The Initiative is facilitated by FAO but led by civil society. Stakeholders can claim a number of concrete achievements since it was officially launched in 2002.
Putting SARD on the development agenda
In many developing countries, sustainable development of agriculture and the rural economy are preconditions for success in the fight against poverty and hunger. Yet, for various reasons, this reality risked being overshadowed by other preoccupations in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002. Civil society stakeholders that participated in the preparatory process for the SARD Initiative were among the first to recognise the fundamental importance of sustainable agriculture for poverty reduction and environmental protection. Their active support in promoting this idea in numerous international fora was crucial in getting it widely accepted. As a result agriculture-environment linkages were brought back to the forefront of the international development agenda at WSSD.
Building National Capacities to implement SARD
Strengthened capacity, improved inter-ministerial and inter-stakeholder coordination, more coherent and timely national reporting to CSD, and greater momentum in place in 10 countries (Kenya, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Senegal, India, Vietnam, Bolivia, Honduras, and Nicaragua) in three regions for SARD policies and programmes based on demonstrated community good practices that address the social, economic and environmental dimensions of human well-being. Establishment of a pilot FAO-Italy Sustainable Development Facility to improve the impacts of on-going FAO Italy funded projects.
Agricultural Workers and Rural Employment
Greater awareness on labour and decent work in rural employment within FAO and with FAO partners through meetings, events and publications. Greater collaboration and coordination between FAO, ILO and IUF. Participation in the establishment of partnerships of agencies including ILO, IFAD, IFAP, IFPRI and IUF for the elimination of child labour in agriculture. More coherent and greater global attention to and awareness of agricultural worker issues and rights through technical reports at ICARRD, ECOSOC and other international fora.
• The “SARD and Child Labour” policy brief was developed and published in the SARD Initiative Website (August 2007)
• The “SARD and Agricultural Workers” policy brief on was developed and published in the SARD Initiative Website (September 2006)
• Participation in the Inter-agency meeting for Improved Policy Coherence on Child Labour (ILO, Geneva, May 2006) and the 2006 ECOSOC High Level Segment on Rural Employment (Geneva, July 2006)
• Preparation of a paper on “Agricultural workers as stakeholders in land reform: a review” (March 2006)
• Publication of the “The role of agricultural workers in promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development” (ILO-FAO-IUF, October 2005).
Indigenous People
Greater global understanding of the importance of culture for Indigenous Peoples’ food and agro ecological systems. Support to Indigenous Peoples’ efforts to define indicators of well-being within the context of the MDGs
• The “ SARD and Indigenous People” policy brief was developed and published in the SARD Initiative Website (October 2007)
• Participation in the 2nd Global Consultation on the Right to Food and Food Security for Indigenous Peoples (Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua, September 2006).
• Preparation of a technical Paper on the “Cultural indicators of Indigenous Peoples' food and agro-ecological systems” (2006).
• Survey on Cultural Indicators of SARD in Indigenous People’s Traditional Foods and Cultures (2003).
Development and dissemination of publications and tools on SARD
• The first set of the SARD and ... Policy brief series was developed and published in the SARD Initiative Website: SARD and Agriculture Workers, SARD and Child Labour, SARD and Organic Agriculture, SARD and the Role of Agriculture in Poverty Reduction, SARD and Agricultural Trade, SARD and Rural Enterprises (August 2007)
• Funded the Sustainet publication "Sustainable Agriculture: A pathway out of poverty for India's rural poor" (New Delhi, Sustainet, 2006)
• Publication of the “SARD Project Toolkit: A Resource Guide for Promoting SARD in Projects and Programmes” (Rome, FAO, 2006)
• “Guide for identifying, assessing, sharing information about and up-scaling good practices” developed and published online on the SARD Initiative Website (November 2006)
• SARD Initiative Good Practice Database including 30 original practices (July 2006)
• SARD Initiative Newsletters published online and distributed to all parties interested to the Initiative (December 2005, July and October 2006)
• Good practices databases: review of selected online resources (December 2005)
• Publication of the “Civil Society and Government contributions to the SARD Initiative” (April 2005)
• Retrospective studies in Honduras, Zimbabwe and the Philippines to draw lessons on sustainable dimensions of good practices long after project completion (2004)
• Inventory of FAO’s contributions to SARD and development of framework for a larger inventory of SARD activities of all SARD Initiative stakeholders (2003-2004).
Training and Side Events
• Organization of the commemoration of the WDACL (World Day Against Child Labour) focusing on agriculture (Rome, Italy, 2th June 2007)
• Organization of the SARD Seminar series on the following subjects: Holistic Management; Development of alternative livelihoods in a drug production environment; Conservation agriculture, GAP and SARD; SARD in Mountain Regions, Roles of Agriculture Project; Stimulating, upscaling and institutionalizing local farmer innovation (Rome, Italy, October 2006 – February 2007)
• Participation in the Regional workshop on"Improving tenure security for the rural poor in Sub-Saharan Africa" (Nakuru, Kenya, October 2006) and organization of a field trip to the Lake Naivasha area:Conflicting claims to access to and use of natural resources (Naivasha, Kenya, 22 October 2006 )
• Joint FAO-RECONCILE Regional workshop on improving tenure security for the rural poor in Sub-Saharan Africa (Naivasha, Kenya, October 2006)
• Joint FAO-Sustainet Workshop: From Identification to Scaling up of Good Practices (Rome, Italy, May 2006)
• SARD Initiative Side Event at the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, ICARRD (Porto Alegre, Brazil, March 2006)
• SARD Initiative Good Practices Workshop held during the 18th International Farming Systems Association (IFSA) Symposium Global Learning Opportunity (GLO) (Rome, November 2005)
• Linking Local Learners Workshop during IPSA GLO (Rome, October 2005)
• SARD Initiative Business Meeting, participation of six of the eight Major Group Focal Points (Rome, October 2005)
• Side Event on SARD and Civil Society during the 19th Session of the FAO Committee on Agriculture, COAG (Rome, May 2005)
• Lessons sharing on the SARD Initiative during the International Forum on Partnerships for Sustainable Development (UNCSD meeting, Rome, March 2004)
Perhaps the most important accomplishment has been to put agriculture-environment linkages back on the international development agenda. In many developing countries, sustainable development of agriculture and the rural economy are preconditions for success in the fight against poverty and hunger. Yet, for various reasons, this reality risked being overshadowed by other preoccupations in the run-up to Johannesburg. Civil society stakeholders participating in the SARD Initiative were among the first to recognize the fundamental importance of sustainable agriculture for poverty reduction and environmental protection; their active support in promoting this idea in numerous international fora has been crucial in getting it widely accepted.
