ESFIM works with the National Platform of Economic Smallholder Orgainsations, the Coordinadora de Integración de Organizaciones Económicas Campesinas de Bolivia (CIOEC-Bolivia). This apexorganisation comprises more than 200 economic grassroots organisations that are organized around collective marketing and processing. Since its constitution, the organic objectives of CIOEC-Bolivia have referred to an integrating role of the OECAs in political terms and, as a service role so they can better achieve social and economic strength. The 1991 to 1999 period became highly important due to the service role and direct actions with the aim of strengthening the organizations (by means of training, technical assistance and commercialization). This proved the need of promoting not only individual, but more coordianted strategies so as to create policy conditions more favorable to the peculiar characteristics of this type of organisations, that operate under different legal formats: cooperatives, associations and farmer-led enterprises.
With the purpose of accomplishing major sectoral integration and participation, CIOEC’s Organic Statute was renewed in April, 2002, and CIOEC-Bolivia changed it name to Coordinadora de Integración de Organizaciones Económicas Campesinas de Bolivia.
ESFIM Progress Report 2011
The ‘Support to advocacy agenda through collaborative research’ component of the ESFIM programme assists NFOs in developing countries with formulating feasible, evidence-based propositions for changes in key elements in the institutional environment that will enable effective market access for small-holders. In the annual report (ESFIM Progress report January-December 2011-En), an update of the progress of AGRINATURA research support is presented for the year 2011.
Policy Issues
In 2004 CIOEC submitted an intitiative Law for the legal recognition of OECAs, filed on September 1st National Congress, with support from the Ministry of Agriculture. It aims to achieve legal recognition of OECAs and promote their development through production, processing and / or jointly marketing of goods and services.
After years of stagnation this ‘OECA Act’, initially by the political upheaval in Bolivia in 2004 and 2005, and, from 2006, as a result of the Constituent Assembly that had priority and was considered as an alternative pathway for the OECA Act to be approved.. approved priority, work done in 2007, 2008 and achieving approval in 2009. CIOEC re-introduced the initiative during the consultations about the Ley de Revolución Productiva Comunitaria 144 in 2011.
In this framework, the CIOEC Bolivia decides to table discussion of the OECAs Act and seek approval for adoption in 2012. One of the main strategic lines of work of the CIOEC-Bolivia since its creation is the impact on public policy. In this framework, with the support of AGRITERRA (Dutch institution), it has initiated participatory process of formulating public policy proposals for the benefit of small farmers, through the workshop “Participatory Process of Policy Generation (PPPG)” CIOEC formulated its core focus for ESFIM in a workshop 25 to 27 October in La Paz, with the participation of national leaders, departmental and sector organizations and technical staff. This workshop identified the need for the approval of the Draft Law on OECAS, with emphasis on the regulation of the constitution, organization and organizational functioning of the Rural Economic Organizations (OECAs) and tax rules (special rules for OECAS).
