Dialogue and Workshop on Pathway to Scaling-up and Financial Sustainability of Farmers Organizations and Cooperatives Agri-Enterprise – Part 2
and Co-Design Workshop for FO4Impact Asia-Pacific
16-19 June 2025 | Bangkok, Thailand
Introduction
As the APFP FO4A project approaches its conclusion at the end of this year, it is essential to begin preparing for the next phase by building on the lessons learned and successes achieved during the implementation of economic services for family farmers. The project has made significant strides in strengthening the capacity of Farmers’ Organizations (FOs), particularly through the development and execution of Business Plans aimed at enhancing their economic viability and sustainability.
In April 2024, a workshop was held in Bangkok to introduce key concepts that will guide the implementation of its Economic services until the end of the project and beyond. These included the concept of commercialization among FOs implementing APFP FO4A Business Plans, as well as the introduction of the Farmers’ Enterprise Assessment Tool (FEAT). This tool is designed to assess the stages of commercialization among participating FOs and provide insights into possible interventions to enable them to graduate to a higher level on the path towards commercialization.
Since May of last year, the FEAT has been piloted with selected FOs receiving Business Plan financing. This process allowed for real-world testing of the tool and offered a clearer picture of the current stages of development among the FOs. Importantly, the implementation of FEAT also enabled refinements to be made, improving its effectiveness in capturing the commercialization journey within the specific context of Farmers’ Organizations. These adjustments have enhanced the tool’s relevance and utility as an input to program planning.
To build on this progress and further sharpen the program’s support for FOs, a second workshop is being convened. This workshop aims to deepen the understanding of commercialization pathways, refine strategies for support, and lay the groundwork for a more focused and impactful next phase of the project. In addition, it will enable the identification of target policy agendas towards creating an enabling environment for the commercialization of farmer-led enterprises (FLEs).
In addition, the workshop will be an opportunity for consultation to inform design of the next phase of FO grants, titled FO4Impact. It is anticipated that the consultation will include IFAD-APR Country Teams to enhance synergies.
Workshop Objectives
- Enhance the understanding of commercialization concepts among National Implementing Agencies (NIAs) and Business Plan (BP) implementing Farmers’ Organizations (FOs).
- Strengthen the use of the Farmers’ Enterprise Assessment Tool (FEAT) to accurately determine the commercialization stage of BP-implementing FOs, supporting more effective planning and decision-making.
- Present and evaluate legal structure options to help FOs strengthen their enterprise operations and sustainability.
- Refine the criteria and process for identifying priority FOs and key commodities in preparation for the implementation of the Farmers’ Organizations for Impact (FO4I).
- To collaboratively advance the co-design of the FO4IMPACT program through structured consultations with AFA, PIFON, and AgriCord/Agri-Agencies, aligning program design with stakeholder priorities, lessons learned from FO4ACP and FO4Asia evaluations, and compliance with the EU Action Document/Global Umbrella Program. The workshop will aim to participatory consult on strategic priorities, institutional arrangements, define the costing frameworks, and to solidify the operational arrangements with the three recipient organizations regarding the coming design that is preliminarily scheduled in July 2025.
- To enhance the collaboration between AFA, PIFON, Agricord/Agri-Agencies and relevant stakeholders, including IFAD APR Division.
Participants:
- NIA Coordinators
- NIA BDOs
- NIA Finance Officers
- FO representatives
- IFAD Design Team for Asia and Pacific (IFAD design team)
- IFAD APR Team (hybrid)
- AgriCord (Agri Agency and FO Partners)
- PFO Representatives
- AFA- LVC RIA Team
Program Flow
| Day/Time | Program |
| Day 1, June 16 | Expanding Farmer-led Enterprises |
| 8:30 am – 9:00 am | Registration |
| 9:00 am – 9:30 am | Opening Program Facilitator: Amir Islam, AFA |
| Elizabeth Ssendiwala International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Asia-Pacific |
|
| Marek Poznanski AgriCord |
|
|
Angela Birch |
|
| Saowalak Prathumthong Federation of Thai Fisherfolk Associations (FTFA) |
|
| Zainal Arafin Fuat La Via Campesina (LVC) |
|
| Lany Rebagay Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) |
|
| Presentation of Objectives of the Workshop | |
| 9:30 am- 10:00 am | FEAT Tool Overview and Presentation of Regional FEAT Analysis Leo Mendoza & Junie Pandela, AFA |
| Group Photo | |
| 10:00 am – 10:15 am | Health break |
| 10:15 am – 12:15 pm | I. Production and Marketing Facilitator: Dan Songco, IFAD Consultant |
| 10 minutes | Case 1: Galbaatar Gombosuren Executive Director, Tsever Khursnii Shim Cooperative, Mongolia |
10 minutes |
Case 2: Jinda Jittanang Federation of Thai Fisherfolk Association (FTFA), Thailand |
| 30 minutes | Workshop 1a |
| 15 minutes | Presentation of Findings |
| Input | |
| 12:15 am – 1:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 pm – 3:15 pm | II. Access to financeFacilitator: Dan Songco, IFAD Consultant |
| 10 minutes | Case 1:Amrosestar Jamu Western Ri Bhoi Farmer Producer Cooperative Society, India |
| 10 minutes | Case 2:Edna Yurong BACFA/KAMMPIL, Philippines |
| 30 minutes | Workshop 1b |
| 15 minutes | Presentation of Findings |
| Input | |
| 3:15 pm – 3:30 pm | Health Break |
| 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm |
III. Understanding Financial Statements Input: Understanding and reading financial statements |
| 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm | Synthesis |
| Closing Program for Workshop on Pathway to Scaling-up and Financial Sustainability of Farmers Organizations and Cooperatives Agri-Enterprise – Part 2 – Reflection/Key take-aways – Ways forward for FEAT |
|
| Day 2, June 17 | |
| 8:00 am – 8:30 am | Morning energizer |
| Recap of Day 1 | |
| 8:30 am – 10:0 am | Private Law & Agricultural Development UNIDROIT/FAO/IFAD Legal Guide on Collaborative Legal Structures for Agricultural Enterprises Dr. Priscila Andrade UNIDROIT |
| Sharing from the country level to pinpoint laws that contribute in supporting Farmer-Led Enterprises (FLEs) | |
| Models for FO economic services Lany Rebagay, AFA |
|
| Open Forum | |
| Black Pepper Challenge and Dried Fruit Fiesta (Farmers’ Organizations’ Products Contest) Facilitators: Irish Dominado, Jan Hebron, & Jane Ramos, AFA |
|
| 10:00 am – 10:15 am | Health Break |
| 10:15 am – 11:15 am | Workshop 1 Appropriate Enterprise Implementation Models for the next phase (Structures and Implementations Strategies) Identifying Policy Agenda and actions points towards enabling environment for commercialization of FLEs |
| 11:15 am – 12:30 pm | Presentation of Workshop Outputs per Group |
| 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 pm – 5:30 pm | APFP-FO4A National Implementing Agencies (NIA) Meeting Implementation update and utilization rate: re-allocation options Preparation for project end reports/wrap-up requirements (Project end survey tool) GAFSPFO4Impact (Prioritization: FO & commodities; staffing & budget) |
| 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm | Cultural and Solidarity Night Hosts: Toolos Bostonbaev, NUWUA & Byamba Dorjsuren, NAMAC |
| Day 3, June 18 | FO4I Design Workshop Facilitator: Peter Situ, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Consultant |
| 9:00 am – 9:15 am |
Introduction of the Co-designing Process for FO4Impact Asia-Pacific Elizabeth Ssendiwala Nicoletta Giulvi Benoit Thierry |
| 9:30 am – 10:00 am | Session with APR Country Teams Getting all on the same page: Evaluation recommendations and umbrella program presentation |
| 10:00 am – 10:30 am | Setting up the sub-regional scene: Presentation of draft FO4I Asia- Pacific |
| 10:30 am – 10:45 am |
Presentations from FO4 Program Regional Implementing Agencies Marek Poznanski |
| 10:45 am – 11:00 am | Health Break |
| 11:00 am – 12:00 pm | Open discussion on alignment/synergies with country programs |
| 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm | Lunch |
| 1:15 pm – 3:00 pm | Sub-Regional Workshop, including AgriCord/Agri-Agencies Prioritization of FOs and Commodities Targets Institutional Arrangements Staffing Requirements Action Points |
| 3:00 pm – 3:15 pm | Health Break |
| 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm | Presentation per Sub-Region (Plenary) including AgriCord/AAs |
| 3:45 pm – 5:30 pm | Synergies and Collaboration between AgriAgencies and FOs Objective: To review the proposed activities by AgriCord, AFA and PIFON to ensure there are synergies in the implementation, based on each implementing partners’ value add, avoiding duplications and agreeing on the roles and responsibilities of each. |
| Day 4, June 19 | FO4I Design Consultation |
| 9:00 am – 10:30 am | FO4I Costing |
| 10:30 am – 10:45 am | Break |
| 10:45 am – 12:00 pm | Research Session Objective: Explain the strategy for the research component and |
| 12:00 pm – 1:15 pm | Lunch |
| 1:15 pm – 2:15 pm | M&E and KM Session Objective: To obtain feedback on the logframe proposition |
| 2:15 pm – 5:00 pm | Working groups (with 15 mins break in the middle) |
Download the materials and presentations here
Click here to get an overview of the Part 1 of the workshop
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