Seeds of success: Empowering farmers’ organizations through the FO4 programmes

The Farmers’ Organizations Programmes (FO4) were launched in 2019, after two decades of dedicated support to farmers’ organizations through various programmes funded by the European Union (EU), the Swiss and French development agencies. The FO4 programmes are a series of five interconnected initiatives that have reached over 70 million smallholder farmers around the world – representing a significant EUR 73.5 million investment from the EU, ACP and IFAD.

Co-designed by IFAD, farmers’ organizations and AgriCord, they have focused on four key components:

1. Delivering improved economic services to members
2. Enhancing FOs’ policy influence
3. Strengthening institutional arrangements
4. Improving communications and visibility

With the FO4 programmes coming to an end, a new generation of programmes supporting farmers’ organizations – FO4IMPACT – is about to be launched. These initiatives will build on the successes of the FO4 programmes and continue to reinforce the role of farmers’ organizations in inclusive rural development, value chain integration, and co-research and agroecological transition. 

This document reflects on the achievements of the FO4 programmes – including increased policy influence, stronger institutional capacity and improved incomes for smallholder farmers – as we look ahead to this next phase.