Community Empowerment Facility Profile

BACKGROUND

In the context of traditional systems of subsistence farming and land tenancy in Madagascar, few organizations have emerged to support the rights of poor farmers and their families to secure land and agricultural services. One group that has developed over the last ten years is the Fédération Chrétienne des Paysans Malagasy (FEKRITAMA), with over 500 members nationwide and a network of 20 regional units. This NGO is one of the few organizations working for land reform.

Land titles are mainly unknown and buying land land is a complicated and expensive procedure; beyond the knowledge and financial capacity of most small farmers. This is compounded by poorly developed agricultural services, limited access to markets for agricultural produce and shortage of water for irrigation. As a result, conflicts over land are frequent and the possibility of increasing production is dependent on rainfall. These factors render the role of FEKRITAMA pivotal in assisting farmers to negotiate their rights to land and related resources, essential to improving their incomes.

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GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

The project's overall goal is to involve farmers in sustainable management of land and water by assisting them to gain access to the technology and markets to improve their livelihoods. One of the specific objectives is land literacy, to enable the farmers to exercise their land rights, manage water and irrigation more efficiently, and establish a marketing system. This will allow communities to assume responsibility for the management of their natural resources by establishing, among other things, a Water Users' Association.

FEKRITAMA provides an important support service to rural communities and this ongoing role needs to be strengthened. They empower communities by raising awarenes of the ways and means to confront constraints and improve incomes and assists them in using this understanding to establish community systems for managing their resources and services. Agriculture is basic to the national economy but needs to be rebuilt. By mobilizing rural communities, FEKRITAMA aims to demonstrate to government that through effective organization, incentives and appropriate services and support, the rural poor not only help themselves but also play a major role in revitalizing the rural economy.

The project is being co-funded from a CEF contribution of USD 42 700 in additon to USD 24 900 from the Netherlands-based (CORDAID).The grants will be used for the design and production of posters dealing with basic topics, such as land legislation land titling procedures, water management, intensive rice growing techniques, and techniques to intensify the production of plants and tubers. Community information and mobilization would be done through workshops involving the rural communities. Special training would also be provided to community leaders.

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WHO WILL BENEFIT?

During the 18 months of project implementation, some 240 000 people living in 400 villages are expected to benefit, either directly from participation in community workshops, or through the dissemination of information and involvement in Water Users' Associations and economic interest groups. FEKRITAMA has the advantage of already working in these villages and is well known at the national level. FEKRITAMA benefits from both its membership to the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the International Land Coalition, through which it enlists support at national and international levels.

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CONCLUSION

Through the partnership with FEKRITAMA, International Land Coalition can be instrumental in mobilizing rural communities, by, inter alia, the formation of farmers and users' associations, and by improving their land literacy. Communities will learn to take responsibility for their assets which risk being wasted or depleted thus entrenching poverty in the rural areas. Working with a recognized network organization creates potential for an exchange of technical knowledge, dialogue with national and international non-governmental organizations and learning from the agrarian reform experiences of other IFAP members as well as affording the opportunity to approach decision-makers with the aim of making public goods and services more accessible.

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