Advocacy: information and resources

(Including World Bank lobbying & general feedback)

We have developed this framework as a tool which can be used by NGOs and civil society to engage with government and donors in dialogue about what an enabling environment for smallholder farmers in Africa would be.

On this page you will be able to find information about the advocacy we are doing (specifically the World Bank’s BBA/EBA project and our recommendations on this) as well as feedback from other organisations. Please feel free to send us any information or resources that you have which can add to this body of work. We hope that this will be a useful place to engage with and track important, ongoing policy processes.

World Bank’s BBA/EBA Project

The World Bank, with the support of the Gates Foundation and UK, US and Danish governments, has been developing indicators for 'Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture' (BBA), part of a broader Agricultural Transformation Index (ATI). This project has now been renamed as 'Enabling the Business of Agriculture' (EBA)

World Bank BBA/EBA Resources: 

• An overview flyer of the BBA can be accessed here.
• BBA Snapshot indicator 1 - Access to Agricultural Finance can be accessed here.
• BBA Snapshot indicator 2 - Access to Commercial Seeds can be accessed here.
• BBA Snapshot indicator 3 - Access to Fertilizers can be accessed here.
• BBA Snapshot indicator 4 - Access to Markets can be accessed here.
• BBA Snapshot indicator 5 - Access to Secure Property Rights on Land can be accessed here.

• BBA Snapshot indicator 6 - Transporting Agricultural Goods can be accessed here.

• BBA Snapshot indicator 7 - Contract Farming can be accessed here.

• PowerPoint presentation by Grahame Dixie (World Bank lead adviser for the BBA) presented on 26.06.2013 at a meeting in London on the BBA organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Food and Agriculture for Development (Using Indicators to inform better Agricultural  Policies; an opportunity for a partnership between the WBG & and the UK Development Sector), can be accessed here.

• PowerPoint presentation by Grahame Dixie (World Bank lead adviser for the BBA) and Augusto López-Claros (Director, Global Indicators & Analysis Department Financial and Private Sector Development ) presented on 19.4.2013 to a workshop on Agricultural Metrics in Washington DC can be accessed here.

ASFG advocacy around the BBA/EBA

Some ASFG member organisations are in dialogue with World Bank staff and those donors who support the development of a new World Bank benchmarking tool called Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA). According to the World Bank and the donors who support the project, it will over time encourage governments to design and implement policies, regulations and laws that better enable commercially-oriented smallholder farmers, as well as large agri-business enterprises to access markets for their products. Read the ASFG’s own framework of polices, regulation and laws which our research shows are essential for empowering smallholder farmers to access markets, as well as our response to the recent World Bank EBA progress report.

The ASFG continues to engage in discussions with the World Bank, but others have also criticised the project as a whole and the process thus far.  

Please do send us any further information, critique or briefing notes that you may have around this, as we would like to include these here.

BBA Advocacy resources

• 2015 ASFG EBA Advocacy Briefing
• 2013 ASFG BBA Advocacy Briefing 

Benchmarking the Business of Agriculture: a World Bank - Civil Society learning event

• Practical Action Letter to the World Bank: requesting an information event on the BBA at the World Bank’s Annual Meetings in October 2013; can be accessed here.
• Invitation to the World Bank - ASFG panel discussion at the 2013 World bank Annual Meetings can be accessed here.
• ASFG presentation
• World Bank presentation
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation presentation
• Summary of discussions

 Comments and Inputs from civil society on the BBA snapshots

• Progressio's briefing paper on water: “Waterproofing agriculture for smallholder farmers: How the BBA can promote access to water resources for smallholder farmers” can be accessed here.
• Practical Action input on the access to markets snapshot can be accessed here.
• Oxfam's comments on the land indicators can be accessed here.
• Self Help Africa, Practical Action, Garden Africa and Christian Aid comments on the fertiliser snapshot can be accessed here.

Please also let us know if you are involved in advocacy around other processes where this framework could be useful.