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Organized in collaboration with the Global Mountain Program (GMP) of the CGIAR and CONDESAN, the SARD-M Project regional workshop in the Andes titled “Policies for sustainable rural development in the mountains of the Andes” was held at the Central Auditorium of the International Potato Centre (CIP) in Lima, Peru from 29-30 March 2007.
The workshop brought together 26 representatives from government, civil society, regional and international organizations involved in the formulation and implementation of policies for SARD in the Andes to share and discuss the findings of SARD-M policy assessments conducted in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The discussions centred on the institutions and processes involved in policy formulation and implementation, with a real need felt for a more territorial and cross-sectoral vision to policies and development. The importance of decentralization and clearer definitions of the roles of various institutions and better coordination were also some of the key issues that were raised.
The participants came up with a number of prioritized recommendations as well as suggestions for follow-up activities to improve the policies, institutions and processes for SARD in the Andean region. Some of the top priorities included: - The need to change the sectoral vision of institutions to an integrated vision of territorial development by incorporating a new vision of the territory in the programmes, projects and plans that the institutions are implementing and to give a priority to multi-sectoral funds in the budgetary allocations.
- To agree on a conceptual framework for sustainable agriculture and rural development, incorporating traditional knowledge, and urban-rural dynamics, a cross-sectoral approach, and the importance of financial mechanisms for the rural sector and regional management.
- To pursue participatory processes for formulating, monitoring and evaluating policies including
all the relevant major players, and using flexible analysis and communication mechanisms.
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