Résumé
Producers' Organizations (POs) combine two types of functions: § They represent the interests of a given social group, often in the form of a union. The PO mediates between the farmer group represented and other stakeholders surrounding the producers (government, merchants, service providers, and others); and § They provide services to the PO members. These may be provided by the PO itself or by outside institutions, in which case the PO tries to ensure the quality and relevance of these services to its members. Usually POs combine these two general functions, but current economic and political developments tend to push the POs into specialization. Those providing outside support sometimes try to separate these two functions, although the main issue seems to be how better to articulate them (without the same organization necessarily playing both roles). To protect and serve their presentation interests, farmers are often required to be involved in several organizations that look out for their economic viability as a producer, but also their interests as residents of an area and citizens of a country. The example of the Union régionale des entreprises coopératives de la zone des savannes de Côte d'Ivoire, URECOS-CI (Regional Union of Cooperatives in the Côte d'Ivoire savannah zone) also shows that an organization essentially structured around an economic activity (cotton production) was also engaged in union-type activities for the benefit of its members by investing in the cotton company. In general, for either type of producer organization, the outside agents act by reinforcing technical and strategic capabilities. Technical capabilities mean a set of skills necessary to conduct the activities undertaken by the PO, or to monitor activities entrusted to outside organizations. The technical capabilities of a PO, for example in production and marketing, would require it to manage the conception, conduct, evaluation, and monitoring either internally or with a partner institution. Technical capabilities are usually acquired through classical training programs, but are actually part of the assets of the PO when those who have acquired them are able to put them into practice, and/or have developed exchanges with others doing the same (learning process). Strategic capabilities means the skills that enable a PO to define its strategy, taking into account its immediate and remote environment, the aspirations of its members, and the various constraints and opportunities it identifies. This type of ability is rarely acquired by classical training, but rather through travel, personal contacts, and specific experiences. These strategic abilities are intimately entwined with the personalities of the PO's leaders, and their ability to maintain a common focus and vision within the PO, mold its identity, and mobilize the human resources needed for its activities. It also includes the ability to organize, and make the organization run efficiently, with outside help ranging from standard approaches that favor classical organizational models (association/cooperation) to more complex approaches that offer leaders the tools to run their organization: general management skills, human resources management, and strategic development.