We seek to set in place plans to establish an organization that will grow to firmly facilitate dialogue among small farmers, to ensure small scale farmer’s voices are represented at policy level, that their voices are heard in institutions of government charged with their issues and among international bodies that strive to improve small scale farming. Ensuring that conditions are conducive and supportive to small scale farmers is our mission.
Our Objectives
Evidence indicates that small scale farming produces relatively higher than large scale industrial agriculture for every unit of land and labour.
Small scale farming is also ecologically and environmentally sound. And yet the voices of small scale farmers are largely underrepresented in policy debates. Policies intended to address the issues that small scale farmers encounter too often are at odds with their reality, and the issue that adversely affect their production potential remain unaddressed. Agricultural development policies may address one set of issues, while small scale farmers desire that policies address completely different sets of issues. Washarika is intended to grapple with these initial questions:-
- How can we bridge the gap between policy and the lived experiences of small scale farmers?
- How can we ensure that small scale farmers freely and openly articulate their lived experiences?
- Through what channels, and through what means, might we bring small scale farmers together to articulate the issues that they encounter?
- What possibilities exist for small scale farmers to address the issues that affect their livelihood dreams?