Farmer-led Research and Innovation (FO-RI)

The Farmer-led Research and Innovation (FO-RI) programme advances the transition to resilient, productive, and sustainable agroecological agri-food systems through farmer-led action research and innovation. Implemented by the AgriCord Alliance a global network of 13 agri-agencies the programme places farmers’ organisations at the centre of co-developing, testing, and scaling agroecological solutions across diverse agricultural contexts. FO-RI integrates action research, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and policy advocacy to drive systemic change in food systems.

Funding

European Commission (EC) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)

Total Budget: EUR 10,338,442

Implementation Period

January 2022 – December 2026

Target Countries

Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Tanzania

Asia: Philippines

Pacific: Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea

Caribbean: Haiti

Latin America: Brazil, Uruguay

Objectives

• Promote and influence stakeholders on farmer-led action research and innovative agroecological approaches
• Strengthen the methodological and programmatic capacity of farmers, farmer organisations, and partner entities to support agroecological innovation
• Expand local farmer know-how in applying agroecological approaches for sustainable and resilient food systems

Key Areas of Intervention

• Collaborative action research with farmers identifying, testing, and validating agroecological innovations across value chains (fruits and vegetables, sunflower, onion, nutritious rice, poultry, and more)
• Capacity building for farmer organisations and lead farmers in conducting research trials, variety testing, seed production, and data collection and analysis
• Co-development of innovations through endogenous knowledge, experimentation, and multi-stakeholder platforms
• Lobbying and advocacy for enabling policy environments, led by COPROFAM, PIFON, AFA, PAFO, EAFF, PROPAC, ROPPA, and SACAU
• Dissemination and capitalisation of results and innovations through knowledge products and regional platforms

Key Achievements

• 13 action research projects implemented across 17 countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, the Caribbean, and Latin America
• 43 farmer organisations have signed formal cooperation agreements with research institutions, covering experiments, seed production training, variety testing, and data analysis
• 444 farmers across 8 projects have reported increased capacity to carry out agroecological action research
• Hundreds of farmers have already adopted innovations developed through the programme, including composting, biological control using biopesticide plants (wormwood, tansy, and comfrey), intercropping, indigenous varieties, and horticultural crop diversification
• 569 women and young farmers are active members of decision-making bodies across all 13 action research projects

Implementing Partners

• Agri-agencies: Afdi (France), AsiaDHRRA (Philippines), Asprodeb (Senegal), CSA (Belgium), Fert (France), FFD (Finland), Cresol (Brazil), UPA DI (Canada), We Effect (Sweden)
• Regional and national organisations: COPROFAM, CNOP-CAM, EAFF, PAFO, PIFON, PROPAC, ROPPA, SACAU