Monday, April 17, 2006
Of Farmers and Trade Negotiations and where I fit in
I thought I'd give an update on the organization to which I am seconded through MCC. I'm at the Food and Trade Network for East Africa (FATNEA).
Technically, FATNEA is a network of NGOs, and I am working at the Secretariat of the network. But since FATNEA is a young network, the Secretariat is operating sort of 1/2 way as a Secretariat (doing region-wide workshops, working with its Members) and 1/2 way as an on-the-ground NGO. Since 2002, FATNEA (the Secretariat) has consisted of the Executive Director and some assistants who help to do logistical work. A week before I came, Victor started as a 'volunteer' - he is Kenyan and has a solid background in agriculture and NGO work. He just finished his masters in NGO planning in the UK. I think in Kenya a "volunteer" is someone who doesn't have a permanent contract and isn't paid a full salary. In this case, it means that Victor is at FATNEA, but will leave if he gets another job. So, for now at least, there's me, Victor, Davis (an assistant who has been with FATNEA since the beginning), and then the Executive Director who is actually based in Zambia as a consultant with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
I didn't meet Thomas (the Exec Director) until this past week. The two weeks before that I just sort of generally got caught up on what the network has done in the past few years and went through some of the materials they have. I also worked with Victor to put together a workplan and Logical Framework for FATNEA for the year (oh man, does anyone have a background in Results Based Management? Cause it's just a crazy way of planning for things. Potentially helpful, potentially verbose and bizarre.)
So now that I've met Thomas and talked some about FATNEA's plans and where I fit in, I have a bit of a better feel for what I will be doing. How about I make up some categories for the tasks
right now.
- Communications - We're developing an electronic newsletter for FATNEA, with info and a way for interest community-based organizations in Eastern Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya) to connect with each other, learn about relevant agriculture negotiations updates, and get out "best practices" in agriculture techniques, community development, etc. So I'm writing it, getting folks to contribute to it (hopefully, hopefully), and editing it.
- Research and Analysis - I'm supposed to do a big ol' research project on Special Products for Kenya. Interested in what the new WTO category of Special Products are? Check out my attempt to explain them at http://cfgbhongkong2005.blogspot.com/ (the entry entitled: History Unfolds, and I Get to Copy-Edit) and http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/admin/docs/FJU%20-%20HK%20WTO%20Special%20Issue%203.pdf
Apparently I will travel around Kenya and meet with farmers to collect data and stories about which agriculture products are vital to the livelihood security, rural livelihoods, and food security of Kenya. Tomorrow I start planning out the project, and FATNEA has some contacts at the Ministry of Trade and some NGOs who will hopefully be able to help me. It's exciting, because I wanted to get more on-the-ground experience with these issues that, from a legal work perspective, can be very distant and abstract. But then again, I have no idea how to design this sort of practical research. So, yeah. We'll see how it pans out.
- Planning and Participating in Policy Awareness Workshops - One of the main things that FATNEA has done is hold policy awareness workshops with farmer groups in Kenya. So I'll be helping to put on 6 of them in Kenya this year, plus at least one in Uganda and one in Tanzania. Farmer group reps come together and we explain what is happening with the World Trade Organization and other relevant trade agreement negotiations, how it might explain some of the impacts they are feeling, what it might mean for the future. Then we get feedback from them and together come up with an action plan - what this means for their group (maybe lobbying, maybe strategizing for how to cope with market changes) and what it means for FATNEA (how we can help get their feedback and voices into the negotiations). Exciting stuff, but, again, not something in which I am well versed.
- Fundraising and Organizational Development - but not too much, I don't think. Just helping with the existing proposals and making connections with new potential funders.
- Design a Logo? - if you can think of a good logo for FATNEA, let me know. We're trying to develop one, and for some reason it is up to me to do this. oof.
- just whatever else comes up.
So, that's all exciting and a wee bit overwhelming. I'm hoping that over the next three years, FATNEA becomes a stronger network to the point that the Member organizations will be able to take on some of these tasks, thus having more ownership in the network and so these tasks don't just drop off the map when the 3 year volunteer leaves.
That's the news on FATNEA at the moment. Advice? You no longer have to be a Blogger member to leave comments, so comment away as you wish.
love, debby
Technically, FATNEA is a network of NGOs, and I am working at the Secretariat of the network. But since FATNEA is a young network, the Secretariat is operating sort of 1/2 way as a Secretariat (doing region-wide workshops, working with its Members) and 1/2 way as an on-the-ground NGO. Since 2002, FATNEA (the Secretariat) has consisted of the Executive Director and some assistants who help to do logistical work. A week before I came, Victor started as a 'volunteer' - he is Kenyan and has a solid background in agriculture and NGO work. He just finished his masters in NGO planning in the UK. I think in Kenya a "volunteer" is someone who doesn't have a permanent contract and isn't paid a full salary. In this case, it means that Victor is at FATNEA, but will leave if he gets another job. So, for now at least, there's me, Victor, Davis (an assistant who has been with FATNEA since the beginning), and then the Executive Director who is actually based in Zambia as a consultant with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).
I didn't meet Thomas (the Exec Director) until this past week. The two weeks before that I just sort of generally got caught up on what the network has done in the past few years and went through some of the materials they have. I also worked with Victor to put together a workplan and Logical Framework for FATNEA for the year (oh man, does anyone have a background in Results Based Management? Cause it's just a crazy way of planning for things. Potentially helpful, potentially verbose and bizarre.)
So now that I've met Thomas and talked some about FATNEA's plans and where I fit in, I have a bit of a better feel for what I will be doing. How about I make up some categories for the tasks
right now.
- Communications - We're developing an electronic newsletter for FATNEA, with info and a way for interest community-based organizations in Eastern Africa (Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya) to connect with each other, learn about relevant agriculture negotiations updates, and get out "best practices" in agriculture techniques, community development, etc. So I'm writing it, getting folks to contribute to it (hopefully, hopefully), and editing it.
- Research and Analysis - I'm supposed to do a big ol' research project on Special Products for Kenya. Interested in what the new WTO category of Special Products are? Check out my attempt to explain them at http://cfgbhongkong2005.blogspot.com/ (the entry entitled: History Unfolds, and I Get to Copy-Edit) and http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/admin/docs/FJU%20-%20HK%20WTO%20Special%20Issue%203.pdf
Apparently I will travel around Kenya and meet with farmers to collect data and stories about which agriculture products are vital to the livelihood security, rural livelihoods, and food security of Kenya. Tomorrow I start planning out the project, and FATNEA has some contacts at the Ministry of Trade and some NGOs who will hopefully be able to help me. It's exciting, because I wanted to get more on-the-ground experience with these issues that, from a legal work perspective, can be very distant and abstract. But then again, I have no idea how to design this sort of practical research. So, yeah. We'll see how it pans out.
- Planning and Participating in Policy Awareness Workshops - One of the main things that FATNEA has done is hold policy awareness workshops with farmer groups in Kenya. So I'll be helping to put on 6 of them in Kenya this year, plus at least one in Uganda and one in Tanzania. Farmer group reps come together and we explain what is happening with the World Trade Organization and other relevant trade agreement negotiations, how it might explain some of the impacts they are feeling, what it might mean for the future. Then we get feedback from them and together come up with an action plan - what this means for their group (maybe lobbying, maybe strategizing for how to cope with market changes) and what it means for FATNEA (how we can help get their feedback and voices into the negotiations). Exciting stuff, but, again, not something in which I am well versed.
- Fundraising and Organizational Development - but not too much, I don't think. Just helping with the existing proposals and making connections with new potential funders.
- Design a Logo? - if you can think of a good logo for FATNEA, let me know. We're trying to develop one, and for some reason it is up to me to do this. oof.
- just whatever else comes up.
So, that's all exciting and a wee bit overwhelming. I'm hoping that over the next three years, FATNEA becomes a stronger network to the point that the Member organizations will be able to take on some of these tasks, thus having more ownership in the network and so these tasks don't just drop off the map when the 3 year volunteer leaves.
That's the news on FATNEA at the moment. Advice? You no longer have to be a Blogger member to leave comments, so comment away as you wish.
love, debby
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