“I’m very proud that AFA, which is such a strong representative – such a strong voice of farmers organizations in Asia – is part of our coalition,” shared Mike Taylor (center), as he opened his inspirational message during the AFA’s 20th Anniversary Celebration.
Creating an impact is one thing; but making your impact known is another thing.
This was what Mike Taylor, director of the International Land Coalition (ILC), highlighted during his inspirational message in the 20th-year celebration of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) last 20 October 2022 at Pasay City, Philippines. The ILC, which has been partnering with AFA for promoting land rights – one of its main peasant agenda, was one of the farmer organizations and coalitions that participated in the said event.
“But if we can talk about the impact that we make, we don’t talk about what we do but we talk about the result of what we do, we can persuade them to come,” shared Taylor as he imparted five reflections of ILC to AFA. In this challenging world where current and possible crises can be a distraction, he hoped that these will help AFA to further sustain its focus on the significant work that it does in empowering small-scale farmers in Asia.
Taylor began his message by reminding AFA, together with the different farmer organizations, coalitions, and alliances present in the event, to keep their messages – the relevance of their work – prominent.
Citing examples of his speaking engagements on land rights and featured stories of ILC on its social media sites, he zeroed in on communicating the relevance of the alliance’s or organization’s work through storytelling and speaking the language of the decision-makers and stakeholders. “We have a job of working for more people’s society through promoting the rights of the smallholder farmers. And sometimes that job is telling stories,” explained Taylor.
As he reminded the participants that AFA and ILC both serve as a platform to carry the voices of their farmer members, he then shared his second and third reflections: to show who you are and to communicate your impact. “Don’t underestimate the power that you have,” he said as he emphasized the power that the organizations and people whom AFA represents. The fact that sixty percent (60%) of the world is fed by smallholder farmers, Taylor said, is something that he would tell in his talks and draw boldness from in communicating your impact.
Towards the end of his message, Taylor also emphasized another powerful tool that AFA and other organizations can use – data. Recalling AFA as one of the regional focal points of the Land Matrix Initiative, he pointed out how data can be used powerfully for documenting land rights issues and turning them into campaigns. Data as a dynamic tool for tracking and promoting accountability then can make things, such as land rights claims, visible. “Expose reality!” was his fourth reflection.
And as he noted that ILC stands for gender justice and defending the land rights of the defenders, Taylor explained his last but definitely not the least reflection: to show the organization’s or coalition’s values. In the different values in this world, he said, it is all the more important to convey and stand for one’s distinct values.
“And so, there are some times that we have to stand together very strongly and we need to show those values to the world and what we stand for,” added Taylor as he closed his message – highlighting the need for organizations to be communicators of their impact. #
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