Protecting family farming in Guinea: A successful advocacy journey - NaijaAgroNet

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Guinea recently adopted the country’s first agricultural policy law, which now needs to be implemented. This follows four years of consultation and advocacy, during which Guinean civil society has actively engaged with the government in the drafting of that law. Aïssata Yattara and Macky Bah reflect on how the law’s inclusion of grassroots’ and national stakeholders’ key concerns represents a decisive step towards protecting and promoting family farms, and tackling land grabbing in the country.

The Guinean government tends to favour large-scale intensive agriculture. This means opening up the agricultural sector to foreign capital, often to the detriment of family farming, which supports nearly 70% of the population and supplies two-thirds of local markets to meet food needs.

Earlier this year, Guinea adopted its first agricultural policy law (‘loi d’orientation agricole’, LOA), the purpose of which is to set out the guidelines for developing agricultural policy, with important implications for family farming, such as the fight against land grabbing. The inclusion of these provisions reflects the commitment and advocacy of Guinean civil society, through a participatory and inclusive approach that started several years ago.
A long-term endeavour

Between 2020 and 2023, the Association for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD Guinea) and the National Confederation of Farmers' Organisations of Guinea (CNOP-G) – two members of the Collective of Civil Society Organisations for the Defence of Community Rights (CODEC) – organised a series of consultations at local and national level, to collect the concerns of grassroots communities and share them with the Guinean government as part of the drafting of the LOA.

In parallel, we have also worked with our partners on analysing the various drafts of the LOA and the strategy for its adoption. This was in collaboration with IIED, which has been supporting CODEC to achieve progressive policy reforms that improve land tenure and resource governance.

The aim of the consultations was to protect the rights of rural communities, particularly family farmers, in accordance with human rights and international best practice. These meetings involved more than 1,500 people from all walks of life throughout the country, including professional farming organisations, traditional chiefs, local authorities, opinion leaders, traditional communicators, and women's and youth representatives.

At the same time, we made contact and held working sessions with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGEL) and technical and financial partners (from the Agence Française de Développement, the World Bank and elsewhere) to analyse the LOA project in detail and make proposals that reflected the concerns of grassroots communities. These concerns included:Greater support for the development of family farming.

Effective consideration of agro-ecology and the preservation and development of farmers' seeds
Recognising and protecting legitimate collective and individual land rights, particularly in the agricultural sector, to prevent domestic and foreign investors from monopolising agricultural land to the detriment of small farmers.

Reducing gender inequalities and giving women and young people access to rural land and agricultural development Legitimising farmers' knowledge and know-how, and 

The involvement of civil society organisations throughout the process of formulating, implementing, monitoring-evaluating and steering the LOA.

This was followed by negotiations and advocacy with MAGEL, and then with the National Transition Council – the legislative body that succeeded the National Assembly following a military coup in 2021.

After the change of regime, CODEC actually had to resume discussions with the new team at MAGEL, to improve their knowledge and raise their awareness of the content of the LOA, with a view to convincing them to support the proposals put forward by family farmers at local level.

At each of these meetings, punctuated by debate, negotiation and compromise between the ministerial departments, CODEC was very strategic in ensuring that all the community recommendations were taken into account – through systematic and comprehensive re-readings of the draft law, strong mobilisation of the partners and regular monitoring of the case with the ministry.
Successive reversals of fortune

After the draft LOA was submitted by the MAGEL to the National Transition Council at the end of 2023, the council completely rewrote the text up until the beginning of January. We then mobilised very quickly with the support of CODEC's partners and succeeded in convincing the institution to reinsert the most important provisions in favour of communities.

At the end of 2023, the LOA was finally adopted unanimously by the national councillors of the National Transition Council, and it was officially put into effect in May 2024.

In total, we organised more than 25 meetings, 70% with grassroots communities and 30% with MAGEL and the National Transition Council, in collaboration with technical departments and partners. This process resulted in the approval of almost all of CODEC's proposals – which we believe reflect the scope and influence of our advocacy efforts.

Technical support from IIED and the Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD) also made it possible to organise experience-sharing and discussions on the issues and strategies to be adopted throughout the process.

The participatory and inclusive approach that prevailed in consultations with communities, technical and financial partners, and with CODEC members helped to unite stakeholders around common objectives and facilitate the establishment of alliances.

CODEC adopted a proactive approach towards the ministry and the National Transition Council, making concrete proposals that reflected those put forward by family farmers during the consultations. The strategy developed for lobbying decision-makers and the alliances that we forged also made it possible to speak with one voice, thus giving CODEC and its partners greater credibility with the government.
Ensuring effective implementation of the reform

The agricultural policy law that has been adopted now commits the state to developing both an Agricultural Land Policy (PFA) and an Agricultural Land Law.

CODEC will continue to work to ensure that the LOA is disseminated, that the government draws up the implementing legislation and that it is consistent with the PFA. It will also continue its efforts to recognise and protect family farming and to tackle land grabbing.

*Contributed by Aïssata Yattara, the regional advisor of the National Confederation of Farmers' Organisations of Guinea and Macky Bah. the country director of the Association for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD Guinea).