The stakeholders of the Initiative have outlined priority areas for which a concerted effort is needed to advance SARD. These include:
Building access to SARD resources and information through a Resource Facility
The Resource Facility, a decentralized and interactive information network, will be used to harness existing experiences and lessons learned and systematize available technical information and success cases related to SARD, particularly at the community level. This will facilitate access by governments, rural service providers, NGOs, and disadvantaged rural communities. The facility will provide the building blocks of a wide-ranging relationship among diverse actors. An initial version of the Resource Facility is now available on this site and it provides a review of online good practice databases, the SARD Initiative GP database, SARD training resources, examples of the spread of SARD, and an archive of SARD-related interviews.
Up-scaling and replicating good practices
One of the key components of the SARD Initiative is capacity building of rural communities and farmers’ groups through information sharing, participatory communications, national and regional training events and community exchange visits.
Should greater resources become available the programme will initiate consultative fora to capitalize on the agriculture-related WSSD partnerships to share information among the community of stakeholders promoting SARD with a focus on the MDGs. Additionally, to promote the application, testing and adaptation of demonstrated SARD good practices in the field by disadvantaged communities, a small grant mechanism will be put in place in selected countries.
CSD Focus on Agriculture and Rural Development – 2008/2009
In 2003 it was decided to organise the work of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) until at least 2017 into two-year themed cycles. In the 2008/2009 cycle, the cluster of themes to be addressed includes agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa. It is expected that the SARD Initiative will significantly contribute to national and global reporting at the review session of this thematic cycle, and that this in turn will have a positive impact on the policy session in 2009. In this context, the Initiative is supporting the preparation of a Compendium of Demonstrated Good Practices for SARD. The Compendium will be a collaborative piece, featuring submissions from different organizations and be an essential tool to put forward evidence and impact related to SARD good practices that might inform CSD decisions.
SARD Initiative Work Programme, 2005-2009
Since 2005, the work programme of the SARD Initiative has been guided by the objectives and activities set out in a multi-donor trust fund project document that was developed by the multi-major group mechanism and the FAO SARD team as a framework for mobilizing resources to address the SARD priorities agreed upon at WSSD.
Progress is assessed annually at the fall business meeting and priority activities for the coming year are agreed. These include both activities implemented by FAO, with the help of extra-budgetary funds provided to FAO for SARD Initiative work, and activities implemented by civil society partners with their own resources.
