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May  2021

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Forest and Farm Producer Organizations and their members are developing strategies and implementing practical solutions to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and build back better.

Identifying new marketing channels, using digital tools to reach customers, delivering online training, and finding ways to diversify their income-generating activities are some examples from grassroots organizations across the globe.

Here we report on how such organizations, with Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) support, are connecting farmers and forest producers with governments and other stakeholders to create the enabling conditions they need to move forward.





Mainstreaming mobile technology among pastoralists to access markets in Kenya



[cid:image001.jpg@01D74B7A.1841AE90]In Kenya, COVID-19 related restrictions made it hard for farmers to market their produce. For the Laikipia Livestock and Marketing Cooperative (LLMC) in Laikipia North, locust invasions made the situation even worse. The only market where buyers and sellers from other areas trade their livestock was closed due to the pandemic. The Cooperative is an organization of livestock producer, which the FFF has helped to up-grade from being an association to becoming a full livestock and marketing cooperative. It has 105 members, of whom half are women.

Telephone companies have expanded mobile connectivity and the government has invested in basic infrastructure in the remote areas of Laikipia North. The Cooperative has taken advantage of this and encouraged its members to use mobile phones for marketing. They started using calls and text messages, but after a bit of training, their members began using WhatsApp, Facebook, and other media as well.

Using these platforms helped the Cooperative's members to get good returns from their livestock. Between July 2020 and March 2021, they reported selling 613 sheep for KES 7.8 million (around USD 72 300). The Cooperative has received orders for sheep and goats from various organizations and individuals interested in restocking after the drought and locust invasions.









Supporting farmers to access financial services in Vietnam



[cid:image004.jpg@01D74B7A.1841AE90]Vietnam has nearly 16 000 agro-forestry cooperatives. COVID-19 has negatively affected 60 or 70 per cent of them, leaving them without capital to re-invest in their operations. Many are barely able to come up with 30 per cent of the capital they need to operate well. Lack of collateral limits their access to credit. Producer organizations often rely on the financial services provided by the Development Assistance Fund.

To support these organizations to overcome their financial challenges, the Hoa Binh Provincial Framers' Union organized policy dialogues with the provincial People's Committee and other stakeholders to help the cooperatives to access financial services, especially for short and medium-term capital needs. This has resulted in the following:

• The provincial People's Committee provided the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development with additional funding to help farmers produce chicken, mushroom, wood, rice, and vegetables.

• The Lien Viet Bank committed to providing credit to producer organizations, reschedule debts from six months to one year, and facilitate credit at zero interest.

• The Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has committed to providing low-interest credit packages  of up to VND 1 billion per Cooperative for cooperatives to invest in building warehouses and processing plants, preserving agricultural products, and expanding production as soon as the pandemic ends.







Rebuilding the rural economy in collaboration with local government in Nepal



[cid:image006.png@01D74B7A.1841AE90]Community forest groups in several parts of Nepal have provided support to the communities affected by COVID-19 using their own resources. They supplied food and hygiene items to people in need. They also donated their infrastructure (buildings) for isolation centers, especially returning migrants from India.

The Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal (FECOFUN) lobbied local governments to develop COVID-19 recovery plans, noting the importance of community forestry in emergency response and to build the resilience of poor communities. FECOFUN emphasized the COVID-19 response objectives should acknowledge that sustainable utilization of available natural resources could help to address the socio-economically disadvantaged groups' needs. The local government in Dang, Tulsipur Municipalities is currently applying this approach.



[cid:image007.jpg@01D74B7A.1841AE90]FFF has supported forest and farm entrepreneurs to set up a market center, obtain soft loans, seed money, product buyback-guarantees, capacity development training and larger grants. This approach is gaining relevance and momentum. Local governments in many other municipalities are expected to endorse similar plans and processes soon. FECOFUN is lobbying and supporting local government in this process.

With the recent new wave of COVID-19, FECOFUN continues to work with the governments to distribute food and sanitation materials to people in need. They have worked to equip 1400 buildings with basic furniture for use as quarantine and isolation centers. They raise awareness about the threat of gender-based violence during the pandemic and work closely with local governments and other local organisations to respond to the pandemic.









Upcoming events





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20 May 2021, 12-14 CET

FAO Webinar: The Other Climate Change

Presentation by David Kaimowitz



Please connect on Zoom: https://fao.zoom.us/j/91057574898
Meeting ID: 910 5757 4898 / Passcode: 67864033







[http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/forest_farm_facility/images/large_summit%20logo.png]

9 June 2021, 11-13 GMT+2

Diversification - Building food security and resilience into climate change mitigation<https://summitdialogues.org/dialogue/8270/>







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1-5 June 2021

Community-Based Non-Timber Forest Product Enterprises Forum<https://www.forestharvestforum.com/#customize-13599>







With support of



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                                                       Visit our website  Forest and Farm Facility <http://www.fao.org/forest-farm-facility/en/>       Follow us on  #ForestFarmFacility<https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ForestFarmFacility>



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