OUTCOME 2: Uptake of SLM/SFM practices increased in Alto Sertão of Sergipe (SAS), with replication in rest of the State’s ASD
Outcome 2 will focus on increased uptake of SLM by determining best practices for specific land degradation types and by increasing financial and human resources channeled toward the promotion of SLM and where appropriate, SFM. SLM best practices will be implemented to address land degradation in specific locations and to showcase best practices for the Alto Sertão, also serving as a tool for rural extensionists and providing guidance for the licensing process under Outcome 1. These practices will be tailored to local levels of land degradation. Soil erosion control techniques will be demonstrated in areas with moderate LD. Water management practices to reduce soil salinization and alkinization from irrigation for areas with accentuated LD and restoration of Legal Reserves, Areas of Permanent Preservation and alternative production practices will be promoted in areas subject to severe LD, among other possible practices to be established. In general these practices will enable adaptation to climate change by promoting resilience of agro-ecological systems in the Caatinga. Annex V.2 of Section IV include more information on best practices.
SLM practices will be showcased in four demonstration landscapes selected in Sergipe's Alto Sertão municipalities (see details below in output 2.1). These will be disseminated and replicated through work on extension, knowledge management and finance described in Annex V.1
In order to address the limited incorporation of SLM content in extension services and to further replication over the medium term, new directives and policies will be incorporated in the state-level extension services coordinated by EMDAGRO so as to promote adoption of appropriate practices. Training material on appropriate SLM practices will be developed for areas with desertification risk. In addition, targeted capacity building of rural extensionists and family farmers will be achieved through the implementation of training programs in the Alto Sertão on SLM practices for sustainable subsistence and commercial agriculture, irrigation projects, livestock rearing and recovery/protection of Legal Reserves and Areas of Permanent Preservation identified through the CAR and PRA.
A critical element of Outcome 2 will be the provision of adequate financial incentives to promote greater uptake of SLM practices. This will require action both at the national and state levels and will entail ensuring that funds and financial instruments specifically target SLM actions and that capacities to access funds are strengthened. At the state level, a funding advisory facility will be established to coordinate deal flows and provide guidance for lenders and borrowers, donors and grantees, so as to enable timely access to available funds for farmers and other stakeholders interesting in carrying out SLM activities in Sergipe. The project will strengthen local capacities to access funds in order to increase the financial resource base for SLM in Alto Sertão by providing training in project proposal formulation skills for civil society and smallholder farmers and training for public officers to strengthen their project review skills. The project will also work with regional and state-level banks to revise credit-based financial products to include funding for SLM activities. National-level financing for Sergipe ASDs will be increased by strengthening coordination between the MMA-SEDR-DCD and GPCD and by promoting budgetary integration with the Ministry of Social Development (MDS) and other relevant agencies, to channel resources for SLM activities and PAE-SE priorities. These actions are expected to address the current bottlenecks that prevent full utilization of approved budgetary and other resources and to provide the needed financial resources for greater adoption of best practices in Sergipe.
Three outputs are envisaged to achieve Outcome 2 and are detailed in following paragraphs and annexes V.2 and V.3 of Section VII. The outputs are:
SLM best practices implemented in the Alto Sertão municipalities provide guidance for licensing processes so as to revert LD processes
State extension services incorporate SLM guidelines for ADS and provide targeted support to the Alto Sertão
State and national access to diverse funds improved for uptake of SLM in ASDs
