A new international handbook on farmers’ organisations was launched on 20 May 2026 by the Andreas Hermes Akademie in Berlin. The handbook was initiated by Dr Theo de Jager, board chairman of Saai and Agri All Africa, as part of a partnership agreement between the Andreas Hermes Akademie and the World Farmers’ Organisation. The project took more than four years to complete.
The publication serves as a practical guide to the organisation, management, funding, mobilisation and activities of farmers’ structures across the world. It explains how different types of farmers’ organisations have developed and how they operate in the unique political, economic and social environments of different regions. The purpose of the book is to exchange knowledge, experience and practical tools that can help create, strengthen and sustain capacity within farmers’ organisations.
Dr De Jager has served at every level of organised agriculture. He was elected chairperson of the local Ofcolaco/Trichardtsdal Farmers’ Association in 2000 and served on the executive committee of the Letaba District Agricultural Union until 2006. He was president of Agri Limpopo from 2006 to 2008, after which he became vice-president of Agri SA. In 2012 he was elected president of the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions and in 2014 president of the Pan African Farmers’ Organisation. During this period, he played a key role in launching new national farmers’ unions and strengthening struggling farmers’ organisations across Africa. In 2017 he became president of the World Farmers’ Organisation, a position he held until 2022. After clashing with government and Agri SA over the expropriation of the farm Akkerland at a fraction of its value in 2018, Dr De Jager and colleagues from the executive committee of Agri Limpopo launched Saai, a network for family farmers in Southern Africa. Saai has since become an important voice for family farmers, including farmers who lost land during land grabs and conflict in Zimbabwe.
Dr De Jager has spoken at the Top Kurs youth leadership training programme of the Andreas Hermes Akademie in Berlin since 2012 and was instrumental in rolling out similar leadership development programmes with AHA across Africa. It was from this work that he proposed a joint venture between AHA and the WFO to develop a handbook on how farmers organise themselves in different parts of the world. “Farmers’ organisations are at their strongest when they learn from one another, adapt to changing realities, and build global networks around shared interests and values,” says Dr De Jager. “This handbook is intended as a field guide for those who want to organise farmers more effectively and build institutions that can shape policy, defend farmers’ interests and improve the sustainability of agriculture.”
Several leading figures from AHA contributed to the development of the handbook, including Philipp Conze-Roos, who wrote a substantial part of the technical content, as well as Nicole Bolomey and Andreas Quiring, whose work in developing young farmer leaders helped shape the conceptual framework. Desiree Dietvorst, a globally renowned facilitator and moderator in the agricultural sector, integrated the content and refined the final product into a concise and practical summary of knowledge on farmers’ organisations. Marieke Behrens and Julian Friesinger managed the publication process.
The result is a world-class handbook that draws on decades of direct experience in launching, reviving, restructuring and strengthening farmers’ organisations. It combines Dr De Jager’s extensive work across Africa with AHA’s global experience in farmer leadership development and institutional capacity building.
Saai believes the handbook will become an important resource for farmer leaders, agricultural organisations, development partners and institutions working to build stronger, more effective farmers’ organisations across the world.
The book is available here: https://www.andreas-hermes-akademie.de/en/farmers-organisations-a-handbook/
