Small-scale producers empowered through new direct funding
Small-scale rural farmers in Bolivia and Togo will soon be benefiting from a brand new way of funding that will see money go directly to the groups that need it, rather than at country level.

28 June 2021, Rome - This pioneering approach of financing producer organizations through what are known as ‘direct beneficiary grants’ is being piloted by the Forest and Farm Facility. It allows money to go directly to individuals (such as smallholder farmers), cooperatives, civil society organizations and producer organizations, giving them more control over how best to allocate their resources. It empowers these groups to identify their own needs and implement their own action plans using local expertise.
One of the benefits of direct beneficiary grants is that payments do not need to be standardized and can be made in varying amounts according to the group’s changing needs over time. They are also simpler to process from an administrative point of view.
“Our aim is to strengthen forest and farm producer organizations. Direct beneficiary grants give farmers and producers the autonomy to manage their own purchases, empowering them to have a greater say over how their activities re running. It will allow farmers and producers to be more agile, to access local solutions and to unlock the full potential of their activities,” said FFF Manager, David Kaimowitz.
Jhony Zapata, Forestry Officer, said, “In Bolivia, following our initial call for proposals, we received 23 applications for direct beneficiary grants from producer organizations. Of those, 13 were shortlisted by the national advisory committee. The six producer organisations which were selected are now working to prepare their final proposals, incorporating recommendations made by FFF. We hope to conclude that process soon so they will be able to start their activities in the field from July 2021.
“So far, the main difference has been that the review and selection process is faster than the Letter of Agreement system and that producer organisations can include investments and equipment up to 30% of the total budget in their proposals, making the system more flexible than before.”
This new way of funding has the potential to transform how activities are run and FFF have put in place a robust risk management process to ensure the smooth-running of this new funding model. So far, direct beneficiary grants are successfully being rolled out to fund small-scale producers in Bolivia and Togo with more countries to come, including Ghana and Ecuador.
