizations and institutions, the FFS programs constitute one of the most important “results of the collective action of millions of small-scale farmers” that FAO has supported. FFS is an interactive and participatory learning by doing approach that offers farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolks, foresters and their communities a place where they can learn from each other,share experiences, co-create knowledge and try new ways of doing. Participants enhance their understanding of agro-ecosystems, resulting in production systems that are more resilient and optimize the use of available resources. FFS aims to improve farmers’ livelihoods and recognize their role as innovators and guardians of natural environments. FFS has attained plenty of outstanding achievements in all aspects of agriculture and rural development.

A joint FAO and World Bank study which shows how the farming systems approach can be used to identify priorities for the reduction of hunger and poverty in the main farming systems of the six major developing regions of the world.

"The introduction of a quota system has a large impact on the development of the agricultural sector, the agro-business and individual farms. In April 2004 the Central and Eastern European (CEE) Countries entering the EU had to implement a quota system for milk. It requires institution building, setting up administrative procedures, choices of the system, choice of priority groups, handling of butterfat reference, dealing with a national reserve, control aspects, quota transfer, farm management aspects and communication to farmers. All early attention at national levels has been given to the administrative aspects of milk quota systems. Communication to farmers about the system and the effects on farm management is often neglected. This publication hopes to fill this gap and wants to stimulate attention on farm management and extension efforts. It presents an overview of papers from ""old"" countries and country reports from new EU countries. They all contain information about expected structural changes due to the quota system, effects on farm management, extension needs in this area and challenges in years ahead. Impressions from 7 other CEE non EU countries are also included. This book gives an extensive and unique overview of the dairy situation in the Central and Eastern European countries in the year of the enlargement of the EU and a view into the future in this regard."

An overview of the development of cooperatives over the last fifty years, addressing the major challenges that they face in the future.

As economic crises, growing inequality and climate change prompt a global debate on the meaning and trajectory of development, increasing attention is focusing on 'social and solidarity economy' as a distinctive approach to sustainable and rights-based development. While we are beginning to understand what social and solidarity economy is, what it promises and how it differs from 'business as usual', we know far less about whether it can really move beyond its fringe status in many countries and regions. Under what conditions can social and solidarity economy scale up and scale out - that is, expand in terms of the growth of social and solidarity economy organizations and enterprises, or spread horizontally within given territories? Bringing together leading researchers, blending theoretical and empirical analysis, and drawing on experiences and case studies from multiple countries and regions, this volume addresses these questions. In so doing, it aims to inform a broad constituency of development actors, including scholars, practitioners, activists and policy makers.

The 39th Annual Meeting of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED) was hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome on the 14th June 2017. The DCED brings together more than 22 bi – and multi-lateral donors, development funds, UN agencies, and private foundations, to explore how to make markets work for the poor. Under the aegis of Annual Meeting, FAO organized a Thematic Day to explore the relevance of small and medium sized agro-food compan ies (SMAEs) in poverty reduction and the transformation of rural development, inviting representative of small and medium sized enterprises from Uganda and Ethiopia, and academics and experts on finance and agricultural value chain development. This report represents a summary of the proceedings by the FAO organizers of the Thematic Day.

This publication is a product of the experiences and lessons learned while implementing agroenterprise projects in eastern and southern Africa. A Market Facilitator's Guide is based on a resource-to-consumption framework, which is the central theme of the "enabling rural innovation" approach for rural development. This approach seeks to empower farmer groups with the necessary skills to make informed decisions for their economic development, based on an analysis of their surroundings, assets and skills. The methodology also aims for outcomes that are equitable, gender focused and participatory.