S A R D
P R I Z E
AN ANNUAL award for
sustainable agriculture AND Rural DEVELOPMENT
_____________________
Background to the SARD Prize
Agriculture, and the people involved in its process all over the
world, have seen fundamental changes in the last hundred years. The
evolution from more simple subsistence farming to highly sophisticated
production systems has been revolutionary. As so often with dramatic
changes, things do, however, not develop in balance. The industrial
revolution has produced several external inputs for agriculture such as
mechanical tools, chemicals for plant and animal health, and inorganic
fertiliser. Knowledge systems of self-sufficient farming with soil
fertility and productivity coming from within the farm enterprise have
gradually been mutilated. Research and company interests have increasingly
influenced the modus operandi of agriculture away from farm unit activity
to commodity orientation. The food needs for a fast expanding world
population helped to underline the seeming importance of production and
technology advances. Life on the farm and caring for natural resources has
therefore often been adapted to industrial standards and requirements -
profit-oriented, short-term and unsustainable. Competition on an unfair
global market forced the bulk of producers to adopt industry-driven
technology.
The results of this trend have been frustration and disorientation
in the realm of farm culture. The respect for the human being, as much as
for the life of plants and animals, was totally lost. In this regard one
may look at the ethics of battery production of poultry products, bovine
growth hormone and feedlots. Yet dependency on financial credit and
atomised technology bits became ever more dominant and, conversely, the
dramatic loss of traditional holistic knowledge about more integrated
farming cycles accelerated. The irony therefore, with all this innovation
in agriculture, is that farmers have become poorer in relative terms to
their colleagues in other professions. To engage another human generation
in farm activities may indeed become extremely difficult under the
prevailing conditions in Europe or North America.
The dilemma is quite different between the industrialised or
"overdeveloped" and the so-called developing countries. The latter do
still have a dominant farm population. Agriculture contributes often the
majority value of the national product. Without farm occupation, rural
income and food, the social peace and security of people would be
jeopardized. As the financial resources and research capabilities in
developing countries are scarce, it could be concluded that their chances
for avoiding Western-type mistakes in agricultural development may be quite
considerable. People have to cope with practices which do not require
expensive investments. Unfortunately pressures and influence of
modernisation on agriculturists are immense and often successful before the
rationalisation of their negative impact sets in.
So much for the general situation out of which the idea for this
SARD Prize emerged!
Human Dimension of the SARD Prize
Agriculture is an outstanding profession in the sense that it deals
with a living system and therefore more than anything else with the
question of sustainability. Although some technology freaks are trying to
prove the opposite, the accumulated wisdom of today is giving strong
evidence of the fact that good soil, water and climate are not
substitutable or manipulatable. Biodiversity in agriculture supports
sustainable production and contributes to risk containment. The human
element is present everywhere. If management of natural resources is well
informed and wise, maintenance of production and productivity is assured,
if however ignorance and carelessness prevail destruction of soils and
water reserves are the consequence. Food also is the basis of human life
and its safe
availability and healthy condition are of paramount importance. Reward for
farsighted husbandry of farming resources should therefore not be an
unaffordable luxury but routine. With greater respect for the human factor
in agriculture there will be a sustainable future.
History and Details of the SARD Prize
As an agricultural economist, the SARD Prize initiator Dr.agr.
Friedrich Mumm von Mallinckrodt worked for years on several farms in
Germany and the USA before joining the United Nations (FAO and UNDP).
Twenty-six years followed mainly in the context of developing countries.
His education and practice were dominated by conventional modern
agricultural principles. So it took him time to observe that failures of
many project activities were caused by purely technological approaches.
Insufficient concern for the human resource element and the fragility of
natural resources made projects highly vulnerable and unsustainable over
longer periods. Farmers were sceptic of the new technologies and could
mostly not afford them without appropiate subsidies. So development
projects became often showcases or welcome activities for the better-off
agricultural enterpreneurs. The majority of the poor rural people did
however not significantly benefit from that outside assistance.
So what had to be the formula for broad and successful support to
rural advancement? Empowerment of the peasant farmer with knowledge of the
possible and sustainable. Agroecological farming practices would provide
this very recipe. Practically all necessary ingredients would be in the
reach of the smallholder. Reformed and participatory advisory and
extension services would replace physical inputs with farming systems
knowledge. This was the most important recognition and the ultimate cause
for initiating the SARD Prize.
The 1996 and 1997 SARD Prize Awarded to Initiatives of Low-External
Input and Organic Agriculture in Asia, Africa and Latin America
The first SARD Prize was awarded at the closing session of the
Eleventh International Scientific Conference of IFOAM in Copenhagen on 15
August 1996. The Prize is an annual event rewarding land stewardship with
impact on the life of rural poor and is guaranteed for ten years at a level
of US$10,000. It is meant to serve as encouragement and recognition to the
worldwide movement in support of sensible uses of natural resources. A
jury of well known ecological experts selected from numerous nominations
three organisations located in Asia, Africa and Latin America as joint
winners of the 1996 SARD Prize: The Agricultural Renewal Consortium in
India for a Sustainable Environment (ARISE), the Kenya Institute of Organic
Farming (KIOF) and the Cuban Organic Farming Association (ACAO). The 1997
SARD Prize was again shared by three initiatives in Asia and Africa namely
the Egyptian Bio-Dynamic Association (EBDA/SEKEM), the Sustainable
Agriculture Programme (ASAP) in IIRR in the Philippines and the Harmonie du
Developpement du Sahel Group in Mali (HDS).
Who can be nominated for the Prize??
Eligibility for nomination was open to individuals, communities and
groups from developing countries who apply an agroecological approach to
agriculture and food production that:
a) makes a difference to the environment and the economy of poor
people;
b) fosters gender-sensitive and equitable development;
c) has documented impact at the local research and policy level; and
d) has influenced agricultural education, extension and advisory
concepts.
Who selects the winner(s) of the Prize??
Jury and members of the selection/advisory committee include the
Indian physicist and philosopher Dr. Vandana Shiva; the Chilean Dr. Miguel
Altieri, professor at UC Berkeley and chief agronomist at CLADES; the
German Bernward Geier, Executive Director of IFOAM; the US American J.
Patrick Madden, President and CEO of WSAA; the Filipino Roel Ravanera,
agronomist at ANGOC; the US American Dr. LoriAnn Thrupp, Director of the
Sustainable Agriculture Programme at WRI; the Senegalese Dr. Abou Thiam,
Coordinator of PAN Africa; the Dutch Bertus Haverkort from Compas/ETC;
the Nigerian Father Godfrey Nzamujo from Songhai Center Benin; the
Argentinean Dr. Roberto Lenton, Director of SEED at UNDP NY; the Filipino
Nicanor Perlas, President at CADI; the Malaysian Martin Khor, Executive
Director of Third World Network; and the German Dr.agr. Friedrich Mumm von
Mallinckrodt, initiator and sponsor of the SARD Prize.
Call for new Nominations
In order to process nominations for each year the following
information should be submitted:
1. A succinct history and description of the activities and
programmes, with emphasis on quantifiable achievements and impact as they
relate to the above four selection criteria;
2. Bio-data and full address of the nominees (no self
nominations!!);
3. Written material about the programme or produced by it; and
4. Deadlines for submissions as soon as possible but not later
than 30 June for each calendar year.
Nominations should be sent to:
SARD-Mallinckrodt
Wolfgang-Klausner Strasse 11
D-83339 Chieming Germany
(fax: +49-8664-989202 and e-mail: sard.mallinckrodt@t-online.de)
Footnote: The cash award is never given for personal use but is
intended for work in progress. The fact of nomination says nothing about
the candidate's suitability for or the likelihood of receiving the SARD
Prize.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda L. Elswick
Director
Washington Office
World Sustainable Agriculture Association, 2025 I Street, NW#512, WDC, 20006
Phone: 202-293-2155
Fax: 202-293-2209
Email: wsaadc@igc.apc.org
Web Site: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/wsaa
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