Producer organisations are widely heralded as leading contributors to poverty reduction and the achievement of food security. Following the withdrawal of state support as part of measures for liberalization, producer organizations in Africa have been in a process of transition, attempting to define appropriate strategies in a competitive open market and deliver much needed local agriculture services to their membership. Meanwhile, government responses to producer organizations have been mixed, combining the historical tendency to centralize and direct producer association with more contemporary strategies of consultation and partnership, alongside the promotion of private sector engagement.