FAO Urges Investment in Farmer and Forest Producer Groups Behind About One-Third of Food Supply

Why collective organizations matter

A new FAO policy brief published during World Forest Week in October 2026 argues that organizations representing small-scale farmers, forest users and agroforestry producers can deliver practical benefits at relatively low cost. According to the agency, smallholder forest and farm producers collectively account for roughly one-third of global food output.

Farmers operating alone often struggle to negotiate transport, buy appropriate equipment or meet processors' quality requirements. A producer organization can combine orders, arrange training and help members reach buyers that would be expensive to serve individually.

The economic logic and the limits

Pooling resources can lower per-unit transaction costs and improve access to finance. Collective structures may also help with landscape stewardship and climate adaptation where the benefits extend beyond individual farms. But an organization is not automatically efficient merely because it has many members.

Governance, accounting, internal decision-making and fair participation determine whether members receive benefits. Ineffective organizations can add administration without improving selling prices or production outcomes.

What policymakers should evaluate

FAO encourages governments and funders to consider organized producers as delivery partners for rural investment. Progress should be tested against verified farm incomes, market access, resilience and the ability to manage forest resources sustainably.

The one-third figure is an estimate of the contribution of small-scale producers, not a claim that FAO-financed cooperatives currently supply precisely a third of supermarket food. Practical success will depend on country and commodity context.

Sources and image credit

Original source: https://www.fao.org/forestry/newsroom/news-detail/world-forest-week--producer-organizations-offer-cost-effective-route-to-resilience/en

Cover photograph: Pexels. Original image: https://www.pexels.com/photo/grown-trees-in-a-farm-5335838/ (illustrative; not the named facility or organisation).