NOTE 12: Producer Organizations’ Roles in Rural Advisory Services in Developing Countries

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Diversity of roles in RAS and capacity requirements

Table 1 summarises the many different ways POs contribute to providing RAS. Depending on their level of involvement in the implementation of services with their members in the field, capacity requirements go from operational skills (capacity to manage human and financial resources, capacity to train advisors or famer extension workers) to relationship-building or communication skills (capacity to coordinate, to contract out, to network, etc.). Their roles in RAS delivery may be imposed by or negotiated with other stakeholders. For instance, in Burkina-Faso, in the cotton sector, farm advice activities are reserved for private firms but they tolerate POs provided that they respect firms’ interests. POs with greater autonomy, often those who emerged from grassroots initiatives, are more frequently involved in direct implementation, intermediary, or advocacy roles.

Role	Capacity requirements
Direct implementation Providing direct RAS to members. Implementing and controlling their own services	Capacities for self-sustainment Capacity to manage resources (especially funds and advisors) Capacity to express and address farmers’ needs
Associate Complementing RAS provided by other service providers, through partnership or informal coordination, with economic activities such as input provision, warehousing, and value adding marketing	Capacity to coordinate with other services providers Capacity to find appropriate funding
Joint implementation Jointly providing RAS with other value chain stakeholders (e.g. private firm) or with national agencies (state) Governance, funding, capacity development Evaluation of RAS is distributed amongst stakeholders, with shared objectives PO’s level of autonomy and responsibility depends on its capacities	Capacity to choose and use appropriate advisory methods and approaches Capacity to adapt to external requirements and make available suitable and skilled human resources Capacity to generate results and to account
Supervisory Defining advisory needs and then contracting out with a service provider	Capacity to contract out, supervise, and assess the services provided and to ensure quality
Intermediary Creating links and partnerships in the agricultural innovation system, specifically to other RAS providers and research organisations	Capacity to coordinate different organisations and to carry a vision Capacity to communicate
Advocacy Participating in advocacy and policy formulation to improve RAS Ensuring the organisation is recognised as a voice for farmers This includes mobilising members and seeking partnerships	Capacity to recognise and support charismatic farmer leaders Capacity to communicate, to carry a vision Capacity to network, unify, and mobilise other actors in AIS

Table 1. Roles played by POs in RAS and main capacity requirements