By John Thompson, Amdissa Teshome, David Hughes, Ephraim Chirwa and John Omiti
June 2009
This FAC Policy Brief presents what we have termed ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Farmers’ Organisations’. This seeks to provide some insights into what may be described as the ‘critical elements of success’ in high-performing farmers’ organisations in Africa. The seven ‘habits’ identified are:
(1) Clarity of mission;
(2) Sound governance;
(3) Strong, responsive and accountable leadership;
(4) Social inclusion and raising ‘voice’;
(5) Demand-driven and focused service delivery;
(6) High technical and managerial capacity; and
(7) Effective engagement with external actors.
These habits offer a useful checklist of working principles and practices to assess the performance of farmers’ organisation in Africa and elsewhere.
