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Best Practices voor een duurzame toekomst
27 mei 2006

Agnes van Ardenne helps poor farmers with marketing

The Producers' Organisations Support Programme (POP) will start in 2007 for a period of four years. With a budget of 115 million euros, of which 50 million is contributed by the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation, the POP intends to help farmers in developing countries defend their interests and improve their economic position. Organisations of farmers can apply for advice and support in areas like compliance with Western production and quality requirements, marketing their products in the West, administration, financial management and ICT, and production and growing methods.
Minister Agnes van Ardenne launched the new partnership at the World Farmers Congress in Seoul, and presented some of the targets: "By building the capacity of their organisations, we will help farmers in poor countries stand up for themselves. For example, in fifty of these organisations, financial management will be strengthened; with our help, twenty-five will develop practical proposals for new government policies benefiting farmers; womens participation in all related agricultural projects will be raised above thirty percent; and twenty organisations will be assisted in founding farmer field schools."
The POP will be implemented by AgriCord, an alliance of agricultural organisations in nine industrialised countries, working with some 3,000 organisations of farmers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and central and Eastern Europe. One of the AgriCord-members is the Dutch organisation for international cooperation in agriculture Agriterra, that will be coordinating the new programme. Since 1997, Agriterra stimulates direct cooperation between farmers to strengthen their capacities.
P+ Webtip: Agriterra