The national agroforestry policy of India: experiential learning in development and delivery phases

In 2014 India became the first country to adopt a national agroforestry policy. The Government of India announced this policy in order to resolve the bottlenecks that had emerged at the interface of existing policies for agriculture, forestry, water and environment, recognizing that land use by its very nature must be integrative. This working paper describes the process that led to the development of the agroforestry policy and analyses it in terms of various types of knowledge and know-how required to facilitate the change. It explains various phases of the policy development process required to bring about a sufficiently broad coalition for change to fully take advantage of the nested-scales nature of agroforestry, from trees, through farms and farmers to landscapes and livelihoods, ultimately culminating in land and agricultural governance and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).This phased approach allowed for a structured and deliberate process of clarifying views, considering evidence and reaching a consensus on the elements of a policy that could serve a country as large and diverse as India. More importantly, the process was supported by key institutional actors such as the National Advisory Council (NAC), which facilitated two national consultations, and hosted seven specific group deliberations, supported by various ministries at the Union Level and in key states with the support of research and technical institutions such as the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).Over a period of three years, the first two meetings were held at intervals of one year, and thereafter seven meetings held in the third year. All these drew key actors from various institutions to create a platform for change. This platform was then transformed into a working group, created by NAC, comprising government, industry, NGOs, civil society organizations and ICRAF, as well as financial institutions. Based on the feedback from 14 meetings and roundtable discussions with various stakeholders, the working group produced a draft policy document. The NAC facilitated meetings with “interest” categories (policy formulation and governance, federal and state level institutions, industry, R&D institutions, financial institutions, etc.), to collate feedback on the draft policy; in this case starting at the higher level of government. Following consolidation of the feedback, the working group decided to incorporate other teams and shared the final draft of recommendations with policy influencers, policy supporting officials in government, industry, the private sector, charity organizations, and other institutions. Finally, the drafting of the policy was launched by a drafting committee (approved by authorities). The NAC was consulted on drafting committee members from multiple sectors and from public and civil society organizations. At the end of what became a four-stage process, the final draft of the policy was shared widely, further feedback obtained, finalized and sent to the Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Secretariat for approval. The approval of the agroforestry policy was effected in February 2014.Subsequently, a high-level Inter-Ministerial Committee, headed by the Secretary of Agriculture, has been monitoring its implementation. In its third year of implementation, the policy, as described in this case study, has been successful in bringing together agricultural, environmental and rural development sectors, and includes stakeholders such as farmers, NGOs, the private and public sectors, research institutions, etc. The policy has also been effective in freeing some farm-grown tree species from felling and transit regulations in many of the Indian states, in upgrading of national R&D institutions, and formulation of a new National Sub-Mission on Agroforestry to promote agroforestry. The emergence of a more complete, equitable and self-sustaining value chain seems promising. The process of this policy vi development has also been recognized and is being used in neighbouring countries in South Asia.

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5716/WP16143.PDF

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