Major Groups and SARD: from Rio to Johannesburg
Since Rio, Major Group representatives have worked with the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and UN system task managers to facilitate engagement of civil society in the implementation of Agenda 21. Major Group focal points for SARD played an active role in the multistakeholder consultations and dialogues that led to the launching of the SARD Initiative at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002. Consequently, the SARD Initiative is one of the few partnership initiatives that involves almost all Major Groups.
Major Groups and the Development of the SARD Initiative
Since 2002, a member of the Major Group for NGOs (International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture - IPSA) has facilitated multi-major group participation in the SARD Initiative through outreach, information sharing and advisory services to FAO to ensure strong civil society presence.
In 2005 FAO and its civil society partners completed work on a multi-donor trust fund project for the SARD Initiative that calls for creation of a SARD Initiative Steering Committee in which both civil society and funding partner contributors would be represented, together with FAO, which provides the secretariat for the Initiative. Pending establishment of this committee, the informal multi-major group mechanism that guided the developmental phase for the SARD Initiative has continued to meet periodically, to review workplans and decide on future priorities.
Planning for the future
During the first half of 2006, with funding support from the government of Norway chanelled through FAO, the major group focal points commissioned a paper on Enhancing civil society contributions to the SARD Initiative. On the basis of this, they have decided to undertake a strategic planning exercise that will help them better define their own roles and those of other civil society contributors to the SARD Initiative, during the time remaining before they report to CSD in 2008 and 2009.
Agri Food Network
http://www.agrifood.net/
The International Agri-Food Network facilitates informal liaison among professional organisations in the agri-food chain at a global level. It has focal points which act on behalf of animal health organisations, cooperatives, crop protection organisations, dairy product specialists, farmers, fertiliser producers, grain and feed organisations, pulse and seed industry representatives, and world business organisations.
International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)
www.ifap.org/
IFAP is the world farmers organisation representing over 600 million farm families grouped in 110 national organisations in 75 countries. It is a global network in which farmers from industrialised and developing countries exchange concerns and set common priorities. Its mission is to develop farmers’ capacities to influence decisions that affect them at both the domestic and international levels.
Asian NGO coalition for agrarian reform and rural development (ANGOC)
http://www.angoc.ngo.ph
ANGOC is a regional NGO association of 21 national and regional NGO networks from 11 Asian countries actively engaged in food security, agrarian reform, sustainable agriculture and rural development activities.
PELUM (Participatory Ecological Land-Use Management)
http://www.pelum-zambia.net/
This association is a network of civil society organizations working with local communities in the areas of sustainable agriculture and natural resource management with members and programmes in Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
International Union of Food, Agricultural, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’Associations (IUF)
http://www.iuf.org/en/
The IUF is an international federation of trade unions, with a membership of 336 trade unions in 120 countries. Its guiding principle is the desire to build international labour solidarity. It strengthens this solidarity through the coordination and implementation of solidarity and support actions, through research and publications, and through global action to defend human, democratic and trade union rights.
Women Organising for Change in Agriculture & NRM (WOCAN)
http://www.wocan.org/
WOCAN is a global network of female professionals working in the areas of agriculture and natural resource management. Its goal is to address the gap in policies, awareness and actions related to gender and agriculture and natural resource management, through active, constructive collaboration with governments, NGOs, universities, international organisations and civil society groups.
