Policy dialogue to facilitate farmers’ participation in decision-making

The Centre for Environmental Policy and Advocacy (CEPA) has been conducting policy advocacy on seed related policy and legal frameworks with a focus on frameworks recognizing and promoting Farmers’ Rights. In 2018, the Department of Agriculture Research Services (DARS) reviewed the Seed Bill; CEPA conducted an analysis of the draft Seed Bill and mobilized stakeholders, including farmers, to engage in a dialogue meeting with the Seed Bill drafting team. During dialogue sessions, CEPA played a facilitating role by conducting sessions in a local language to ensure that farmers could effectively participate. Major outcomes of the process were the observation that most of the concerns/issues raised by the farmers during the dialogue session were addressed in the revised Seed Bill document. A key lesson learned was that involving farmers to actively participate in policy dialogue increased the chances of influencing decision-making.