Date: 9-18 November 2009

The mission of CFAP is to promote quality and living standard of citizens working in agricultural sector; especially those who are the most vulnerable and poor like farmers living in the rural areas, by giving them access to the basic needs, enabling farmers to earn a real income from agricultural work and improving food security and welfare of rural people. This mission is carried out through:

• Organizational strengthening toward real sustainability in the future.
• Strengthen and foster the rural communities in the framework of standing in social justice, equity and mutual autonomy in good cooperation with relevant stakeholders, donor agencies and government.
• Assist farmers, peasant access to main income from agriculture, handicraft and non-agri with real market.
• Facilitate the member organizations into coop style in order them to create principles, regulations and other code of conducts to serve the interests and benefits for their own groups in the future.    

CFAP has elaborated its policy on support services to members in marketing through its ‘cooperative market policy’ (final English draft 19 June 2009). The reason for CFAP to establish such a policy is to address the difficulties of its members to sell their products for a good price in the market. Many members are dependent on middlemen who buy their produce for a bad price. CFAP wishes to establish 16 pilot villages cooperative market places to solve this problem but also to show the added value of CFAP to members and through this increase their willingness to be active members and pay membership fees. The Liaison Officer has expressed her doubt as to whether establishing market places is the correct solution for the existing problem, or whether first a focus should lie on organizing the existing commodity groups in cooperatives and increasing their position in the value chain (e.g. through value adding to products). This mission should discuss with CFAP the best strategy in improving its services to members with respect to marketing.

Objective(s)

• To advise CFAP on its policy/strategy for service delivery to members in marketing
• To assess feasibility and need for establishing cooperatives and advise CFAP on how to facilitate that process
• To yield at least one story of a (female) farmer (see guidelines story harvesting).

Activities

1. Discussion with CFAP Board to get acquainted with the strategy of CFAP in general and specifically for services in marketing
2. Discussion with CFAP staff to get acquainted with its policy on cooperative markets
3. Field visits (to identified pilot areas) to get insight in specific problems of members related to marketing
4. Debriefing with staff and Board to present recommendations.

A programme will be elaborated by CFAP on short notice.

Expected results

• Clear recommendations to CFAP with respect to improving its services to members in marketing
• Clear recommendations to CFAP on developing cooperatives
• At least one story of a (female) farmer.