South Sudan identification Background 
DDE has contacted Agriterra with the request to contribute to the institutional component of the food security programme in South Sudan. Agriterra mandate lies in  supporting (emerging) farmers organizations, by using its farmer to farmer approach. A  brief concept note provides the basic ideas behind the potential role of Agriterra in South Sudan. This can be used  by the Dutch Embassy in preparation of an Agriterra mission to South Sudan (mid November 2012).

Introduction
The Eastern African Farmers Federation (EAFF) conducted a profiling study of Farmers Organisations in Southern Sudan in 2010 (before independence). Part  of EAFF strategic plan process is to expand the number of members within the region. This study report  highlighted the structure of Agriculture and institutions involved in the Agricultural Sector in South Sudan. 

From the study, EAFF identified the following major areas for support of farmers in South Sudan:
1.	Capacity building on organizational development, capacitating farmers in the step wise development of associations and federation of farmers groups
2.	Improve capacity in advocacy, policy influencing and negotiations.
3.	Motivate farmers  to get into commercially oriented agricultural production through exchange visits with farmers organisations abroad. 
4.	Tackling food security.
5.	Financial support to farmers; 
6.	Access to inputs such as improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and implements
7.	Technical assistance to farmers on various technical issues such as  control of floods and irrigation methods, horticulture production, post-harvest handling, value addition, marketing;

Before the Sudanese civil war  farmers unions (farmers associations, commodity associations and cooperatives) did exist in larger Sudan, since the country was run as a whole. However most of these were destroyed during the civil war.
 
South Sudan is now again building its farmers union from scratch starting with the initial stages of the formation of farmer groups. Expertise on strengthening of associations is highly limited.  The government of Sudan doesn´t work directly
with farmers but mainly through NGO’s.

Farmer groups are fast developing  in Yei and Morupu Counties (Central Equatorial State). In Western Equatorial State we find farmers association at state level. Some are already registered at national level (SSAPU) or at state level (CES). But all these organizations are very fragile.




The vision of Agriterra: 

To support independent and formally registered Farmers Organizations at (sub) district, state and national level in South Sudan that represent the primary producers, provide services (collective), promote entrepreneurship among farmers and negotiate with decision makers on pro-farmer  policies.

Proposed support from Agriterra : 2 levels

1.	National level:
The national South Sudan Agricultural Producers Union (SSAPU): The focus will be on the representative function of this organization: engagement in policy making processes, lobby and advocacy towards decision making bodies.
2.	Support at the local (sub national) level: 
     Grassroots’ Entrepreneurship through Cooperation.


At national level: policy development, lobby and advocacy 

One of the main services of  Farmers’ Organizations (FO’s) to their members is sharing the voice of farmers with decision makers. Engaging in policy dialogue and policy making is an important aspect of their work. This should lead to governments opening up for participation of FO’s in agricultural-related policy making.

Agriterra has developed an approach for PO engagement in policy making which is called Participatory Generation of Positions and Proposals (PGPP). This approach is based on four pillars including participatory consultation of the FO members,  advice of experts in doing participatory research, preparing  policy proposals that  reflect farmers reality and concerns and presenting these proposals to decision makers. This approach  assures that FO’s can improve their position in policy dialogue with decision makers.  In a number of African, Latin American and Asian countries this approach has been initiated. It is valued by the involved farmers’ organizations as it helps them to engage in policy influencing in a structured and effective matter. 

Agriterra can provide such  support to farmers organizations engaged in policy making at the national level such as SSAPU provided that the  advocacy and lobby agenda is focusing on  concrete economic results for the farmers community. 

Besides that Agriterra  can offer also  institutional and organizational support,  including development of leadership and governance , financial management training etc. 

The SSAPU could participate in the upcoming OPPO course (Optimizing Performances of Producers Organizations, they will participate in October 2012 in Nairobi). http://eaffu.org/eaffu/node/269


Support through collaboration with EAFF

In 2011 Agriterra started supporting EAFF specifically to strengthen the farmers’ movement in South Sudan. A first workshop was held in 2011. SSAPU has been appointed to become the South Sudan representative at EAFF (member).
Just recently EAFF has organized an advisory  mission (with support from Agriterra) to SSAPU with the aim to enhance organizational and institutional capacities. EAFF has introduced SSAPU into existing CAADP program and exchanged with them on  relevant issues. EAFF also worked with them on a proposal for capacity building on enhancing lobby and policy influence.

Agriterra anticipates that in future EAFF will continue playing an essential role in strengthening SSAPU and bringing SSAPU in the mainstream of farmers organizations in the region. Agriterra will provide EAFF (and in future SSAPU) with  relevant backstopping both financially as through advisory services (a.o. farmer to farmer approach).


At sub national (local) level:  Grassroots’ Entrepreneurship through Cooperation

In several countries, the Agriterra team on grassroots’ entrepreneurship has built its experience in the Promotion of Economic Initiatives through farmers’ Participation (PEIPF) approach, adapted from earlier experiences of the FAO’s People Participation Programme. This approach seems also very applicable in the context of Sudan, where farmers are locally organized, but need to be strengthened in their entrepreneurship, and where farmers’ movement building is still in a preliminary phase.

The PEIPF-approach is built  within Farmers’ Organisations and focuses on the following major elements:

-	Membership development, in which elements as participation, communication, leadership, record keeping and networking are promoted. A first phase works with local groups and in a later stages intergrouping will be promoted. These inter-groups will start with providing service  to members.

-	Local economic development through stronger organized farmers. Farmer groups are stimulated to exploit the benefits of working together in order to secure their food situation and to increase their income. Grouped input supply, collective selling, information sharing will be stimulated. Local groups are accompanied to make a basic planning of their economic activity and to think over the feasibility, including a funding strategy, which is firstly based on the own potentials. In this way a kind of pre-cooperatives will arise. 

For the facilitation of the processes of local economic and membership development, so-called economic promoters are put in place within the FO. Those promoters can either be more advanced farmer’s or schooled external people, depending on the local possibilities. The promoters are trained and coached by a facilitator.

Self-reliance is a key-word in the whole way of working. Farmers are encouraged to save money and to make (collective (small)) investments. Through participatory methods knowledge and skills are increasingly transferred from the group promoters to the farmers groups. 

The results of the PEIPF are promising: FO’s acknowledge their membership base is strengthened, which leads to improved service provision, based on the real needs of members. Improved services will make farmers able to improve their production and productivity and their access to rural finance and markets. The bottom-up approach is combined with expertise and networking provided by higher organizational layers. At medium term, internal governance and leadership will improve, as downward accountability is promoted. Apprehension of these democratic principles by farmers will also reflect on the rest of the society.

To roll out this approach in Southern Sudan, Agriterra will identify local, provincial or/and subnational organizations which are motivated and have sufficient basic capacities for the implementation. Organisational strengthening of the retained FO’s in aspects as financial management, internal governance, and economic service development will be an integral part of the approach. 

Technical support and collaboration

Although the focus is on increasing the internal  capacity of a FO, there will be a need for external assistance in the beginning. This  assistance will be tailor-made for the identified FO’s, and can consist of:
-	Direct intervention of liaison officers of Agriterra;
-	Agripool services (using Dutch or regional farmer to farmer expertise) on specific themes
-	Local assistance: SNV, PO-advisor, regional farmer to farmer exchange visits

It is important to analyse together with the EKN Juba how the Agriterra support to Farmer Organisations in South Sudan can be complementary to the Institutional Component of the Dutch Food Security Programme.

Next steps:

-	Contacting  EKN Juba, prepare Agriterra mission to South Sudan (desk study)
-	Visit Agriterra to South Sudan (1 week, mid-November) including field visit
by the liaison officers Ms Géke Apeldoorn and Mr Niek Thijssen;  
-	During mission exchange with the Dutch Embassy on complementary roles of Agriterra  in the Dutch Food Security Programme both in the institutional component and in agricultural extension;
-	Look at the need of a mapping exercise / Scoping Farmers Organizations; 
-	Identification and selection of subnational FO for direct collaboration - start implementation of programme in 2013;
-	Identify potential value chains to focus on.
-	Clearly define support to SSAPU (in collaboration with EAFF): based on  proposal from SSAPU;
-	Identify partners and areas for collaboration in South Sudan including SNV.

null

Objectives
•	Mobilize finance for malt barley contract: 5 million ET birr
•	Optimize and strengthen malt barley value chain
•	Increase output marketing performance Tsehay
•	Increase quality and quantity of production