1. More inclusive governance and cross-sectorial processes leading to enabling policies (SDGs 16, 17).

2. Increased entrepreneurship, access to markets and finance through an equitable value chain and business development services within FFPOs (SDGs 1, 5, 8, 12).

3. Improved delivery of landscape-scale mitigation, adaptation and resilience for climate change through improved environmental technical knowledge, direct engagement of FFPOs and integration with inclusive livelihood approaches (SDGs 2, 13, 15).

4. Improved and equitable access to social and cultural services (SDGs 3,10). A comprehensive participatory monitoring and learning system will provide continuous feedback and generate adaptive responses.

Learning and improving – a shared responsibility

Key to the success of the FFF programme is measuring progress and taking timely action to make improvements. FFF’s monitoring and learning (M&L) system is a shared process which actively involves FAO headquarters, the local country teams and the forest and farm producer organizations. Through a cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring, reflection and response, the system promotes continuous learning and improvement across countries and regions.

Driving better results through the FFF app

Over the years, FFF has transformed its monitoring processes by building a digital infrastructure that connects data collection, risk management, reporting and learning. A key innovation has been the development of an app which brings technical deliverables, administrative monitoring, financial updates and risk tracking into a single integrated system. The app supports consistent reporting, transparent contract management and timely decision-making, making it the backbone of the FFF M&L system.

Monitoring risks and managing performance
The updated system allows risks and performance to be tracked and analyzed more efficiently. Information gathered through field missions, site visits and regular reporting is consolidated into real-time dashboards and analytical products. This enables local country teams and FAO headquarters to visualize progress, compliance and performance at any moment, and ensures any corrective action required is both timely and evidence-based.

Regular data validation processes with country teams and FFF partners, combined with cross-checks against FAO corporate systems, have also improved the reliability of programme information and strengthened accountability across all levels of implementation.

FFF’s lessons learned will be widely shared to provide inputs into large initiatives like REDD+, FLEGT, the Forest Investment Programme, Landscape restoration programmes and the implementation of the Non-legally Binding Forest Instrument. Indeed, the FFF’s focus on forest and farm producer organizations as the primary actors (the “largest rural private sector”) in broader rural transformation, intentionally stresses linkages between forestry and other major sectors within forest based landscapes. The FFF proposes a focused and practical approach to working within the current global agenda: the growing global interest in forests within landscapes, the role of forests for food security, the emphasis on a “green economy”, the role of the small and medium scale private sector and a new sustainable development framework. Furthermore FFF is attracting significant interest from other sectors within the international development community and in governments, including the agricultural sector, rural development and livelihoods funders – thereby raising the profile of forestry.

The FFF is a partnership launched in September 2012 between FAO, IIED and IUCN, and AgriCord. Its Steering Committee is formed by members affiliated with forest producer, community forestry, indigenous peoples’ organizations, international research community, business development service provider organization, private sector, government, and donors.

The FFF was established in 2012; its second phase, launched in 2018, will continue to 2021. FFF Phase II is implemented in ten core countries: Bolivia, Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Nepal, Togo, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and with regional partners with a primary focus on forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs) representing smallholders, rural women’s groups, youth, and Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The FFF piloted a new flexible funding mechanism called the Direct Beneficiary Grant (DBG) which allows FFPOs to build their internal capacities by hiring consultants and purchasing necessary equipment.

During Phase II, the FFF also targets large-scale funding, such as the Green Climate Fund and Global Environmental Facility. In 2021, overall, we have influenced the development and implementation of projects valued at USD 1.16 billion. An important way in which the FFF is achieving substantial impact at scale is by influencing narratives and policies. We do this is by enabling organizations of farmers, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to amplify their voices and messages. We also help analyse and present evidence that supports those messages. In 2022, the FFF implemented a visibility campaign to raise awareness in international forums of the importance of providing equitable, sustainable finance for forest and farm producer organizations and their members.

Wood fuel value chains have also been at the centre of FFF’s efforts during  Phase II with successful country initiatives to tackle illegality hotspots in Zambia, Togo, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Liberia.

The FFF also started exploring carbon sequestration monitoring tools and shows promise for the coming years after a positive reaction from local governments and organizations who look forward to experimenting with such tools. In 2022, the FFF launched new initiatives on training in the use of the carbon accounting tools Ex-Act, SEPAL and RECSOIL to test these and to build capacity among producer organizations in measuring their forest and landscape restoration and climate-change mitigation efforts.

An independent mid-term evaluation of Phase 2 conducted in 2021 was overwhelmingly positive. It shows that the FFF is a unique, highly cost-effective programme that is expanding global forest and sustainability narratives and making laudable progress towards its outcomes. Sixty-seven percent of the FFF’s budget directly supported forest and farm producer organizations in 2022. This level of grassroots delivery is extraordinarily high compared with other climate and development programmes, where generally less than 2 percent of total budgets goes directly to the grassroots.

Addressing gender equity is fundamental to the success of FFF’s work, as supporting women producers has become even more important in some countries in recent years, with more men than women migrating to cities in search of work. The FFF developed and deployed a gender monitoring approach in 2022, showing that its gender empowerment initiatives are having enormous benefits for forest and farm producer organizations and their members. The FFF is supporting 169 majority-women groups.

In 2022, the Facility achieved significant milestones under its four outcomes, including:

• the improvements in 121 subnational or national policies, processes and decisions in favour of forest and farm producer organizations.
• the ongoing restoration of 161 993 ha of forested landscapes;
• the execution of 430 business-related training events with 692 staff trained in business incubation; and
• the delivery of about 21 percent more to grassroots organizations in 2022 (a total of USD 1.29 million) than in 2021 (USD 4.23 million). 

FFF is continually improving, learning from its experiences, and adapting in the face of rapid change. Key challenges and lessons are detailed in annual reports.

Resources

• Annual reports