Strengthening capacity of East African farmer organizations through knowledge management and institutional development

Sponsor:  IFAD

Duration:  2012 -2015

EAFF Contact person:  Tuyishime Norbert

Sponsor’s Contact person:  Roberto Longo

Goal: Strengthen the capacity of East African national farmer organizations and EAFF to represent, mobilize and retain members and to deliver services to them.

Objective: Support the development of a knowledge management and learning system within national farmer organizations and EAFF that enables: continuous learning and improvement of their organizational capacity; fulfillment of their core functions; and provision to IFAD-funded projects of support in farmer-based learning and knowledge management.

Specifically, the grant programme will help to strengthen EAFF’s organizational capacity and skills to document and manage knowledge. It will also strengthen the secretariat’s capacity to facilitate learning and institutional development in its member organizations, thus improving their effectiveness and efficiency in mobilizing and servicing their members. Indicators of success are:

  1. Increased membership of national farmer organizations due to enhanced knowledge sharing, learning from each other and access to services, information and innovation.
  2. Improved farmer-based learning and innovation in IFAD-supported projects which enhances the impact at local level.

This grant will complement the EC-funded Support to Farmers Organizations in Africa Programme (SFOAP), by deepening SFOAP’s impact in ESA, particularly in the areas of institutional strengthening and KM and learning. It will represent ESA’s contribution to SFOAP Phase 2.

Beneficiary Countries

  • All ESA countries with EAFF membership, with a specific focus on Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania.

Total project budget

  • USD 1 500 000

Project Duration

  • 3 years

Target Group and Benefits

  • The target groups are the EAFF secretariat and the national farmer organizations under the EAFF umbrella, with a focus on FOs in three countries. 

Indirect benefits to other FOs in countries under EAFF through workshops and other dissemination activities.