Cover_Rebuilding West Africas Food Potential

Chapter 7. GAIN methodology to enhance producer organizations’ capacity for market integration 215

2.1 Principals of the GAIN methodology

The GAIN methodology enables users to evaluate any producer organization at the functional and
institutional level. With this assessment, PO members will be able to build a new vision and design
a structure that allows their institution to become economically efficient and gradually sustainably
autonomous and benefit all its members through democratic governance.

The methodology’s conceptual framework distinguishes two levels of analysis: (1) an internal assessment
of the PO and (2) the analysis of its economic and institutional environment. This conceptual framework
is shown in figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Representation of the PO and its immediate environment by GAIN (source: authors)

This double analysis of the PO follows three main steps:
STEP 1: Endogenous assessment of the PO
STEP 2: Consultations and Validation by economic and institutional partners
STEP 3: Reconciliation between the PO’s vision and partner requirements for a strengthened partnership.

The final product is an action plan or roadmap from and for the PO validated by its major partners.
The GAIN methodology’s endogenous assessment of OPs is based on four guiding principles that are considered
essential for the sustainable development of an effective organization: good governance, empowerment, an integrated
approach and giving priority to the needs of its members. These four principles are actually successfully applied in
thriving OPs, such as the Indian organization SEWA and consist in:

• Effective governance through expanded sharing of responsibilities between the members of the organization,
  bringing about an increased commitment of each member to the organization and flow of information from
  grassroots to the executive management and vice-versa; in other words, governance that is based on its members’
  accountability and not just on a centralized decision-making system in the hands of one or two people in the
  organization.

Finance-Credit

Input

Suppliers

Buyers

Service

Providers

Transport

Professional

Organizaons

Technical

Services

Local

Authories

ONG

Tradional/

Religious

Authories

INSTITUTIONAL

PARTNERS

ECONOMIC

PARTNERS

GOVERNANCE AUTONOMY

INTEGRATION

FOCUSED

ON THEIR NEEDS