Ecoagriculture

ACTION PLAN:

Ecoagriculture

Vision:

To promote the profile and use of Ecoagriculture, currently defined as “sustainable and associated natural resource management that embraces and simultaneously enhances productivity, rural livelihoods, ecosystem services and biodiversity, by catalysing:

	Research and land-use innovation with farmers and conservationists
	Capacity building
	Education and public awareness
	Enabling policies
	Resource mobilization

Proposed Outcomes

	Raise the profile and adoption of land use systems that increase agricultural productivity, ecosystem services and biodiversity
	Establish criteria for project measurement and qualification
	Identify policy bottlenecks and recommend policy frameworks to facilitate the scaling up of Ecoagriculture use
	Mobilize the necessary resources to support the implementation of such land management systems

Work Programme (Summary)

Specific targets of the Partnership/Initiative and timeframe for their achievement:

	October 2002: Establish an interim secretariat at the Future Harvest Foundation
	Early 2003: Conference and partnership planning meeting (professionally facilitated)
	Late 2003 / Early 2004: International experts conference on Ecoagriculture Research and Policy

Ongoing:

	Create a multi-stakeholder coalition mandated to implementing their mutually agreed action plan, roles and responsibilities
	Creation of an educational, capacity building and outreach component
	Mobilize support for on the ground projects and communities
	Identify and publicize model communities

Key work programme foci (See Annex 1 below for further details):

	Development of the partnership
	Partner Planning Workshop
	International Conference: Late 2003/Early 2004
	‘On the ground’ Support to ongoing Ecoagriculture projects and participant communities Identify and publicize model communities
	Education and Capacity Building
	Media and Public Awareness

Partner organizations:

Intergovernmental Organizations: IUCN, IFAD, FAO, UNEP, UNDP – Equator Initiative (Expression of Interest)

Research Organizations: James Cook University – Australia, University of North Carolina - Carolina Population Center, Future Harvest Centres: CIAT, IWMI, CIFOR, ICRAF, ILRI (others to be contacted), Forest Trends, CABI Bioscience, Bionet International

NGOs: Future Harvest Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, International Environment Forum, South African Human Rights Commission

Science: International Council for Science (ICSU)

Trade Unions: International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)

Governments: (possibly create a committee of national sponsors) United States of America (USDA, USAID), Canada, Mexico, The Netherlands, Belgium

Community Organizations: Selected Equator Initiative finalists, Future Harvest Center Community Partners, Transkei Land Service Organization

Other: Stakeholder Forum for Our Common Future

ANNEX 1: ECOAGRICULTURE WORK PROGRAMME – FURTHER DETAILS

1. PARTNERSHIP

DEVELOPMENT

PROCESS:

	Actively seek and engage additional partners
	Explore creation of an ‘ecoagriculture committee’
	Encourage further engagement of scientists

All

IFAP and IUCN

2. PARTNER PLANNING WORKSHOP

AIM:

Initial meeting, possibly with selected invitees from field projects

(potential candidates for ‘On the Ground I”).

PROCESS: PLANNINND AND LOGISTICS

Early 2003

25-40 people

1-2 days

Follow-up half-day meeting of core planners for the international conference.

Venue: Europe or Mexico (tentative)

Secretariat

(Future Harvest Foundation)

3. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

AIMS:

	To draw wider attention to ecoagriculture
	To bring together experts[1] on ecoagriculture from around the world to
	assess the current state of ecoagriculture
	develop a strategy for moving forward.

AGENDA:

	Ambitious, multi-stranded, to encompass abroad spectrum of ecoagriculture elements, including:
	Examine existing research and technology
	Review of ‘on the ground’ examples
	Identification of needs for new technology
	Marketing and certification issues
	Education
	Socio-economics impacts
	Social, organizational, institutional research
	Transfer of technology
	Management of estuaries and coastal resources (possibly)

INTENDED OUTPUTS:

Action plans, to include

	An information strategy
	Alternative models for ecoagricuture promotion in the field including synthesis and transfer of information to communities
	US small farmers grant model;
	FAO farmer field schools
	Cooperative mechanisms, for example watershed planning and community cooperation

PROCESS: PLANNING AND LOGISTICS

Date: Late 2003 / Early 2004

Venue pre-requisites:

	In a developing country
	Within the proximity of excellent ecoagriculture examples for field visits.
	Possibly near a Future Harvest Center – for help with support and logistics.

Duration: 1 week, with an interim one-day field trip (plus other optional field visits before and after the conference).

Format:

	Professionally facilitated (possibly)
	Possibly preceded by regional mini-conferences
	Linked if feasible, with important international agency action (e.g., FAO) and international meetings, such as the September 2003 Parks and Protected Areas Congress
	Aimed at facilitating learning, application and synthesis

Fundraising for:

	Organizational costs
	Sponsorship for developing country participants

4. ‘ON THE GROUND I’:

SUPPORT TO ONGOING ECOAGRICULTURE PROJECTS & COMMUNITIES

AIMS:

	Identify and develop and index of existing research, conservation, agricultural development projects, with associated organizations.
	The set of projects should be highly diversified, in terms of: market & non-market-oriented; ecoregions; types of farming systems; large/small-scale farmers

Key project foci:

	“Hotspots” for biodiversity or for ecological degradation.
	Projects that demonstrate the value of considering biodiversity to farmers.
	Projects related to long-term benchmark studies, for example Olifant basin, Mekong Delta, Sri Lanka, to benefit from research information and institutions.
	Potential project support to include filling in gaps, such as biodiversity assessment or economic assessment.
	‘Adoption’ of a model project, adding missing elements, strengthening the projects, and providing linkages with useful organizations
	Partnership to also consider developing their own case studies

PROCESS:

	Identify potential projects
	Consult with project people at planning meeting regarding needs identification
	Structure conference activities to enable the provision of feedback to them whilst providing others with an opportunity to learn from them
	Identify and approach a group of foundations willing to fund a small grants program to assist these existing projects – although in the long term, ecoagriculture must be able to be successful without outside, grant funding.

5. ON THE GROUND II:

IDENTIFY & PUBLICIZE MODEL COMMUNITIES

AIMS:

	Identify, publicize and share information and best practice examples, including vulnerable areas that have avoided degradation communities that are doing a good job
	Subsistence farmers who are not well-linked but are doing this work for their own reasons;
	Communities that have attracted recent migrants.
	Develop criteria for qualifications, regarding agricultural systems and practices.
	Highlight the work of some projects at the Conference, to serve as a focal point for discussion and learning.

PROCESS:

	Identify
	Document
	Study
	Disseminate information and learnings

6. EDUCATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING

AIMS:

Possible collaborative activities include:

	Development of Ecoagriculture modules for training courses. Partners could provide curriculum.
	Identify appropriate training courses in which to use modules
	Work with farmers’ groups; schools and educators (farmer field school as model?)
	Catalyse the development of practitioner handbooks for different ecosystems
	Develop curricular materials for diverse levels
	Create videos of successful efforts
	Document cases on website

James Cook University, IPGRI, ILRI, SANREM, ICRAF.

7. MEDIA AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

AIMS:

Develop packageable messages for delivery through:

	Radio as a key medium, esp. in light of unaffordable printed media
	Agricultural Media Professionals (AMPs) - education through dissemination of information and best practices
	Include AMPs in regional workshops and the international conference , with provision of tool kits, press releases etc.

Develop an ecoagriculture photo library

Address and organize outreach to governments.

PROCESS:

Develop Information Packet to:

	Provide clarity to partners
	Introduce partnership to others
	Interest donors
	Distribute at conferences, etc.

Proposed content:

	Interim ecoagriculture definition, vision statement and mission statement, emphasizing Combating hunger Participatory Knowledge brokering
	Preliminary list of partners
	Projected activities with tentative dates
	Bibliography
	Photographs of ecoagriculture in practice
	Current state of ecoagriculture around the world: What’s new, what’s been done and building on that etc/
	Connection to Agenda 21, Chap 14; CBD, IUCN, Millennium Goals, agrobiodiversity definition
	Geographical, Ecological and Social Statement

Link with AMP Task Force

[1] Experts to include farmers and field conservationists, as well as scientists and policy analysts. The group should include participants from South America, Asia, faith-based NGOs, Agricultural Media Professionals etc.

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