1. FARMING FOR FOOD Edith van Walsum Frank van Schoubroeck

2. Promotes sustainable agriculture, with a focus on small-scale family farmers  through LEISA Magazine and other forms of information exchange  through guiding systematisation processes of stakeholders  through building policy-practice linkages …

3. … is part of the global LEISA Network, which publishes magazines on sustainable agriculture in  West Africa (French)  East Africa (English)  India ( English, Hindi,Tamil, Kannada)  Brazil (Portuguese)  Latin America (Spanish)  Indonesia ( Bahasa Indonesia)  China (Chinese) …

4. DGIS / LNV Memorandum: 5 tracks  Track 1. Improving agricultural productivity  Track 2. Enabling environment for value chains  Track 3. Sustainable value chain development for People (income distribution), Planet (ecological sustainability) and Profit (economic growth)  Track 4. Increased market access  Track 5. Food security and transfer mechanisms  Access to food  Productive safety nets and cash-for-work programmes  Payment for environmental services  Low external input and sustainable agriculture  Skills development

5. DGIS/LNV memorandum: Agriculture is embedded in society+landscape Agriculture Society Rural landscape Rural population

6. DGIS/LNV memorandum: track 1: increase cash crop production Agriculture Society Rural landscape Rural population Production (Track 1)

7. DGIS/LNV memorandum: Track 3 (value chains) + Track 4 (Market access) Agriculture Value chain (Track 3 / MDG 1-3-7) Market access (Track 4) Society Rural landscape Rural population Production (Track 1)

8. DGIS/LNV memorandum: Track 2: Market institutions Agriculture Value chain (Track 3 / MDG 1-3-7) Market access (Track 4) Society Rural landscape Rural population Market institutions (Track 2) Production (Track 1)

9. DGIS/LNV memorandum: Track 5: Food security + Transfer mechanisms (PES, LEISA, food for work, etc.) Agriculture Value chain (Track 3 / MDG 1-3-7) Market access (Track 4) Society Rural landscape Rural population Market institutions (Track 2) Food security (Track 5 / MDG 1) PES (Track 5 / MDG 7) Production (Track 1)

10. DGIS/LNV memorandum: Track 5+: institutional development for sustainability Agriculture Value chain (Track 3 / MDG 1-3-7) Market access (Track 4) Society Rural landscape Rural population Market institutions (Track 2) Food security (Track 5 / MDG 1) PES (Track 5 / MDG 7) Environmental institutions ( Track 5?) Social institutions (Track 5?) Production (Track 1)

11. Visit to Northern Ghana: What are opportunities for rural entrepreneurship?

12. An old acquaintance leads us around

13. An NGO carries out a soy growing programme, with marketing through “The Savannah Farmers’ co-operative”

14. NGO Project objective: “... Developing the capacity of rural farmers to invest in (...) Livelihood Enterprise Development and Trade for Poverty Reduction...”

15. An extensionist leads us to a village

16. Farmers: “we stopped calculating investments and profits: the more we work, the poorer we get...”

17. Local food market along the way: NGO staff buys yam

18. NGO director: “the soy market has gone down because Brazil floods our soy market”

19. “When I was young, we went to the lu just 20 m into the forest – now we can see the horizon” Causes: *no local rights to timber *chainsaw lumbering *burning for grasses

20. “Climate change made that floods destroy our crops”

21. Religious forest shows the tree growing potential

22. Burning vegetation -> poor productivity Technically, trees could produce *fruits, vegetables, for food & market *ecosystem-services *and timber as “safety net”

23. On the way, thousands of hectares are planted with Yatropha – we counted 50 tractors on one spot

24. “Developing farmers’ rights to grow and sell trees is too complicated” Policy discussions concentrate on “food sovereignty of northern Ghana” and local food marketing

25. Visit to Northern Ghana: What are opportunities for rural entrepreneurship? Can farmers take a role and develop a productive landscape? Tree layer – timber as safety net, food, etc. Ecosystem services – against floods, biodiversity Local food – back-up for markets Tenure arrangements seem “in the way” - what support do farmers need?

26. Some urgent (‘hot’) issues Northern Ghana:  Land rights: short lease contracts for landless people; government-traditional authority  Land use planning: industry takes over land  Water floods, water storage functions  Landscape: productive tree layer absent  Value chain world market fluctuates; food sovereignty, local markets  Land rights: short lease contracts for landless people; government-traditional authority  Land use planning: industry takes over land  Water floods, water storage functions  Landscape: productive tree layer absent  Value chain world market fluctuates; food sovereignty, local markets

27. Track 5 is about capitals (human, social, political physical, natural – DFID livelihood model) in support of rural entrepreneurshipAgriculture Society Financial capital Human, social, political capital:  Marginalised groups engage in  Skill development  Organisation for safety nets, food sovereignty Rural population Physical and natural capital:  PES: forestry, C- sequestration  Soil, water, biodiv- management  Local food Rural landscape

28. (0) Analyse context, get to know on- going activity, select area (1) Social analysis: who is track 5 target group? (2) Landscape analysis: what (natural, physical) potential is there? (3) Find “hot issues”: Combine (1) and (2): Who could realize a particular potential? (4) What hierarchy of conditions are crucial? E.g., policy, regulation, capacity, support (5) Start a multi-layered multi-actor process; initiate action around hot issues Possible process:

29. Proposal:  Action learning process in three ‘APF countries’: Ethiopia, Niger, Rwanda or Uganda  Meetings in NL (March – May 2009)  Inception workshops with partners in countries > context analysis; inventorise existing/past initiatives to support small & marginal farmers and food security (June – Sep 2009)  Action learning around specific areas and themes in the chosen countries (Sep 2009 - Dec 2010)  Lessons learned workshop in NL (Dec 2010)

30. Points for discussion and feedback:  Relevance of a learning trajectory on Farming For Food  Complementarity with other ongoing APF initiatives  Specific areas and themes to focus on  Process  Next steps