Theme 4: New opportunities to strengthen rural producers, rural workers and communities – facilitating people's choices in rural development (16-20 Dec)

Dear ICARRD e-conference Participants,

ICARRD Issue Paper 3. Draft for discussion

For this theme discussion, I am pleased that we have the technical support of our FAO colleagues from Rural Institutions and Participation Service (SDAR), Sustainable Development Department, Ms. Jenny Dey de Pryck (Chief of the Service), Mr. Olivier Dubois (Senior Rural Institutions Officer) and Mr. Wim Polman (Rural Development Officer). 

We would like to solicit your inputs to provide us with examples of good practice and lessons learned regarding new opportunities related to enhanced livelihood assets and pro-poor strategies that include the following:

1. Market opportunities, including niche markets (e.g.. fair trade) and markets for environmental services;

2. Family farming, including those building on important ingenious agricultural heritage systems, combined or not with the above market  opportunities;

3. Recent developments in the use of technology innovation that are both environmentally-friendly and boost production of rural goods;

4. Livelihood diversification, based on farm or non-farm based sustainable income generating activities (e.g. remittances, forest and fisheries resources, craft sector, and rural services);

5. Synergies between rural and urban needs and potentials, including the role of rural cities in local development;

6. Improved strategies for pro-poor investment in rural areas;

7. Strengthening of local institutions, insurance mechanisms and credit policies for disaster risk management to protect the rural poor and as support for the development of livelihood assets, including property markets;

8. Decentralised governance relevant to rural development; and

9. Roles of rural producer organisations, organizations and cooperatives in service provision towards equitable and sustainable rural development.

The underlying principles for the above to strengthen rural producers, organizations, cooperatives, rural workers and communities concern both

1. increased legitimacy and capacity on their part to make choices and decisions on their livelihood strategies and assets, and
   
   
2. a more inclusive legal, financial, policy and institutional environment, i.e. removal of institutional barriers and enhancement of incentives to increase access of rural producers, rural workers and communities to development, and a better consideration of benefits for vulnerable groups. Therefore one also has to also look at new opportunities in that respect.

Please also share with us your suggestions regarding what should be the priority areas on this topic for the future.

Sincerely,
Rosalud de la Rosa
Moderator
ICARRD Secretariat
Email: rosalud.delarosa@fao.org