Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

Background

The global conference on Strengthening Forest Producer Organizations held in Guilin China

in 2014 inspired the Asian Forest and Farm Producer Organization (FFPO) Regional

Conference. The First Asian FFPO Regional Conference with the main theme “Promoting

rights and livelihoods through forest and farm producer organizations” was held in Thailand

in December, 2016. It was attended by more than 70 participants from Cambodia, Laos,

Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. While forest and tree tenure

was a central focus of the conference, related issues were also discussed such as: how

FFPOs could improve their influence and power in the market and in policy development,

how to build institutional capacity of National Federations of FFPOs, and how FFPOs could

become significant partners in sustainable development. Participants agreed to arrange a

new Asian FFPO Regional Conference to bench-mark results and achievements, and

reconnect previous participants with new producer groups.

The second conference will be held from 20 to 22 November in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar with

the main theme “Forest users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs business to implement

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes”. The conference will

share learning from the first phase of the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) (2013-2017) in the

region. It builds on the first regional conference by exploring how community forest and

farm business could be up-scaled and how they can contribute to achieving the sustainable

development goals (SDGs). Forest and farm producers naturally work in a cross-sectoral way

and the collective scale of their businesses could provide a decisive contribution to

achieving several SDGs including SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG7 (affordable and clean energy),

SDG8 (decent work and economic growth), SDG 11 (sustainable communities), SDG13

(climate action), and SDG 15 (life on land).

Community forest and farm businesses are also very important for building and enhancing

climate resilience in landscapes. They increase resilience economically (diversifying income

generating opportunities for landscape dependent communities), ecologically (enriching and

connecting ecosystems) and socially (strengthening networks between common interest

groups). When profitable, their diverse production systems incentivize the protection of

landscape mosaics of forests, on-farm crops and trees. This diversity provides a buffer

against uncertainty and allows adaptation as the climate changes. It improves livelihoods,

increases employment and strengthens local economies.

A number of countries in the region have been developing innovative approaches to

increase the potential for more commercial opportunities for communities and producers

and this conference will highlight many of these experiences.

Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

The second conference will be held back-to-back with the exchange visits of FFF countries

and partners in Asia. The exchange visit will take place between 17 and 19 November in

Kachin State, Myanmar.

Objectives of the conference

Share experiences and best practices on community forest and farm business that

contribute to the implementation of the SDG and climate resilient landscapes;

Develop a common vision on how communities and FFPOs see themselves in terms

of their contribution to SDGs, for example, how would they want to contribute; what

limit their contribution, what are enabling factors; and

Formulate strategic recommendations including joint action plan (both policy and

practical recommendations) focusing on how to bring forest and farm businesses to

the next level, i.e. commercialization at scale, beyond subsistence and small scale,

providing opportunities to women and youth, securing tenure, linking to climate

change, landscape restoration and more significant resources.

Participants Representatives of FFPOs, government and facilitative agencies from Asian countries

Output A Report of the conference with key findings from the discussion and recommendations to

strengthen community based forestry

Co-organizers:

The conference is a joint effort by FAO Myanmar, the Forest and Farm Facility Forestry

Department of Myanmar and various collaborators and partners, namely: MERN, RECOFTC,

SLM-GEF, FAO/EU FIRST programme, Pyoe Pin programme, RECOFTC, AFA, FFD, Tropenbos and

We Effect.

Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

Conference Programme

Thingaha Hotel, 20 – 22 November 2017 Nay Pyi Taw

Day/Time Program

19 Nov 2017 Arrival of Participants

Day 1 – Monday 20 November 2017 Approaches to business incubation for sustainable community forest and farm enterprises

08:00 – 08:30 Registration

08:30 – 09:00 Opening ceremony: Welcome remarks by H.E. U Ohn Win, the Union Minister of MONREC Welcome remarks by Ms. Xiaojie Fan, FAO Representative in Myanmar Welcome remarks by U Win Myo Thu, Chairman MERN

09:00 – 09:15 Introduction of participants – groups of stakeholders – and programme

09:15 – 09:30 Group Photo

Session 1 – Setting the Stage: FFPOs, SDGs and Business Incubation

09:30 – 09:45 Importance of Forest and Farm Producer Organization (FFPO) businesses for the implementation of SDGs, including food security and nutrition Jeff Campbell, FFF manager

09:45 – 10:00 Key issues for forest and farm producer organizations in Asia Esther Penunia, Secretary General, Asian Farmers Association (AFA)

10:00 – 10:30 Coffee/tea break

10:30 – 12:15 Setting the stage: Sharing country experiences on tenure and access for FFPO businesses Moderator: Yurdi Yasmi, FAO-RAP Panelists (15 minutes each):

Myanmar (Salai Cung Kian Thawng, Strategic Advisor, Pyoe Pin)

Nepal (Bharati Pathak, General Secretary, FECOFUN)

Vietnam (Tran Huu Nghi, Director, TBI Viet Nam)

China - Forest tenure reform, cooperative model and one-stop shop forest trade centres for land registration (Caiyun Wen, Senior Engineer Forestry Economics and Development Research Centre, State Forestry Administration of China SFA)

Open discussion: comments and questions from the floor (45 minutes)

12:15– 13:30 Lunch

Session 2 – Business Incubation for FFPOs

13:30 – 15:10 Lessons learned from practical experience in FFPO business incubation Moderator: Maung Maung Than Ph.D, Myanmar Country Director RECOFTC Panelists (15 minutes each):

Overview of business incubation and support services for FFPO enterprises (Duncan Macqueen, IIED)

Timber (Ms Le Y Voan, Vice Director IDC -VNFU, FFF Facilitator Vietnam)

NTFPs (Nola Andaya, NTFP-EP; Sustainable Livelihoods Adviser; Khin Maung Oo, Chairman, CFPPA in Shan state bamboo and rattan products)

High value crops produced by smallholders (Tomas Upping, PPKT Coffee Cooperative, Aliansi Petani Indonesia)

Open discussion: comments and questions from the floor (30 minutes)

15:10 – 15:40 Coffee/tea break

Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

15:40 – 17:10

Breakout groups to work on identifying (1) key challenges, (2) pathways to scale up business incubation efforts and (3) key innovations with respect to:

Timber (facilitator: Paul de Wit, Senior Land Tenure Consultant FAO/EU FIRST)

NTFPs (facilitator: Jessica Umanos Soto, We Effect Philippines Country Director)

High value crops produced by smallholders (facilitator: Thuy Le Thi Thanh, programme officer IUCN Vietnam)

Cards will be used for brainstorming in each group to identify the key challenges, scaling-up pathways and innovations

17:10 – 18:10 Report back from the three groups (10 minutes each) and discussion Information regarding field visit on Day 2: Aung Thant Zin, CEO MERN and FFF national facilitator in Myanmar

Day 2 – Tuesday 21 November 2017 Practical learning from the field: Field visit to community teak forest pilot near Nay Pyi Taw

08:00 – 16:30 Field visit organized by Forest Department, Myanmar (2 participants will be assigned to provide summary on Day 3)

Day 3 – Wednesday 22 November 2017 Improving the enabling environment for FFPO businesses

08:30 – 09:00 Summary of field trip and key learnings (2 participants)

Session 3 – Enabling Environment and Policies for FFPO businesses

09:00 – 10:30 Enabling policies to support FFPO businesses: innovative examples in the region Moderator: Win Myo Thu, Chairman, MERN Panelists (10 minutes each):

Overview of enabling policies for FFPO businesses (Martin Greijmans, RECOFTC)

Myanmar - Community Forestry Instructions (CFI) commercial opportunities for forest communities (U Tint Swe, Director TRDD, Forestry Department)

India - Innovations of SEWA members in forestry, how SEWA engages government

to build self-resilience among farmers in forested landscapes (Megha Rameshbai

Desai, Senior Coordinator, Self Employed Womens’ Association, SEWA)

Mongolia - NAMAC’s agreement with Czech Republic on sustainable forest

management and engagement with government (Byambatseren Dorjsuren,

Officer, National Association of Mongolian Agriculture Cooperatives, NAMAC)

Nepal – (Manju Malashi, Elected Mayor and Treasurer FECOFUN and Hari Har

Thapa, Vice-President FNCSI)

Open discussion: comments and questions from the floor (30 minutes)

10:30 – 10:45 Highlights of outcomes of the Asia regional expert meeting on Creating an enabling environment for the development of small scale forest enterprises in Asia: suggestions on how to go to scale Jeremie Mbairamadji, FAO Forestry Officer, Small Scale Forest Enterprises

10:45 – 11:15 Coffee/tea break

11:15 – 12:45 Information market fair on available innovative tools and resources for FFPO businesses – with focus on the following tools:

1. Sustainable cropland and forest management in priority agro-ecosystems of Myanmar (FAO Myanmar, SLM-GEF)

2. Product Networks – Khuorn Sey, Farmer and Nature Net, Cambodia 3. Resource Centres – Yaru Chen, SFA, China 4. Value Chain Research – Pham The Tan, Vietnam 5. Federations – Esther Penunia, AFA 6. Risk self-assessment toolkit – Duncan Macqueen, IIED/FFF 7. FFF Vietnam 8. FFF Nepal 9. FFF Myanmar

Regional conference on Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs)

From users to producers: Scaling up FFPOs businesses to implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate resilient landscapes

10. Community Forestry National Working Group (CFNWG) and Forestry Department of Myanmar

12:45 – 14:00 Lunch

Session 4 – The Way Forward: Going to Scale

14:00 – 14:15 Introduction to the breakout groups - FFF

14:15 – 15:30 Breakout groups to strategize on how to reach scale with regard to specific products:

Timber (facilitator: Dr. Tint Lwin Thaung, Executive Director, TNC-Myanmar).

NTFP (facilitator: Nola Andaya, Sustainable Livelihoods Adviser, NTFP-EP)

High value crops (Facilitator, Soren Dalsgaard, Senior Technical Advisor FAO- SLM)

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee/tea break

16:00 – 16:30 Report back from the three groups (10 minutes each) and discussion

16:30 – 17:30 Presentation and discussion of a joint action plan and recommendations for FFPOs’ businesses in Asia to thrive. Facilitator: Jeff Campbell, FFF Manager, FAO

17:30 – 18:00 Closing ceremony