FAO brings farmers' organizations together in Jamaica to strengthen their capacities and productivity

Kingstone - Between 22 and 24 May, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) conducted a series of workshops to train farming networks as part of the FO4ACP Program.

As part of the Farmers' Organizations in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Program (FO4ACP), FAO with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the European Union and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) launched the training course "BOND LEARNING GUIDE FOR TRAINERS: Empowering farmers and their organizations through the creation of social capital".

The training is organized jointly with the Jamaican Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP), which supports efforts to the FAO and the UN Decade of Family Farming’s Agenda to empower rural women to improve their standard of living through training, cultural exchange, networking and the promotion of regional and international trade.

Pedro Boareto, coordinator of the FO4ACP Project in the Caribbean Region, notes that this activity "will provide new tools for the empowerment of members of farmers' organizations in Jamaica and will also serve to make further progress in positioning the Family Farming Agenda in the region.

The objective of this course is to support the farmer leaders, land managers, and their organizations already involved or to acquire knowledge and tools to implement learning events for building three types of relations, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, which are core relations for an organizational development process of farmer organizations.

Tamisha Lee, president of JNRWP, believes that this FO4ACP BOND training represents a transformation for farmer’s organizations in Jamaica and sets the stage for these FOs to bond together to defend their interest, organize themselves to support collective needs and influence policies.

“The Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) is very pleased to be collaborating with the FAO to host the BOND training of the FO4ACP programme with five Farmers’ Organization in Jamaica. Having co-facilitated the FAO BOND learning guide for trainers – Empowering farmers through creating social capital with the Caribbean Network of Rural Women Producers in July 2022. We have learned the important role that social capital plays in building a strong and sustainable farmer’s organization through three types of relations: Bonding, Bridging and Linking. We encourage participants of the different FOs to use the knowledge acquired over the three days to share with their membership, strengthen their network, alliances and the internal capacities of their organization,” empathized Lee.

With this methodology, the participants will have the opportunity to acquire knowledge and tools to implement learning processes that enhance social capital as a part of the development of their organizations.

The training will last for two days that will address the role of conflict for organizational transformation and identify strategies for conflict management (bonding), reflect on values and principles for peasant organizations (linkage) and awareness of the importance of gender equality and the empowerment of women (connection and bridge), among other topics of high value for farmers' organizations.”

In his remarks during the opening ceremony (May 22), FAO Representative for Jamaica, Dr Crispim Moreira, said “creating a culture of collaboration and continued exchange is how we will tackle food security and financial security while maximizing social impact”.

Outgoing Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Hon. Pearnel Charles, in his address emphasized the power of collaboration to achieve shared results. “There is no success in this industry without working together, we need to ensure that is sector is as inclusive as can be”.

The growth and leadership of the JNRWP

Representative for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Dr. Elizabeth Johnson lauded the leadership of the JNRWP. “We are particularly pleased that a producer organization that we helped to create is delivering this workshop material. The JNRWP was launched in 1999 through the efforts of several partners involving IICA, RADA, and Bureau of the Gender Affairs among other entities. Here in Jamaica, the JNRWP has grown over the years, experiencing along the way challenges relating to financial and human resources commonly faced by producer organisations. The JNRWP has learnt the importance of collaborative action, networking and partnership.”

The participating farmers organization in the training series included the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, Ebony Park Agro Cooperative Society, Jamaica Coffee Growers Association, Jamaica Cocoa Farmers Association, Golden Grove Farmers Association and New Era Benevolent Society.

FO4ACP in the Caribbean

In the Caribbean, the FO4ACP Programme is implemented by the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, PROCASUR Corporation, and Agricord. The program is being executed in Belize, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, and Saint Lucia.

The FO4ACP is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), together with the European Union (EU) and the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).