Community Empowerment Facility Profile

BACKGROUND

On 31 July 2001, an agreement was signed between International Land Coalition and the Southern African Natural Products Trade Association (SANProTA) which is likely to have far reaching implications not only on the livelihoods of the members of this innovative new trade association, through the emergence of new products and their trade in the Southern African Region, but also in terms of influencing trade policy in the countries concerned. Led by the NGO, SAFIRE in Zimbabwe, the Association represents some 30 NGO groups in five countries in, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

With the aim of empowering poor rural communities in the region through increasing incomes from the sale of natural products not only at the national and regional levels but also in international markets, the Association has a number of important objectives. These are to provide an opportunity for very poor communities to earn incomes from marketing new products which will be developed by SANProTA. An important constraint has historically been that individual farmers and small groups have not had the economic wherewithal to produce in sufficient volumes which justify creation of markets and which in themselves create demand for produce. By working together, communities can expand their outreach and access to markets.

The project will assist the communities by supporting research and developing new products made from natural materials, and will act as a forum to exchange information on the development of these natural products, creating in parallel markets for the products it has identified and developed.

SANProTA and the Community Empowerment Facility: In keeping with its mandate to help poor communities obtain and maintain access to productive resources, the CEF has put its support behind the establishment of SANProTA which it sees as being able to bridge the gap between marginalized communities with shrinking potential to exploit the few assets they have and the emergence of private sector enterprises to raise family incomes through improved products and better access to market opportunities.

After a careful study of the market for natural products, by a team of experts who interviewed key civil society institutions involved in community-based natural products trade together with government officers, academics, and representatives of the donor community, the way forward was seen to be through the creation of an independent private sector trade organization. The Association is thus entrusted with finding the kinds of natural products that are available to even the poorest producers, developing these, and then using the power of the Association as a conduit for trade. It is intended that the association would become a permanent, effective and locally-owned institution with the capacity to invest directly for the benefit of rural producers.

In the long term, SANProTA could have a major knock-on effect both in the identification of new products and in terms of group actions to identify and develop new products which if successful could be replicated by other groups and could either on its own or lobbying together with other similar such groups influence government policy in the areas of natural resource exploitation, marketing, export trade and development.

Over-exploitation or responsible management?: Conscious also of the need not to over-exploit natural resources which are most often under pressure in areas of high population, SANProTA encourages ‘responsible trade’ amongst its community based traders that will commit them to the responsible management of the natural resources in order to access the benefits of belonging to the Association. One example is the certification scheme for forests used by the communities. The certification scheme sets terms and conditions under which resources may be harvested, processed and marketed. In return, and used together with eco-labelling of products from certified forests, it brings with it the incentives of top prices for products from ‘certified’ forests traded on international markets. By promoting the production of goods from these certified forests, SANProTA will add value to the goods produced by the communities and will also influence how the resources are managed.

Results so far: Within just four months of the approval to establish the Association and full implementation set to begin in January 2002, the project had already achieved its immediate targets. These were to:

• appoint an acting Business Manager (while a suitable permanent candidate was sought);
• establish offices;
• prepare promotional material about the Association;
• elect a management board and approve a preliminary workplan;
• launch the Association;
• produce an initial list of species that could be developed and agreement to initiate a six-month product identification process involving a highly participatory and consultative process across the member countries of SANProTA; and
• identify research and development activities based on the shortlist of species.

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WHO WILL BENEFIT?

So who stands to benefit from SANProTA?Also in line with its mandate to represent civil society organizations including organizations of farmers, producers, women, indigenous people, the landless, forest users, fishing communities and many others besides, the CEF welcomes the opportunity provided by SANProTA to reach the estimated 225 000 individual households who would be likely to benefit from the initiative. The main beneficiaries are the community-based natural products producers and traders, many of whom are women, who belong to groups that are members of the Association. This group represents an increasing proportion of the marginalized and impoverished communities in the dry areas of the five countries in Southern Africa.

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CONCLUSION

The reception given to SANProTA’s launch from the media, donor organizations, potential partners, SADC countries and the natural products industry has been universally welcoming. From the developmental perspective, there is recognition that SANProTA is a groundbreaking opportunity to unlock the potential of natural resources as a vital potential source of income for rural communities. In parallel, the Association through its contacts and activities may act as a catalyst for otherwise powerless groups to influence policy for the benefit not only of these communities but the economy as a whole. From the commercial side, both buyers and sellers are enthusiastic about the chances for developing a reliable supply chain for natural products and thus achieving a more sustained level of market penetration and growth.

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