Since I’ve spoken about agro-ecological principles such as preserving soil health and switching to regenerative agriculture, I thought it best to turn my attention to the process of implementing a Multi-Actor platform to restore the health of landscapes and support the livelihoods that are dependent on them. But what exactly is a Multi-Actor platform?
The Multi-Actor Platform (MAP) is an inclusive approach to local governance that aims to nurture collaborative engagement between multiple stakeholders from different sections of society. The platform creates a forum for dialogue to address issues within the actors’ landscape in a sustainable manner. It can also help link actors across levels of decision-making to devise comprehensive solutions or scale-up efforts (Ratner et al., 2021).
Multi-Actor Platforms are usually specific to their landscape and involve actors relevant to the issues they want to address. This results in an MAP structure unique to the landscape and its governance context.
For this particular platform that we implemented, you can see that the structure is divided into three rungs. The platform has support systems – including an anchor, a co-anchor, and a Landscape Resource Center – that support MAP members by convening them, helping them coordinate with other actors and implement initiatives, and track the initiatives’ outcomes. The members themselves, whether they’re Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), from government line departments, or individual farmers, all join the platform to discuss and deliberate on issues that concern them. They then join Thematic Action Groups (which have themes such as natural farming, fisheries, livestock, etc.) to come up with comprehensive strategies to address these issues.
The process from ideation to implementation happens in stages. First, there is extensive scoping done to understand the landscape, the issues, and the existing social capital. This scoping process can look like testing the health of the landscape, interviewing community members, and conducted participatory activities. For example, I helped conduct a fasal chakra for a community to understand cropping systems and periods of farm activity in that village.
Workshops are conducted to invite all relevant actors to deliberate on these issues, come up with strategies for the landscape, and delineate roles and responsibilities for all actors. These strategies are then implemented, with the help of the support systems, who coordinate with external actors (such as district collectors, funders, etc.) and track the initiatives.
It is with hope that we move forward with the implementation of all initiatives and are able to understand the outcomes of our efforts. This will help us amend strategies and scale them up to other landscapes in the future.
