BOND - Bringing Organisations and Network Development to Higher Levels in the Farming Sector in Europe

Value

£2,890,691.25

Collaborators

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Universidad de Cordoba (Spain), Wageningen University (Netherlands), Asociata Obsteasca PRoentranse (Republic of Moldova), Confederacao Nacional da Agricultura (Portugal), The Land Worker Alliance (UK), Asociatia Eco Ruralis (Romania), Norsk Landbrukssamvirke (Norway), Coordinadora de Agricultores y Ganaderos de la Communidad Valenciana (Spain), Sindicato Labrego Gallego (Spain), Vedegylet Egyesulet (Hungary), Kislepteku (Hungary), Spoleczny Instytut (Poland), Asociace Misnigh Potravinovych (Czech Republic), Federation Nationale des Cooperatives d’Utilisation de Materiel Agricole (France), Associazione Nazionale Cooperative agroitticoalimentari (Italy).

Team

Dr. Angela Hilmi, Dr. Julia Wright, Professor Moya Kneafsey, Dr. Alex Franklin, Csilla Kiss, Julia Stew and Katrin Marquardt

Duration

36 months from 1st November 2017

Website

www.bondproject.eu

Project Objectives

The aim of this project is to reach higher levels of organisation and networking, and develop a healthier, and more productive and harmonious farming sector in Europe for the long term. This will be achieved through (i) drawing up solutions from case studies and success stories and building bonding capital within farmer and land manager groups, ensuring cohesiveness and trust among people; (ii) enabling different organizations to come closer together, building bridging capital to form larger networks; and (iii) building linking capital, developing ties with entities with different interests and powers, to reach a stronger position in decision-making.

Impact

BOND acknowledges the fundamental role farmers and land managers play in the environmental and economic sustainability of the farming sector in Europe, as well as the importance of the way they organise, on Europe’s foods and landscapes.

BOND contributes to unleash, strengthen, and organise, the great potential for collective action and networking of individuals, groups and entities of farmers and land managers, focusing on countries with lower organisation levels, with a view to creating strong, dynamic and effective organizations that have a voice and a place in policy design.

More specifically, BOND investigates and addresses the constraints and disincentives, and reaches a higher level of participation of farmers as follows:

1. Draw up solutions and build bonding capital within groups, ensuring cohesiveness and trust among people;
2. Enable organizations to come closer, building bridging capital to form larger networks, help overcome attitudes and constraints that impede collective action;
3. Build linking capital, developing ties with entities with different interests and powers, including government, donors, academia, private sector, to reach a stronger position in decision-making, and
4. Engage multi actors and policy makers throughout these processes. 

BOND’s approach relies on 3 pillars: SEE-learning from success (mobilisation, study tours), LEARN-overcoming constraints (self-analysis, capacity building), TELL-affirming a position in the policy landscape (gaming interface, best practice in regulation, lab experiment), and on involving the youth, women and men (designing a road map for the future), with training sessions and meeting events at every step of the project (interregional forum, national workshops, regional policy roundtables, youth forum).

BOND’s legacy will be a menu a la carte of practical processes, user-friendly, with methods and tools to guide end-users when they decide to engage and benefit from the synergies of working with others. 

For more information on this project, please contact Angela Hilmi.