The MCS cases have been analysed to explore the principal areas of impact and the factors that contribute to success. Three areas of impact can be distinguished:
Figure 2 provides an overview of the distribution of responses in terms of types of impact. The most frequently mentioned areas of strong impact related to soils (particularly conservation of soil fertility and productivity, mentioned in 35% of all responses, stakeholder participation (30%), sustainable livelihood contributions (30%), and institution building (29%). At a more general level, impact seemed to be more pronounced in the geographical domain (land resources, technology and environment) and social domains (stakeholder participation, increased public awareness of sustainability issues), than in the economic domain (markets, trade, policies and institutions, which were relatively less affected.
Another dimension of impact relates to scale: the area covered and number of farm households affected. Over 40% of the cases covered areas of more than 100 km2 and 50% affected more than 1000 families. At the other extreme, almost 30% covered less than 1000 ha and 16% affected fewer than 100 families. When asked to tick various levels at which their case had an impact (varying from the farm to the global level), 84% mentioned the local and 64% the farm level. The percentages decline gradually towards a mere 8% for the global level. Three-quarters of all cases had impacts at 1, 2 or 3 levels, with only one-quarter claiming impacts at 4 or more levels.
Closely related to impact are the factors promoting or inhibiting success. The MCS distinguished the following categories of factors (called driving forces in the survey) contributing to success:
Driving forces in each of these categories were rated using a scaling system ranging from highly positive to highly negative. While none of the categories made a unique contribution to success (each was mentioned between 50 and 74 times), the results regarding individual driving forces within each category provided a much clearer picture (see Figure 3).
Overall, the most important factor contributing to success (i.e., listed as highly positive many times) appears to be stakeholder involvement and consultation. This is rated as far more important than either science and technology or environmental and natural resources policies. The most important factors inhibiting success include historical and social factors (particularly migration and urbanisation) and policy factors (especially inadequate land tenure policies).
In order to track progress, most projects in the MCS data base used some form of monitoring and evaluation of the multiple functions:
The overall degree of monitoring and evaluation was also (subjectively) rated on a scale from 0 (none) to 3 (a great deal). Most projects did a reasonable amount of evaluation, with only 2 projects with no monitoring activities and some 10% doing little in this area. About one-quarter of all case studies involved rather extensive monitoring and evaluation activities.
The widely diverging projects in the MCS allow the distillation of a number of factors that may affect the replicability of the findings. These were grouped into four broad categories:
Finally, a number of important lessons can be learned from the wealth of project experience represented in the MCS (Table 1).
TABLE 1. MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS LEARNED ACCORDING TO THE 130 RESPONDENTS IN THE MCS DATABASE (Answer Could Be In More Than One Category) |
|
- involve local farmers, local knowledge and local institutions |
70% |
- involve private sector |
20% |
- appropriate policy support |
35% |
- long term commitment needed |
14% |
- appropriate human resources |
20% |
- need for holistic integrated view |
29% |
The results point towards the overriding importance of the involvement of direct stakeholders (including farmers and local institutions). A favourable policy environment and a holistic, multi-faceted project approach were deemed important by about one-third of the respondents.
Various sources have been used to present the cases below. The MCS database provided eight, the Electronic Conference one and the others come from different reports and other databases. They are arranged according to three categories of function (environmental, economic and social), but all illustrate these functions in conjunction with others.
Natural capital is a vital input to agricultural systems and an outcome of their activities. The cases below illustrate a wide range of ways to exploit the multifunctional character of agriculture and land by making better use of available natural resources and/or intensifying single sub-components of farming systems
The IFAD-funded soil and water conservation project in the Illéla district is an example of a key sustainable agriculture technology having substantial multiple benefits whilst improving formerly degraded or abandoned lands. Some 5800 ha of abandoned and degraded lands on the farms of some 6000 households in 77 villages have been improved with the adoption of tassas (also known as zaï in Burkina Faso). The usual, large-scale erosion control measures had not been successful in the region.
Tassas are 20-30 cm holes dug in soils that have been sealed by a surface layer hardened by wind and water action. Since this crust prevents infiltration by water, these areas are usually abandoned, devoid of vegetation, scattered with outcroppings of iron crust. They are prime sites for surface erosion. The holes are filled with manure, since soils in this region are normally lacking in organic matter. When it rains, the holes fill with water and farmers then plant millet or sorghum. Tassas are used in conjunction with stone bunds, taking advantage of the stones that farmers remove from fields. These methods of soil and water conservation were learned by the farmers of Illéla on a visit to Yatenga in Burkina Faso where, on the central plateau alone, some 100,000 hectares have been restored - each now producing some 700-1000 kg of cereal per year.
This soil-development activity has allowed the region to attain average millet yields of 480 kg/ha, reaching levels of up to 700 kg/ha if chemical fertiliser is added (an as-yet uncommon practice). Comparatively, fields of similar quality-levels produced only 130 kg/ha. According to IFAD, food availability in participating households rose between 20% and 40%, depending on local rainfall conditions. The average family in Burkina Faso and Niger using these sustainable agriculture technologies have shifted from being in annual cereal deficit amounting to 644 kg (equivalent to 6.5 months of food shortage) to producing a surplus of 153 kg per year. Tassas are best suited to landholdings where family labour is available, or where farm hands can be hired. The technique has spawned a network of young day-labourers who have mastered this technique and, rather than migrating, they go from village to village to satisfy farmers' growing demands. There are cases of land being bought back by farmers who recognised early on the profit that can be earned from this land.
One of the best examples of rural partnerships comes from Australia, where a remarkable national social experiment has been underway since the 1980s. Landcare encourages groups of farmers to work together with government and rural communities to solve a wide range of rural environmental and social problems. By the end of 1998, there were 4500 active local groups, comprising more than a half of all Australian farm families. For a country where individual farmers have long prided themselves on their `frontier' spirit, and capacity to cope alone with problems, this is an extraordinary society-wide recognition that some problems can best be dealt with by working together.
Landcare groups have emerged to deal with many different local problems that affect the whole community. Groups deal with pest, weed and rabbit problems, tree decline, dune regeneration, conservation farming, soil salinity, wildlife conservation and farm profitability and business management. One example is the Morbinning Catchment group from the wheat belt of Western Australia. The Morbinning Catchment consists of twenty families on 25,000 hectares of farmland. They formed the group in 1989, united by their common problems of increasing soil salinity, poor drainage and the effects of periodic flooding. These problems could be dealt with only by planning and co-operating across farm boundaries. Over eight years, the group has re-vegetated 300 hectares of creeklines, treated 550 hectares of saltland, planted 440,000 trees including 91 km of windbreaks and 90 hectares of fodder trees, erected 249 km of fencing to protect natural bush, planted 460 hectares of alley farming systems and 80 hectares of permanent pastures and installed 145 piezometers to measure regularly the water table depth. The group has also been at the forefront of local farm improvements, including in oil seeds, reduced tillage, alternative fertilisers, soil aeration, floriculture, sandalwood planting, and farm stays and school visit programmes.
But the group has seen more than just environmental and farm benefits. Bob Hall, 1997 president of the group, put it this way: "Before the group, farms were amalgamating, young people moving away, the community was falling apart. But now we meet 6-8 times per year, with the regular involvement of member families. As trust increased, so the opportunities to learn from each other also increased, and this has brought the community together". The Morbinning group won the National Landcare Award for catchment groups in 1995.
This project which started in the late 1970s, has succeeded in combating soil degradation in an area of 8 million ha in Brazil, benefiting tens of thousand of farm families. The initial objective of erosion control and sustainable land use evolved through a community-driven approach based on micro-catchment areas to a new way of natural resource management. Scientifically proven and economically attractive reduced tillage techniques were further developed on a communal basis into conservation farming systems, involving crop diversification and rotation and alternative uses, such as forests and pastures. Close collaboration developed between farmers, the private sector (input suppliers and manufacturers) and official institutions (FAO, EMBRAPA, etc.).
Measurable benefits have included long term increases in both quantity and quality of water availability (to agricultural and non-agricultural water users), improved soil fertility, and decrease in production risk via diversification. In addition, the project has led to reduced negative environmental impact of agriculture and improved environmental awareness of farmers. Importantly, the forward and backward linkages of increased agricultural production have led to a stimulation of non-agricultural rural activities.
In Spain, dehesas are highly integrated systems contributing significantly to both natural and social capital. The term dehesa refers to a mix of woodland pastures and open grassland, dominated by holm and cork oak, with cereal crops and livestock - sheep, cattle, pigs and goats - feeding on grass and acorns. These are highly integrated systems, with the trees providing charcoal, firewood, shade, acorns and cork; the cereals providing grain and fodder; and the animals providing livestock products (meat and milk). There are usually 4-20 year rotations for arable practices, so the whole landscape is a mosaic of mixed habitats.
They are very rich in wildlife: up to 60 plant species per square metre, butterflies, birds and animals, including threatened species such as Spanish Imperial Eagle, Egyptian Vulture, Black Stork and Iberian Lynx. Dehesas are also important sources of employment for local people when managed properly. For example, one 7000 ha estate in Andalucìa produces cork, timber, firewood, livestock (sheep, deer and cattle) and wild plants (herbs and fungi). The arable and grassland systems are low-input, and there is high labour use. This is higher than neighbouring estates not managed in an integrated fashion. But many of these areas are now in decline, with trees removed for more intensive and large-scale agriculture or land given over to reforestation with pines and eucalyptus.
Much the same is true of biodiverse habitats in Scotland. Long-term research on the island of Islay in the Inner Hebrides has revealed again the crucial role of a complex and diverse landscape for bird life. Islay has ten important bird species: barnacle goose, chough, corncrake, golden eagle, golden plover, hen harrier, merlin, peregrine falcon and white-footed goose. By dividing the island's semi-natural and agricultural systems into eight types, and classifying all 687 one kilometre squares, it was found that different species use different land types at different times of the year. It was the mosaic that was crucial: "one of the most important features [is] ... how all of the land types are selected at some time in the year. Consequently we concluded that it is the diversity of land types that supports such a large number of bird species". It is clearly not simply a question of maintaining one or two habitats or remnants amongst intensive farmland. Whole landscapes need to be protected by mixed and sustainable farming practices.
These examples are only two of many similar cases in Europe. These include large semi-natural areas, as in Scotland and many mountain areas, important bird areas throughout the region and areas rich in natural features.
Some 45,000 farm families in Honduras and Guatemala have benefited from the adoption of sustainable agriculture, increasing crop yields from 400-600 kg/ha to 2000-2500 kg/ha. Farmers use green manure, cover crops, contour grass strips, in-row tillage, rock bunds and animal manure, which are finely-tuned to local conditions through experimentation. These programmes have regenerated local economies. Land prices and labour rates are higher inside the project areas, and families have moved back from capital cities. There are also benefits to the forests. Farmers say they no longer need to cut the forests, as they have the technologies to farm permanently the same piece of land. These conserved lands also suffered the least during the onslaught of Hurricane Mitch in November 1998, with torrential rains absorbed by conserved soils rather than causing landslides.
Most Ethiopian highland areas like eastern Hararghe are known for severe land degradation. The livelihoods of the farming community and population at large are at risk, given downstream impacts on the environment. Attempts were made by the government and donor agencies to combat degradation, though achievements proved small. Previous experiences show that attention should be given to adaptation and improvement of local practices. T'chat (Catha edulis) hedgerow-based soil and water conservation practices based on local knowledge have been found to be well adapted to the farming community. The practice has proved its effectiveness, since it integrates land conservation, farm income improvement and associated benefits such as employment generation for the farming community.
Results show that given farmers' resources and existing technology, T'chat hedgerow-based conservation practices are an economically profitable, well adapted practice for conservation and utilisation of marginal and sloping lands in the study area. The multifunctional character of the initiative is enhanced through soil and water conservation, fodder and fuelwood production, and employment generation by off-farm activities like Catha edulis trading, particularly by women.
In the early 1990s, producers of fruit, grapes and wine in the Western Cape became more aware of the need for environmental protection and human safety. An IP steering committee was formed and out of this an Ag Chem environmental group, made up of all role players in the industry including universities, exporters, co-ops, research institutes, beekeepers, and the agro-chemical industry. Guidelines for pome and stone fruit, grapes and wine production were drawn up and a scoring system for spray programmes was developed to quantify subsequent monitoring. The Ag Chem group meets a few times a year and reviews the guidelines and related practises and codes for new crop protection agents by consensus. An informal Integrated Pest Management (IPM) group, including representatives of all participating groups, meets every 14 days during the growing season. Trends and topical subjects are discussed, and if necessary, action is taken. Orchard monitoring courses are held for selected farm workers and certificates are issued. The workers are trained to recognise and record the incidence of pests and diseases. This information is used to optimise control measures in order to reduce the impact of cultivation to a minimum and in particular to optimise the use of chemicals applied for pest control, and preserve overseas markets by meeting with standards generally set world-wide.
Contour hedges of pineapple (mid-slope areas) and vetiver grass (lower slope areas) were established on sloping degraded lands managed by traditional landowners and tenant farmers in six areas of Fiji. Participatory approaches were followed to identify sites and to establish hedgerows. Planting materials were provided as required. Farming systems being studied include ginger-taro-cassava (in high rainfall areas), and off-season vegetables (in seasonally dry areas). In one case, off-season tomatoes provided a US$1500 cash return to a single farmer. Equally appreciated and unexpected benefits have been increased food security, family and community collective action, and village wealth, with greater economic development and diversity of production observed.
Hedgerow-based conservation cropping technologies at the village level on marginal sloping lands are being increasingly used for food production. The sustainability of production on these lands had declined due to land degradation. The initiative monitors biophysical, social and economic impacts of this technology, mainly through observation and interviews, and transfers technology to farmers through field and on-farm demonstration. Technology is transferred by NGOs and government agencies in Fiji and other Pacific Island countries through staff and information exchanges in other places. Men and women farmers have participated in design and implementation activities with a high level of ownership in on-farm activities. External support is provided by governments to overcome barriers identified by farmers (for example, by provision of unavailable planting materials and knapsack sprayers); and, finally, impact is optimised by balancing economic and conservation benefits.
Activities are being currently undertaken in 6 areas: Waibau, Namulomulo, Serua, Tilivalevu, Nadi/Lautoka, and Labasa. More than 125 on-farm demonstration plots are being monitored. This initiative demonstrates the multifunctional character of agriculture and land through: pineapple and vetiver grass hedgerows introduced on sloping lands with potential to provide short-term cash benefits while minimising soil and nutrient losses through erosion and maximising the use of available soil water and nutrients; improved village and household cash flows through a greater diversity of production, including off-season vegetables; a high proportion of households (both men and women farmers) involved in participatory planning and evaluation activities; on-farm activities facilitated, rather than controlled, by researchers and extensionists; and increasing interest in the approach as evidenced by an expansion of the area under hedgerows both within the initial, pilot areas and into neighbouring communities.
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There is an increasing number of proven and promising resource-conserving technologies for pest, nutrient, soil, water and energy management. These have emerged from many sources: from traditional agricultural systems, experimentation with new techniques and technologies, organic agriculture, and both from developing and developed countries. Many have arisen where steps have already been taken to reduce both costs and adverse environmental effects. These technologies seek to conserve existing farm and land resources, including system nutrients, water, biodiversity and soils. Many of the individual technologies are multifunctional. This implies that their adoption will result in favourable changes in several aspects of the farming and agro-ecological systems simultaneously. Examples include: water harvesting, contour cropping, terraces, minimum tillage, water savings through irrigation management and precision delivery to plants, rotational grazing, mechanised and manual soil recuperation techniques.
Better use of non-renewable inputs and technologies including pesticides and fertilisers are possible with precision farming and delivery techniques, low dose use, use of resistant varieties and breeds, and machinery with lower energy requirements and appropriate scale. The multifunctional character concerns superior impacts on local agro-ecology, sustainable revenues and productivity, and accessibility for producer use.
The above cases demonstrate a number of points:
An important function of agriculture and land is its contribution to economic development. This comprises the accumulation of financial capital through the returns on sales of produce and services, through attracting new sources of money (like credits and grants) and an increase in economic activity achieved via a wide range of multiplier effects for the region as a whole.
Heifer Project International introduced zero-grazing of dairy production to Uganda. This involves keeping good-quality dairy cows in confinement and cut and carry feeding. The system includes production of forages, grasses and leguminous trees. Much of this is grown on bunds and intercropped with food or cash crops thus conserving soil and moisture. The system also results in greater food security and better family nutrition. Animals are a good source of income and food in the dry season and ruminants can use much of the crop and by-products of food processing. Manure and compost from the zero-grazing unit is used as organic fertiliser and provides for the rapid recycling of limited nutrients within the system. The strengthening of community groups which provide mutual support and training is another significant component.
Dairy heifers are provided as an in-kind loan. Farmers repay the loan by raising a female offspring which is then "passed on" to another farmer in the community. Thus the group has a capital resource which enables the benefits of the programme to spread. The zero-grazing system which was introduced to Uganda by HPI in 1983 has survived despite political and economic problems. It has since been adopted by numerous agencies, including the Ministry of Agriculture and International NGOs.
Over 5,000 families have benefited directly from significant increases in income and nutrition, resulting in dramatic improvements in housing and school attendance. Some 10,000 hectares of land have been improved or stabilised by the development of a sustainable small-holder dairy farming system. More than 50 community-based groups have been strengthened and these are an engine for rural development. The status of women has been enhanced as more than half of the livestock owners are women, many of whom are widows with large families.
Olive trees have been cultivated for at least two millennia on the Mediterranean coast, contributing to local livelihoods and producing rich and varied habitats for wildlife. But over recent decades, Cilento has suffered from mass emigration, with the young no longer wanting to be olive farmers. Combined with competition from Tunisia, where production costs are lower, pressures on the system are growing.
The CADISPA project co-ordinated by the University of Strathclyde works closely with local groups in a range of countries to support local regeneration. In Cilento, CADISPA-Italy began working with a local olive oil co-operative, Nuovo Cilento, to introduce organic farming and new marketing methods. Now 130 farmers located in the national park of Cilento are fully organic, using a wide range of resource-conserving practices to minimise input use and recycle valuable products, such as using olive husks for fertiliser. They now produce Cilento Verde, an extra-virgin organic oil of high value. Since the successful regeneration of olive production, co-operative businesses have now been set up for wild chestnut flour production, and eco-tourism. These new ventures are largely run by young people, who are increasingly opting to stay in Cilento and use their abilities and skills to develop high-quality local goods and services.
In the remote Northern Areas of Pakistan, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme has helped to establish more than 2600 village or women's organisations, which cater for some 53,000 households. Village groups, originally organised to help construct an irrigation channel, road or bridge, then helped members to save small amounts of money regularly and so create collateral for credit provision. Over time, and with local control and responsibility, groups have been able to save substantial sums.
Other notable successes have emerged in southern India, where NGOs such as Myrada, SPEECH and Pradan have again shown the value of small groups. Years of relying on banks and local co-operative societies to supply credit had rarely helped the poor. But when the banks started to work with small independent groups with members feeling they could trust one another, they noticed that not only was the money managed more carefully, there was a far greater commitment and responsibility from the groups towards repaying the amount of money, something that had not unduly bothered them when they were part of the co-operative. What is particularly significant for the programmes is that some 95-98% of loans are repaid in full. This contrasts with just 20-25% for banks making loans under Integrated Rural Development Programmes.
The Prespa National Park is close to the borders of Albania and Macedonia. It comprises a montane valley with two lakes and their surrounding floodplain. It is the home to the largest nesting colony of Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus crispus) in the world. The area is remote, with the main economic activity being farming of beans, with some livestock and fishing to supplement incomes. The traditional land management system has been important for natural capital, as livestock graze the wet meadows and keep down the reeds, so creating valuable habitats for birds and fish. But adoption of intensive cultivation methods for the beans has led to the conversion of some meadows to arable, and a big increase in fertiliser and pesticide use. Both of these have had a significant impact on the aquatic resources, and the consequent loss of spoonbills and glossy ibis. In 1993, various organisations began to promote organic bean cultivation, diversification of agriculture, and development of the wildlife tourism potential of the park.
Farmers are now getting higher bean yields, as well as premium prices. This is encouraging more to adopt sustainable practices. With the focus on eco-tourism, the annual number of visitors to the park has increased from 5,300 to 13,000. These visits are better spread throughout the year. Young people from the communities have been trained in environmental management, and two tourism centres have been opened. These have helped to change local attitudes to conservation as well as those of visitors. The growth in eco-tourism has prompted the establishment of two guest houses run by local women, and several restaurants and tavernas have benefited from increased spending by visitors. Some 50-60 people are now employed in the eco-tourism sector. The government has also helped by investing in infrastructure for eco-tourism and multiple functions in agriculture.
The rapid spread of soybean in Indian farming systems illustrates how the introduction of a single regenerative component into farm systems can have a range of benefits. The change in extent has been from some 0.04 million ha in the mid-1960s, rising to 0.5 m ha in the 1980s (average yield 0.57 t/ha), and now 5.6 million ha (average yield 0.96 t/ha). Each year, some 0.5 m ha are added to cultivation, with extent expected to pass 8 m ha by the year 2000. Soybean exports in 1997 earned India US$ 518 million (Rs 20 bn).
The multifunctional character of soybean cultivation in India includes:
This is an example of an initiative that began at the local level and has received national recognition. Indígenas de la Sierra Madre de Motozintla (ISMAM) is a Maya Indian Organic Coffee group in Chiapas. ISMAM was formed by smallholder coffee growers to meet problems of low productivity, poor marketing conditions and extreme poverty of farm families. By adopting organic techniques and improving quality, the group was able to overcome soil degradation and low yields and move into a privileged speciality market that rewarded their extra efforts towards ecologically sound production. Through sound, participatory management of the organisation and hard work, ISMAM was able to capitalise their enterprise, overcome initial government disinterest and repression to become a major agro-industry with its own processing facilities and direct export markets in the US, Europe and Japan.
The next step was to produce blends and soluble coffee for the national market and diversify agro-production for greater food security. Besides expanding the business, part of ISMAM's profits are returned to regional committees for investment in social works. In 1995 ISMAM received the National Agro-Export prize from the hands of Mexico's President. The group now enjoys a privileged position with respect to credit and government support and has diversified into a number of areas including eco-tourism.
In recent years, the choice between the protection of local jobs and the environment has been a serious source of conflict in the Pacific North West. Bitter disputes have erupted over the spotted owl: after it was declared endangered in 1990, the volume of timber harvested in Oregon and Washington fell by a half. But now, new partnerships between formerly hostile groups have emerged, showing just how much sustainable management of natural resources and agriculture can contribute to local economic growth.
The Willapa watershed comprises 275,000 hectares on the coast of Washington state. It is rich in natural resources, including oysters, clams, crabs, sturgeon, salmon and dense forests. But the four counties that comprise the watershed are extremely poor, and are listed as `economically distressed' by the state. In addition, natural resources have become diminished: salmon runs have dwindled, sturgeon have almost disappeared, oyster size has fallen, and old growth forests have been replaced by plantations of firs. There is a close connection between the state of resources and local poverty: resources were harvested and shipped out, with few jobs and little income created in the process.
The challenge was to create businesses and products that made sustainable use of natural resources and also added value to them. Ecotrust, an environmental group based in Portland, helped to form a new partnership of farmers, oyster growers, fishermen, small businesses, native American groups and others. This `Willapa Alliance' commissioned studies on resource use and assets, and developed a joint management plan. It was clear that many business ideas existed, but skills and access to markets and credit were in short supply. Ecotrust then contacted a well established community bank in Chicago, the South Shore Bank, which had invested $345 million in low-income neighbourhoods for community regeneration since the 1970s. With the support of the Ford Foundation and the South Shore Bank, the Willapa Alliance market-tested development banking for the watershed. Help has now been given to a range of local businesses that add value to natural resources, including:
Many of these have helped local people to make a new livelihood, including the Shoalwater Bay Tribe, who now have formed an oyster company and harvest from 300 hectares of tidal beds. After several years of increasing success, a new platform has emerged: the Willapa Economic Development Task Force has designed an ambitious regional development plan based on sustainable use of natural resources.
The productivity of rice based farming systems in Cambodia has improved tremendously over the past years through the activities of the Cambodia-IRRI-Australia Project (CIAP). Technology released from CIAP has been responsible for a sustainable increase in rice production valued at approximately US$130 million per annum. Yields have increased from 2.5t/ha to 3.1t/ha in the dry seasons and from 1.3t/ha to 1.6t/ha in the wet season. A range of more efficient rice varieties are regularly released for various ecosystems, cropping systems have been diversified, water resources maximised and farmers have been introduced to IPM practices. Conservation of germ plasm is a major activity and rice varieties lost during the Pol Pot years but stored in a germ plasm centre in the Philippines were returned to the farmers. Innovations include creating a new approach to identifying Cambodian soils, emphasising on-farm experiments, building institution capacity from a fragile base, involving many NGOs and developing a national research approach. These improvements have all improved food quality for the resource-poor farmer without adversely affecting women farmers and the environment.
Results of this initiative have been: fish in the rice field increased; large animals had more feed to eat and numbers increased; crop diversity increased; and farmer's diets were improved. Overall outcomes were: more efficient varieties developed; soil identification systems established as a basis for recommendations on integrated nutrient management; farming systems diversified; fish introduced into the rice ecosystems to reduce the use of pesticides; and land preparation systems improved.
Lessons were also learned: technology can spread in the poorest of conditions; relevant, high quality inputs must be available; variety and adaptability in seed production is very important; sharing responsibilities and involvement of NGOs and other organizations is essential to success.
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A number of lessons can be drawn from the cases described above:
The following 10 cases illustrate various ways in which the social function of agriculture can be enhanced through the adoption of participatory processes, both at the individual level and at the level where different categories of stakeholders are brought together. The individual dimension refers to human capital, which represents the skills, knowledge and good health of people. The social dimension refers to the development of institutions (social capital) and involves organised group action for making better use of existing resources. Social capital is an important non-food function of agricultural systems. People are aware of social issues that exist within their communities - from local communities to the larger global community. These include a number of different issues, ranging from poverty to gender equity. It can be enhanced through the adoption of participatory processes that lead to organised group action for making better use of existing resources and development of new skills. Such groupings include farmers' research and experimentation groups; resource management and users' groups (e.g., forest protection, fisheries, irrigation, watersheds); credit groups; and horizontal partnerships between external sectoral agencies (e.g. government and NGOs; private and public).
The "Fédération des Organisations Non Gouvernementales du Sénégal (FONGS)" was established in 1978 by autonomous village-based associations seeking solutions to problems faced by small producers. By the beginning of the 1990s, the FONGS had grown to include 24 regionally-based associations made up in turn of 2000 village groups with a membership of 400,000. Some 1.5 million people in all (about 20%of the national population) are positively affected by the federation's grassroots activities in areas like input procurement, collective food production , processing and marketing.
During the 1990s, farmers increasingly voiced concerns over an agricultural model that was resulting in over-exploitation of natural resources and growing dependence on increasingly costly, non-renewable inputs to boost productivity. At the same time, experiments with alternatives for sustainable agriculture were on the increase. FONGS organised a national forum in 1993 which led to the creation of a new platform bringing together all rural associations: the National Council for Rural Dialogue and Co-operation (CNCR). The council has a membership of 3 million. In the past 5 years, CNCR has gained recognition by the government and major donors as the spokesperson for rural peoples' interests in policy and programme negotiations. Along with other initiatives, the CNCR participates in a joint research programme with the Senegalese agricultural research institute and a farmer-controlled mechanism to channel public funds to small-holders' agricultural production projects.
In July 1995, the government of Gujarat adopted a resolution announcing the participatory irrigation management (PIM) programme. It envisages a complete turnover of operation and maintenance of canals to water user associations (WUA). While the canals remain government property and major repairs continue to be the responsibility of the irrigation department, the responsibility for the day-to-day functioning of the system lies with the WUA. Planning of crops, allocation of water available for irrigation, fixing water rates, collecting water demand forms and water charges from individual members and disciplining defaulters are the other responsibilities of the WUA under the PIM. After carrying out repair and rehabilitation works on the canal network, the management is to be "turned over" to the WUAs.
In the pilot phase of the PIM programme, thirteen projects were selected to experiment with and learn from the new approach. This programme focused on the formation of user co-operatives and the development of links between different actors (participant farmers, NGOs and government). The NGOs mobilise and organise farmers to set up a WUA and guide it during its formation and through subsequent stages. However, technical help, co-operation and guidance from the department remain important. The participating farmers form and manage the Association, they also make a fixed contribution toward the initial expenses of repair and rehabilitation of the system. It is generally understood and appreciated that NGOs have been particularly adept at developing a co-operative spirit among the participants.
The most outstanding results include:
Food co-operatives are an important way to get good food to urban groups with no direct access to farms and the countryside. Direct links between consumers and farmers have had spectacular success in Japan, with the rapid growth of the consumer co-operatives, sanchoku groups (direct from the place of production) and teikei schemes (tie-up or mutual compromise between consumers and producers). This extraordinary movement has been driven by consumers rather than farmers, and mainly by women. There are now some 800-1000 groups in Japan, with a total membership of 11 million people. These consumer-producer groups are based on trust, and put a high value on face-to-face contact. Some of these have had a remarkable effect on farming, as well as on other environmental matters.
The largest and best-known consumer group is the Seikatsu Club, a consumer co-operation union. This has a membership of more than 210,000 households organised into 26,000 hans, or local branches, all over Japan. It was set up in 1965 by housewives in Tokyo, who wanted to find a way of avoiding the high price of milk. Their idea was to band together and buy milk directly from farmers. Over the next few years, they also began to purchase a range of clothes, cosmetics and pesticide-free foods wholesale. Club members then began to take care of distribution themselves. In the late 1970s, a new headquarters was set up in Setagaya and the first Seikatsu Club housewife was elected to local government the following year. Although thirty-seven members have now entered local politics, the Club seeks a much deeper change, aiming to seek to empower each and every member with a voice and role in participatory politics. Historically isolated in the home, this has given strength and new opportunities to women. The turnover of the Seikatsu Club alone is now 40 billion yen (US $320-350 million) and it employs 905 full-time staff.
Farmers in Bangladesh are engaged in extraordinary transformations of their rice systems. The new Integrated Pest Management approach supported by the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom and the Commission of the European Union, both through grant projects executed by CARE International, an international NGO that works with local NGOs, farmers' groups, and local staff of the Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh in selected districts. Two well-attended seminars by Bangladeshi field staff members of CARE have been presented in FAO Headquarters over the past year and a half. It involves farmers attending field schools (`schools without walls) during a whole rice-growing season. They meet each week to learn a new set of principles, concepts and terms relating to rice, pest and predator management. This is an adult-education approach to increasing food production. Farmers have benefited in several ways: most have reduced or stopped using pesticides with no loss of rice yield, so reducing the costs of production, they raise fish in the rice fields which provide a new source of protein and income, and vegetables are grown on paddy field dikes. As a result, the 150,000 participating households are now food-secure throughout the year.
The Association for Better Land Husbandry (ABLH) promotes low cost methods of conservation-based farming that reduce poverty, improve rural peoples' livelihoods and boost rural economies. The approach is called `near-nil investment'. The basic principle is that poor rural families do not have the financial resources to invest in farm improvements. What they need are ways to boost productivity and income by making the best use of available human and natural resources. Double-dug beds combined with composting, green and animal manure improve the soil. Good water-holding capacity and higher organic matter content means that these beds are more productive, more diverse and are able to sustain vegetable growth long into the dry season. Once this investment is made, little more is done for the next 2-3 years. Many vegetables and fruits are cultivated, including kale, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, passion fruit, pigeon peas, spinach, peppers, green beans and soybean.
Self-help groups have found that their family food security has improved substantially since adopting conservation farming. Before, they had to use cash when they were short of food in the dry season to pay for maize and vegetables. They had to sell their labour, rely on remittances from family members working elsewhere in the country, or sell cash crops. They would have to do this at a time when food prices were high and labour and cash-crop prices low. Many also relied on collecting wild foods from forests. But now, families have found that by working more on their own farms rather than selling labour to others, they are getting greater returns. They have found that investment in natural capital on their own farms provides better returns in food production. Casual hiring-out of labour has virtually disappeared among group members. Children have been major beneficiaries, as their health has improved through increased vegetable consumption and longer periods of adequate food availability. According to one review of 26 communities in eight Districts, 75% of households are now free from hunger throughout the year, and the proportion of households buying vegetables has fallen from 85% to 11%.
The Solomon Islands are an archipelago of about 900 islands, many of which have difficult access and with limited services and resources. Rural communities' lifestyle has long been based on subsistence agriculture, artisanal fisheries, forest harvesting and inter-community trade. The expansion of the cash economy and the increased exploitation of natural resources (cash crops, timber, tuna) by non-residential entrepreneurs has enhanced exodus to "urban" areas, development gaps for rural dwellers and social conflicts. The lack of credit facilities, equipment, materials and technical skills has limited the development of smallholders' initiatives and rural businesses. In the early 1990s, based on community, cultural and/or religious relationships, some 30 rural associations, called Rural Training Centres, were spontaneously established. Their main roles were to provide advice, technical assistance, vocational training and access to credit.
The 30 RTCs (more joined the association during the project implementation) supported 10 to 30 initiatives in their area of interest. Some trainees became trainers themselves, finding part-time employment in the RTCs. New trading facilities and commercial routes were established in the areas of production, creating new job opportunities. New branches of the Development Bank have been established in particularly dynamic provinces. The key impacts include:
Rice-fish culture offers many benefits to rural households, economies and environments. At present, only 136,000 ha of the total area of 21 million ha of irrigated rice fields in South East Asia are used for aquaculture. Jiangsu province in China has more than 30 million mu (2 m ha) of rice fields, of which one third are suitable for rice-fish culture. The "The Extension Project of Large-scale, High-yielding, High-effective Techniques of Rice/Aquaculture in Jiangsu Province" project was developed by the provincial government in the mid-1990s, with multi-functional aims: to develop rice/aquaculture combined with reforming and ameliorating low-yielding paddies, ponds and waterlogged farmland for the purpose of increasing food production and income, promoting rural economy and enriching farmers.
As a result, the rice/aquaculture area in Jiangsu Province expanded from about 5000 ha in 1994 to reach 68,973 ha in 1997. In addition, the area of rice/crab culture expanded to 36,113 ha and rice/shrimp culture reached 13,867 ha. The economic returns of rice/aquaculture are remarkable. In 1997 the unit profit of rice/aquaculture fields was 2.86 times that of mono-rice cultivation in paddies. Rice/aquaculture systems are low cost, and provide rapid economic returns. They provide an additional source of food and income in rural areas, producing 50 kg of fish per mu.
Rice/aquaculture farming systems also maintain the ecological balance of rice field ecosystems. The rural environment can be improved through the use of non-polluting agriculture - the use of agricultural chemicals is greatly reduced. Rice/fish culture also helps to eliminate mosquito larva harmful to human health. Japanese encephalitis and malaria are transmitted by mosquitoes found in a wide belt of Asia, and their prevention depends on improved environmental manipulation to stop mosquito breeding in rice fields. Rice/fish systems provide good control of mosquito incidence. In Quanzhou County, the incidence of malaria fell from 11.6/100,000 to 0.1/100,000 which may be partially due to an increase in the area of rice/fish cultivation from zero to 43% over a ten year period.
This case, while using a community-based approach, illustrates many diverse aspects of multiple functions in agriculture. The Lightstone Foundation was founded in 1986 as an non-profit educational organisation. Its mission is to serve as a regional education and demonstration centre for practising and supporting sustainable family farming, natural resource management and rural community-based development. Its activities are divided among four programmes, i.e., the Future Stewards Program, the Farm Center, the Community Food Systems Program, and a Community Economic Development Program. Lightstone achieves its goals through partnerships with many other organisations at the local, state and national level.
The Future Stewards Program is an experiential training, paid apprenticeship and community stewardship learning programme for high school and college students in the stewardship of natural and human resources. It has three major components: training (intensive four to ten day experiential training workshops at Lightstone Foundation in sustainable agriculture, recycling, natural resources management as well as in leadership and communications skills); paid apprenticeships with farms, small businesses and service agencies in their home communities that are practising stewardship of natural and human resources; community stewardship projects (students continue their apprenticeship by organising and leading community service projects during the school year).
The Farm Center consists of a 562 acre certified organic farm at the headwaters of the Potomac River in Pendleton County, West Virginia, demonstrating sustainable agricultural practices, wetlands restoration, eco- and agro-forestry and community supported agriculture. Lightstone's farm demonstrates the principles of: diversity of crops, pasture, livestock, wetlands and forest; balance of the natural ecosystem and wildlife, livestock and human requirements; succession of native species in wetlands, crops in cultivated areas and livestock in sequential cycles; interdependence of the farm and the larger community; of wild and domestic plants and animals; regeneration of wetlands, highland meadows and forest; and sustainability, through environmentally sound, socially acceptable and economically viable activities. A major goal of Lightstone's Farm Center is to provide experiential education for young people and adults in the areas of watershed preservation and restoration, whole farm systems, value-added food processing and marketing, ecoforestry and agroforestry.
The Community Food Systems Program provides technical and financial support to a co-operative marketing network of diversified farms, creating markets for locally grown food and enhancing access to healthy food. Lightstone provides technical and financial support to a co-operative marketing network of diversified farms. Through its information resources, market development research and on-farm demonstrations, Lightstone identifies potential markets and shows the feasibility of different production models for various speciality crops.
Finally, the Lightstone Community Development Corporation (LCDC) was established in 1994 to create and retain jobs in the Potomac Highlands by providing technical and financial assistance in rural communities having a large portion of their population with low incomes. Micro-loans for sustainable enterprises, supporting area farmers' markets and bolstering local recycling efforts are a few of LCDC's activities.
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The examination of the social function of agriculture and land encompasses multiple areas including human organization, mechanisms for collective action, development of human capital, appropriate technology and local knowledge, and collective management. The above cases illustrate these points:
The main findings of the Electronic Conference and the scoping exercise that preceded it were:
Analysis of Country Reports to CSD revealed evidence of the contribution of multifunctional agriculture and land use to food security, improved policies and institutions; economic development; poverty reduction and equity; social cohesion; and environmental protection, recovery, rehabilitation and enhancement. The primary purpose of the reports was to furnish evidence on progress in sustainable development.
The Country Reports suggest that most developing countries have yet to carry out economy-wide and sectoral reviews in line with SARD. Domestic pressure for quality food products is rarely present although external pressures are being exerted through international trade. A few countries are beginning to address environmental problems related to food and agriculture including the preparation of National Environmental Action Plans (NEAPs) with the aid of international agencies. NEAPs focus on the resource base but also include topics such as integrated management of soil, water and plant nutrition, training on Integrated Pest Management (IPM), monitoring and training for sustainable agriculture and agro-environmental protection activities at the field level. Though these NEAPs do not necessarily integrate environmental policies into economic planning, they have contributed to a better understanding of the needs for addressing environmental problems at the national level.
In terms of major issues and identified gaps, the major reasons for the uneven progress in implementing SARD is attributed to:
Many developing countries are under pressure from various sources to review agricultural policies, plans and programmes, both economy-wide and sectoral, with respect to their implications for sustainable development and food security. However, they typically possess limited institutional and human resource capacity to assess the implications of developmental plans for sustainable agricultural and rural development. Their limited capacities are further extended by multiple, overlapping and uncoordinated requests for environmental and sustainable development plans and analyses. This often results in top-down, non-participatory actions with too much emphasis on the plan as a document rather than a process that would move agriculture and rural development onto a sustainable path.
A major preoccupation for countries in transition towards a market economy has been the need for the radical restructure of agricultural sectors. The introduction and development of market mechanisms has completely altered input-output price relationships. Nevertheless, there have been significant advances in agricultural and environmental policy reform, including the adoption of measures directly related to the rational use of natural resources and environmental issues such as the protection of water and soils. Policies aimed at taking marginal lands out of production are being introduced.
Rather surprisingly, given the disruption to food supplies caused by the collapse of former production and trading patterns, there is little mention in the Country Reports to CSD of agriculture's contribution to food security. Similarly, little is said about improved policies and institutions, poverty reduction and equity, social cohesion, and science, technology and education. On the other hand, there is considerable attention in several Country Reports to establishing the pre-conditions of agriculture and land use for achieving economic development, for example through the transfer of land to private ownership. In terms of environmental protection/recovery/rehabilitation/enhancement, many countries report strategies in support of SARD. Serious problems of soil contamination and degradation due to past agricultural and industrial practices are common and actions are being taken to remedy the situation. Contributions to land management are also well documented, perhaps because this issue constituted a separate section in the Country Reports.
In addition to the country reports, several regional reviews, also prepared in the context of SARD, covered topics relevant to the multifunctional character of agriculture and land. Two reviews were devoted to Small Island Developing States and OECD countries.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) have come to realise the extent of the threat of their physical and human isolation, and the relatively recent exposure to exchange of goods and persons, from an ecological and genetic, as well as a socio-cultural perspective. Introduced plants and animal species can create irreversible disturbance to biological and agro-diversity to a far greater degree than in continental regions. There is a growing awareness among SIDS of the fragility of mono-crop agriculture for both economic and ecological reasons. Competition for land, demographic pressure and urbanisation are becoming of growing concern in SIDS, for example in the context of waste disposal. Agriculture, and the quality of foodstuff, can be affected by inappropriate waste management and can itself be a source of pollution. Reductions in the use of agro-chemicals, appropriate treatment and recycling of animal wastes for fertilisation and production of biogas, and recycling of domestic organic wastes for compost and use in agriculture and gardening can all lead to a safer environment.
There is a growing realisation that agriculture, food products and the rural landscape are part of the cultural heritage and constitute attractive assets, together with coastal and marine resources (e.g. spices in Zanzibar, tobacco plantation in Cuba). There is also a growing awareness of the effects of mass tourism on traditional cultural values and consumption patterns, and a realisation that only a multisectoral and integrated approach can help to define the carrying capacity of land resources and related activities. Faced with these pressing issues and with limited human resources and institutional capacity for meeting agreed international targets, SIDS as well as donors have strengthened regional and sub-regional co-operation in areas related to sustainable development, through permanent inter-governmental organisations, for example the South Pacific Forum, the South Pacific Commission (SPC), the Indian Ocean Commission, and CARICOM (Caribbean).
In OECD countries that reported to CSD, issues pertaining to food security, economic development, poverty reduction and equity, and science, technology and knowledge were not particularly addressed. The lack of specific reference by any OECD country to food security is probably an indication of their general standard of living, however the growing role of organic food production and the support given to it is mentioned by some countries. There was little reference of contributions to economic development, perhaps because of the relatively small contribution of agriculture to GDP and the limited attention paid to rural development in the Country Reports. Poverty reduction and equity were mentioned by Australia, relating to exceptional circumstances (such as drought), by Austria (for example for special schemes for mountain farmers), as well as in Norway, where equitable representation of women and men in decision-making within the agricultural sector is being promoted. Science, technology and education issues were addressed to some extent by the governments of Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Most OECD countries now claim that sustainable agriculture is the basis for their agricultural policy and have reviewed their policies and legislation in recent years to make them compatible with the aims of Agenda 21. For EU members, this may have been partly driven by EU Directives concerning agro-environmental measures. Several countries support SARD but some make no mention of rural development in their submissions. Social cohesion is addressed in its various aspects, for example through stakeholder participation, environmental education and training, and community participation. Environmental protection/recovery/rehabilitation/enhancement was addressed by a large number of countries. There has also been substantial emphasis on improved management of land resources, with most governments reporting increased activity in this area. However, this may reflect the fact that land management was a distinct section in the reports to CSD.