Sustainable Agriculture Roundtable

In January 2003 the Byron Shire Sustainable Agriculture Roundtable (SART) was formed. A focus group were invited to nominate any Shire resident/ratepayer they wished for 17 positions in six categories: Agricultural producers, Landcare and Environment Groups, Value Adders, Researchers and Consultants, Rural residents and Local consumers. A total of 40 nominations were received. The selection of the 17 SART members was done by the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy Steering Committee which is made up of representatives of the project’s original joint sponsors: Byron Shire Council and the Planning NSW Living Centres Team. The first SART members were appointed for an initial terms of 18 months.

The functions of the original SART were:

To develop the strategy for the transition to sustainable agriculture
To advocate for the full implementation of the strategy
To support practical steps towards the transition to sustainable agriculture in Byron Shire and enhancement of agricultural enterprises in Byron Shire
To educate the broad community, farmers, natural resource managers, planners and decision-makers
To advise Local, State and Federal Government policy developers, managers and decision-makers and others on matters relating to the economic viability and environmental sustainability of agriculture in Byron Shire.

The new SART now guides the implementation of the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy 1.06MB