Organizing Smallholding Farmers - Indonesia - North Sumatra

Board of Indonesia Organic Alliance 2017-2020

page developed by Emma Marks, ARI intern from Wilmington College

submitted August 2019

How to Organize a Farmers Group

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The Importance of Farmer Groups

Through farmer organisations, farmers can increase their capacity in agriculture and learn how to express opinions in public. Also, the organizations make it easier for farmers to access various programs, both from government and non-government organisations.The union can be used as a vehicle for protection and enhancement of bargaining capabilities. Farmers groups are one essential aspect of rural development.

In order to organize farmers, we need to find the right strategies and methods for the community. Generally, the steps of organizing a farmer group are:

identifying the community

identifying needs and problems faced by the community

identifying community leaders, village leaders, or elders and coordinating with them

having a discussion with villagers and giving explanations in the local language that is easily understood by the community

developing the organizational structure

monitoring and evaluation

Identifying the Community

First, we visit the village. In approaching the community, we study and identify the situation and how people live in the area. For example, in the Batak tribe, during the evening, men usually gather in a coffee shop or shop that sells traditional local wine, and women usually chat and gather in the yard. As organizers, we join them there and participate in the gathering. Through the chat, we learn the general conditions in the village and the problems and challenges faced by farmers.

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Lidia (standing) with a group of Batak farmers

Identifying Community Problems and Needs

Then, we continue to identify the problems and needs of the farmers. In the Batak tribe, the biggest problem faced by smallholder farmers is difficulty in getting capital and accessing soft loans. This is because the village has few financial institutions, so farmers usually borrow money from moneylenders at very high interest rates. Even if there is a bank, farmers still find it difficult to get a loan because there are no guarantee documents and certificates of belonging.

Coordinating with Community Leaders

After the conversation, we then communicate with village elders, village heads, or church pastors. Pastors are figures who are highly respected in society. We convey our intention to help smallholder farmers.

Developing the Organizational Structure

To address the problems accessing credit, we built a credit union in the village with the strong principles "by them, from them and for them." In a credit union, members can borrow funds at lower interest rates. In addition to savings and loan activities, this group is also a place for farmers to gather and build solidarity. CU meetings are held every month so that relationships and coordination between members can be maintained and grow.

Through the CU group, we provide training on organic farming. Farmers are given an understanding of the importance of land and nature for the future of living things. In addition, we also provide insight into the market opportunities of organic agriculture. Farmers need to know that demand for organic products continues to increase every year, so this becomes a big opportunity for farmers to increase family income.

We also encourage farmers to participate in nature conservation through their profession as farmers. In various meetings with farmers, we also constantly stressed that the farmer's profession is a very noble profession and that farmers must be proud of their role as food heroes. This is important so they will have self confidence.

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Lidia teaching about bokashi (fermented compost)

Major Challenges and Solutions

In organizing farmers, we face a number of challenges, including farmers' mistrust of outsiders. In this case, mistrust of us as organizers can be overcome by involving elders and religious leaders. A second challenge is that some farmers lack the confidence to participate in the organization. To overcome this, we give continuous motivation, both from us as organizers and from other members in informal discussions.

To empower farmers, we must play an equal role with them. We don’t act as a teacher, not as a fund donor and not as a hero for all their problems. The organizer must act as a partner who plays a role in providing motivation, listening, and together looking for solutions to challenges. When we are in the community, we also have to behave well, be polite, not show vanity, use simple clothes, and follow the culture there.

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