Improved and sustainable livelihoods through forestry on family farms
African Forest and Farm Producer Organizations gather momentum in run up to the XIV World Forestry Congress
11th June 2015, Nairobi, Kenya – Over 100 participants from 12 African countries converged in Nairobi for the first African Farm/Family Forestry Producer Organizations Conference (9-11 June 2015). Themed ‘Forestry for improved livelihoods’, the conference aims to catalyze solutions to challenges that family farm forest owners face, such as lack of secure tenure of land, fair market access, access to financial services, good quality extension, capacity building support services, effective local and national producer groups, and many more.
In her opening remarks, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Water and Natural Resources, Professor Judi Wakhungu noted that African governments need to change their approach from business as usual to ‘business unusual’. “We must move quickly to acknowledge locally controlled forestry and support the development of farm forestry, with particular emphasis on empowering Farm Forest Producer Organizations’, she noted.
In Africa, 70 percent of the rural population relies on natural resources including forests for their livelihoods. Since natural forests are being degraded, people are beginning to see a commercial opportunity in planting trees on their own farms and marketing forest products to fill a growing demand-supply gap. This has led to the formation of forest farm producer organizations and federations in many African countries.
Promoting farm forestry policy frameworks
However, forest farmers are not given the legal and institutional recognition that they deserve. The result is that forest policies and laws do not take into account this important segment of forest stakeholders.
“The only way Kenya can meet the targets for reforestation and meet our demand for forest products is to work with communities and farmers,” noted Emilio Mugo, the Acting Kenya Forest Service Director. “We must focus on developing forestry outside protected areas.”
His sentiments were further supported by FAO Representative in Kenya, Dr. Luca Alinovi, who noted, “Countries like Kenya have great potential to develop bio-enterprises from farm forestry activities, which creates alternative, sustainable livelihoods for generations to come.”
Strengthening forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs)
“To ensure the strengthening and sustainability of these family farm forest organizations, it is necessary that they share information among each other and use this information to articulate their views and influence policy formulation by government agencies,” says Jeff Campbell, the Forest and Farm Facility Manager. “Further, through their networks, they should be able to access resources that can build their capacity to serve their members more effectively.”
The Conference provides a unique opportunity for forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs) to share experience and exchange views on the difficulties they face and the solutions they find in their respective countries. Round-table discussions on issues such as land tenure, access to markets for tree and forest products and strengthening organizations of farm and family forestry producers, as well as field trips in Kiambu, Murang’a and Nyandarua counties, will illustrate challenges but also opportunities faced by locally controlled forestry stakeholders.
A common local African voice for high representation of FFPOs at the World Forestry Congress
The conference was organized by the International Family Forest Alliance (IFFA) in collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the Forest Action Network (FAN), the Forest and Farm Facility and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It is part of a growing movement, supported by the FFF and initiated by the forest and farm producer organizations of the entire world in the run up to the upcoming XIV World Forestry Congress.
One of the major outcomes of the conference is the development of a common message on the needs and claims of African farm and family producers that they will convey to the XIV World Forestry Congress (7-11 September 2015) in Durban, South Africa, and its pre-Congress ‘Building Momentum’ event organized to raise the profile and the voices of forest and farm producer organizations.
Through participants discussions and shared experiences on forestry in family farms, tree growing groups and their national federations; government forest managers, forest technical agencies, donor agencies; academic institutions, and general forestry groups who are committed to encourage the development of forest producer federations in their countries are expected to produce resolutions which will feed into the XIV World Forestry Congress and FFPO pre-Congress ‘Building Momentum’ event.
Note: The XIV World Forestry Congress (7-11 September 2015) and FFPO pre-Congress event (4-5 September 2015) will be held in Durban, South Africa. The main theme of the Congress is “Forests and People: Investing in a Sustainable Future”. The African Farm/Family Forestry Producer Organizations Conference provided a good opportunity to prepare so that the African farm/family forestry voices are heard at the international level and also provided an international platform for networking.
Links:
Online tools:
- Forest and Farm Facility website : http://www.fao.org/partnerships/forest-farm-facility/en/
- Concept Note paper: http://www.fao.org/partnerships/forest-farm-facility/43108-0611c2f80c4a701207d12c52dccc0d33.pdf
Contacts
For FAO:
-Maria DeCristofaro : [email protected]
Judith Mulinge : [email protected]
For IFFA :
Dr Dominic Walubengo
Forest Action Network