Asia and the Pacific Group resolutions

1. General principle - The Asia and the Pacific Group will work in the framework of the global Farmers’ Forum.

2. Networking - The Asia and the Pacific Group will work through informal networking between members. No new regional structure will be created. Networking will be a process allowing members to work together.

3. Expansion of outreach - We need to enlarge the number of organizations with which to work and network. This will be the responsibility of each participating FO.

• 3.a IFAD will finance a study aimed at “mapping out” FOs throughout the region.
• 3.b. While expanding the number of FOs participating in the Asia and the Pacific Group, criteria will be gradually developed to define the profile of FOs that we would want to work with.
• 3.c. While working together, we may be organized around thematic groups and sub-regional groups.

4. Gradually, we could be forming a regional Steering Committee.

5. Charter – A better name will be found to replace the word Charter¹. The Charter will be established within the enabling framework of the declaration of the Farmers’ Forum, bringing the latter down to the regional level. The Charter will be about the vision that will be the basis for defining the terms of engagement around which we will be able to work together and with others. It will be about general principles that may apply to all countries in the region; ultimately, these principles will be adapted to the national context. The Charter will be an instrument that IFAD will use to talk to governments, FOs, farmers and other partners. Hopefully, it will also become an instrument that FOs may also use to talk to each other and to governments. The document will be translated into local languages, so that IFAD may outreach to small farmers in Asia and the Pacific. Developing and agreeing on the Charter might however be a long process (up to two years). The basic elements of the Charter may include vision about or definition of the following aspects:

• What kind of farmers are we concerned about?
• What kind of agriculture do we think is the best to address the needs of these farmers?
• What kind of approaches do we think that governments should follow for agricultural development?
• What kind of policies to we think that governments should adopts?
• What kind of FOs should be part of the process?
• How does IFAD engage with FOs?
• How do we work together?

6. Future areas of cooperation – At the regional or sub-regional level, we will identify what are the main common issues of concerns (e.g. trade liberalization, access to land, water privatization, etc.). We will also try to link with regional intergovernmental organizations (e.g. ASEAN). At the national level, IFAD will try to involve FOs in the design, monitoring and evaluation and implementation of its programmes, trying also to develop new instruments so that funds could be transferred directly to the partner FOs, as opposed as through the government. National consultations with FOs will be organized by IFAD is a number of new countries in the next two years. IFAD will also look into ways and instruments for providing direct support to FOs for capacity building, making sure that this direct support does not create dependency. At the grassroots level, IFAD will also try to work as much as possible through existing grassroots organizations, as opposed to creating new ones. IFAD will then endeavour to facilitate the establishment of links between these grassroots organizations and national FOs.

7. This is only the beginning of a process that will take us to the next Farmers’ Forum in two years.

Rome, 15 February 2006

---

1/ For lack of a better name, we will still continue to use the word Charter until we can replace it.