My last trip took me to Guinea-Bissau in 2024. A small, somewhat forgotten country on the westernmost edge of Africa, and the point of departure for Portuguese ships carrying slaves headed for America in the middle of the 18th century. The colonial legacy weighs heavily – like many African countries, Guinea-Bissau was exploited, subjected to one-sided agriculture based on export-oriented monocultures, and the local population dispossessed.
On the way to our office, we also drove past the monument to freedom fighter Amílcar Cabral in the country’s capital, Bissau. Cabral not only led Guinea-Bissau to independence in the 1960s, but was also an agricultural engineer and a key figure in establishing autonomous and diverse food systems in Guinea-Bissau.
Learning from the smallholders
These achievements continue to influence some of the farmers’ co-operatives to this day – the smallholders practise diverse cultivation, save and use their own seeds, avoid toxic pesticides and focus on local markets. There have also been similar movements in Nicaragua and Colombia. While industrial agriculture was still in its heyday in the West, SWISSAID’s close local partners were already moving on to agroecological farming techniques. It is thanks to their advanced expertise that SWISSAID established agroecology as a key element of its strategy more than 15 years ago. Today, the approach, which combines combating hunger with climate protection and social justice, is scientifically recognised and widely used.
Long-standing partnerships
It is no coincidence that we became aware of this method thanks to our partners in the South. SWISSAID has relied on close dialogue for many years, and our local offices are supported by “local advisory committees” and help actively with the strategic planning of the programmes. In this way, the knowledge that has become established in each country can be processed sustainably and flow into our work.
SWISSAID is renewing and strengthening this approach in its 2025–2028 strategy. We rely on local knowledge and dynamics and follow them actively and closely, promoting selected approaches in a targeted manner. Whenever we identify good practices, we network them with our institutional experience and reflect our thoughts back to our partners in our partner countries.
Our aim is to include more voices from the Global South in the highest steering committee in Switzerland. This also includes further strengthening our local structures and giving our employees in the coordination offices more weight, especially when it comes to organising the country programmes.
Little scope on a local level
In order to actually drive this strategy forward, more funds are needed for the Global South. For most of the funds provided, the areas that receive support are defined clearly and strictly by state donors or foundations. New requirements are continuously being imposed when it comes to controlling, and this has a huge impact on flexibility.
Despite these difficult conditions, we want to shift the decision-making process to the local partners. We are currently working on incorporating local development funds into projects whose purpose is decided by local stakeholders in our countries. And we are launching programmes that allow us to provide unbureaucratic support to partner organisations in their fight against hunger. Naturally, we always focus on ensuring that the donations and funds go where they are really needed.
Challenging goals
Our goal for 2028 is to have at least 30 percent of our Southern programme determined by local stakeholders. SWISSAID’s role here is to negotiate with donors to allow for more local self-management so that the funds are used where it makes sense for the local population. And once we have achieved this, we will ultimately step back.
As challenging as our goal might be, it is also very clear – we want to use agroecology and gender equality to build climate-resilient, equitable and democratic food systems. Locally. Exactly where they are needed. This is the most effective form of development cooperation.
