Capitalization at the heart of peer learning within the AgriCord international alliance.

Training farmer leaders

Fert and its partners (farmer organizations (FOs) in Madagascar, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire) have been involved in the Sepop (Services and Advocacy for FOs) program since 2020, alongside AgriCord and several other agricultural agencies in the international alliance. As part of this program funded by AFD, a process of capitalization and experience sharing has been initiated, with the support of the COTA consultancy, on the themes of “training of farmer leaders” and “economic support and access to financing for FOs.”

Fert led a working group on Farmer Leader Training (FLT) from May 2024 to February 2025. Three webinars open to all AgriCord members and their partner FOs provided an opportunity to present different experiences and discuss what defines FLT for AgriCord members, the diversity of implementation methods depending on the context, as well as the success factors and challenges of this type of training. At the end of each webinar, summary sheets were produced.

The FLT aims to strengthen the leadership of agricultural farmers involved in FOs. It focuses on developing skills in management, governance, negotiation, and union action. Training courses are progressive, participatory, and tailored to the specific needs of leaders based on their background and context. Sharing experiences and exchanges between leaders and with resource persons are an important part of the training.

Young people and women are often underrepresented in FO decision-making bodies. In this context, the FLT plays a key role in strengthening their integration into FOs and defending their interests.

The experiences analyzed highlight the importance of monitoring tools before, during, and after training to assess leaders’ progress and the practical application of what they have learned. Maintaining contact with trained leaders is essential for assessing developments and any difficulties, thereby improving the training offer.

Common challenges often relate to logistics, particularly in terms of post-training follow-up. It is also important for financial partners to take into account in projects and programs that these change processes can only take place over a long period of time.

The sharing of experiences within AgriCord, between agricultural agencies and between FOs, is a strength for the alliance and its partners. Organizing practical webinars based on field experiences is a good way to share and disseminate knowledge for peer learning.

“Leading the working group gave me a better understanding of the actions taken by different agricultural agencies and their partners. I also learned a lot from the capitalization process itself, how to share experiences in a concise manner while highlighting the main lessons learned. Leading a working group with participants working in very different contexts (different countries, cultures, time zones, and languages) remains an educational challenge. The webinars allowed us to discuss what we had learned in a simple and dynamic way, enabling us to extract the essentials.”

Adeline LHOMME, Project Manager for Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast at Fert

Training farmer leaders

View the 3 summary sheets

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