ABSTRACT
Farmer Organization Support Center for Africa (FOSCA) is a program within the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) that works to build the capacity of farmer organizations to more effectively serve their members. This case study examines concepts of accountability and the inherent tensions in the competition for resources that typically characterize many development initiatives and organizations. This chapter illustrates the challenges of setting up both vertical and horizontal accountability systems in the context of AGRA-supported projects. From its experience with value chains in Kenya and in Mozambique, FOSCA is learning about the transformation of smallholder agriculture by facilitating the alignment of the goals and strategies of different stakeholders. Some specific challenges associated with promoting horizontal accountability systems among development partners include linking the actions and interventions of different institutions across different time horizons, and the need to build on prior investments made in a specific locale to learn from their success and failures.
Overcoming the initial fear and resistance of the different actors to cooperate was an important part of its learning, as was the need to facilitate the development of a new conceptual framework to replace outmoded mental models. By transparently defining acceptable roles and responsibilities for each constituent, FOSCA is learning about successfully facilitating the building of mutual accountability systems that enable different protagonists to access 199resources and account for the results and achievements for which they took responsibility. Iterative processes that entail joint planning, reviews, and learning activities are helping collaborating institutions to move away from the traditional competition for resources, in favor of cooperative strategies that are equally results-oriented, and striving to see these embedded at the level of organizational culture.
The sense of empowerment among farmers—what FOSCA calls “voice”— remains critical. As smallholder farmers increasingly gain the sense that they are able to take hold of their destiny, act in their own interests, and properly manage their own affairs, then greater levels of cooperation are achieved, and results delivered.
