60 local farmers benefit from FAO-led capacity-building training

In a continued effort to empower Farmers’ Organisations (FOs) to effectively participate in sustainable food value chains, some 60 farmers from eight FOs in six regions across Guyana engaged in a training session under the FOs for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (FO4ACP) programme.
This FO4ACP programme, progressing under the partnership of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and PROCASUR, aims to increase the incomes and improve the livelihoods, food security and safety of small farmers in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries by strengthening regional, national and local FOs.
From August 7 to 14, the 60 Guyanese farmers learnt to build functional and operational capacities to improve the quality of services they provide.
The participating FOs were: the Central Mahaicony Perth Village Farmers’ Association and West Berbice Sheep and Goat Farmers’ Association in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice); Pomeroon Beekeepers Association and Pomeroon Export Producers Association in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Gibraltar/Fyrish Farmers’ Association in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); Mocha Arcadia Multipurpose Agriculture Cooperative in Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Medicine from Trees in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and Blue Flame Women’s Group in Region One (Barima-Waini).

This exercise is a continuation from last May when the facilitating team visited these FOs following a National Learning Route under the theme “Come up in the Value Chain.”
During those visits, each organisation was tasked with developing a short-term innovation plan that will enable them to increase their associative and entrepreneurial capacities.
To support the implementation of these innovative plans, FAO and PROCASUR convened a nine-day technical mission to connect the innovation plans with a medium-term organisational development plan that will receive technical and financial support from the FO4ACP programme.
These development plans, which have been individually tailored based on each organisation’s unique circumstance, geography, and needs, focus on a number of areas, including business development, marketing, good governance practices, and production enhancements.
The FO4ACP project is funded by the European Commission through the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Supported by the FO4ACP programme, two farmers last year had the opportunity to attend the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF) meeting held in Santiago, Chile.
Meanwhile, in addition to FO4ACP, Guyana is also participating in another FAO-led programme called FISH4ACP that focuses on making fisheries and aquaculture value chains more productive and sustainable.
Under a 10-year development strategy for the healthy future of Guyana’s seabob shrimp value chain, which was endorsed by Guyanese operators in May 2022, the FAO’s FISH4ACP Project has completed an assessment report in which it highlighted, among other things, ways of promoting artisanal or traditional fisheries and strengthening the role of women. (G13)