In early February 2011, NCBA hosted a team of Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers in Senegal from the National Farmers Union (NFU), an NCBA member organization. NFU Vice President Claudia Svarstad, New England Farmers Union (NEFU) President Annie Cheatham and NEFU Member Jess Cook consulted with the Senegalese counterpart to the NFU: the Conseil National de Concertation et de Cooperation des Ruraux (National Council for Rural Dialogue and Cooperation or CNCR). Serving as an advocate for Senegal’s small farmers, CNCR’s relationship with the government of Senegal has frayed in recent years, to the point where the government of Senegal has tried to create a competing organization for the country’s farmers.
The team advised CNCR staff on strategies for repairing their organization’s relationship with the Senegalese government by finding “sweet spots,” points where the organization and the government have the same interests. Once those “sweet spots” are identified, CNCR can use their relationships with Senegalese officials to build credibility with the government. For example, one “sweet spot” might be to find a role for small-scale farmers in Senegal’s government programs that currently favor large-scale agriculture.
If some of the recommended strategies are followed, CNCR will be able to build credibility with a broader public audience, currently unaware of CNCR’s activities. Building awareness among government and international agencies, lead to expanded membership and renewed interest from potential funders and program partners.
In addition, the team emphasized the importance of creating and reinforcing a visible, credible identity for CNCR through public relations and branding efforts. This topic led to a lively discussion among CNCR staff.
NCBA hopes to build on our new relationship with CNCR to support the long-term strategies that our volunteers recommended.
The team traveled to visit with Senegalese farmers and fishermen, including a peanut growers cooperative. During one farm visit, the team met a farmer named Aissatou Sow, who told them about how a CNCR training program had demonstrated to her that the villages in her area could achieve more by working together than they could separately. She summed up by saying: “We are not poor. We have resources. We can succeed.”
