African Investment Climate Research (AFRICRES), in partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and Regional Farmer Organisations throughout Africa, is organizing the 2013 Africa Farmer of the Year Award (AFOYA) in Accra, Ghana, on 28th November, 2013.

The awards aim at showcasing and rewarding successful Farmer Organisations (FOs) in Africa, and acknowledging the vital role that these FOs play in promoting sustainable agriculture in the African continent.

This year’s event will honour farmer organizations in five main categories such as Governance, Accountability and Professional Capacity, Income Diversity, Female and Youth Participation, Advocacy and Market Access.  At the end of the event, an overall Africa FO of the Year will be crowned among the 5 sector winners. The winners will each receive prices for the various sectors.

As part of activities marking the Awards, AFRICRES and AGRA are organizing a conference under the theme “Farmer Organizations in Africa: Strengthening Information-Sharing and Partnerships” on 27th November, 2013 at the Fiesta Royal Hotel. The conference aims to bring together Regional and National Farmer Organisations, Representatives from African Governments, Farmer Organisation Support Agencies & Institutions, Researchers, Private Sector Institutions, and NGOs to discuss issues affecting Farmer Organizations in their efforts to ensure food security in the African continent.

The Farmer Organization Conference is also to give stakeholders the platform to discuss issues affecting smallholder farmers in the following key focus areas:

• Getting better seeds to Africa farmers;
• Improving soil health;
• Providing better access to markets;
• Building partnership to change policies and;
• Strengthening farmer organization capacities.

Commenting on the conference and the awards, the Managing Director of AFRICRES Professor Nicholas Biekpe, noted that Farmer Organizations continue to play a key role in achieving food security in Africa and therefore deserve recognition.

AGRA’s Director of Communications & Public Affairs, Ms. Sylvia Mwichuli, also stressed the importance of the awards, noting that these will motivate farmer organizations to continue to work towards achieving a green revolution in Africa. She also reiterated the commitment of key stakeholders in the agricultural value chain, including AGRA and AFRICRES, in promoting sustainable agriculture in the African continent.

“These Farmer Organization awards will celebrate the FOs for their role in eradicating poverty in the African continent through agriculture,” Ms. Mwichuli stated.

It is expected that the conference will help smallholder farmers gain profound knowledge on how to tackle some of the challenges they face and turn them into opportunities through sharing of practical experiences. This platform, AFRICRES and AGRA believe, will also help in strengthening the partnerships among FOs, Service Providers, Agricultural Support Institutions, Governments and other FO-Support Agencies and Institutions. 

The 2013 Africa Farmer Organization Conference and Award ceremony will be graced by Hon. Clement Kofi Humado, Ghana’s Minister for Food and Agriculture, and other relevant stakeholders in the agricultural value chain across Africa.