Welcome to our second edition of 2018.
As I prepare to write this introduction to our March-April newsletter, I realize how active these last two months have been for our Institute and for our Delegation here in Washington, D.C. If you want to have a greater view of all IICA´s work, I invite you to visit www.iica.int
As I prepare to write this introduction to our March-April newsletter, I realize how active these last two months have been for our Institute and for our Delegation here in Washington, D.C. This newsletter shares a summary of some of those activities that we have selected to highlight IICA´s contribution to agriculture and rural life in the Americas. This includes working with authorities to improve the understanding and the development of science-based regulations regarding biotechnology, to local work helping farmers to recover from the past hurricane season in the Caribbean. If you want to have a greater view of all IICA´s work, I invite you to visit www.iica.int
During the last week of February and the first few days of March, we received the visit of our Director General, Dr. Manuel Otero. During this visit, Dr. Otero met with higher authorities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of State, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and with representatives from the Private Sector. During these meetings, he shared his views on agriculture and the future of the Institute, stressing his commitment to work to make agriculture more relevant for the economic growth of IICA member countries, reaching several agreements to continue to work together in the pursuit of this higher goal.
On March 22nd, during the 2018 Global Food Security Symposium, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, released a new policy report with the title “Youth for Growth: Transforming Economies through Agriculture”. In this report, the council highlights the challenges that youth face around the world and the importance that agriculture plays in addressing them. For us, it has been an honor to collaborate in the preparation of this report and we invite you to read it at https://digital.thechicagocouncil.org/youth-for-growth
During the month of March, we also had the opportunity to deliver a keynote address at the 2017 International Symposium on Agroindustry, organized by the students of the Agroindustry Department of the “Universidad Autonoma Chapingo”, in Mexico. This event, which is was entirely organized and administered by undergraduate students, attracted more than 1000 young professionals interested in all aspects of agro industrial transformation, value added and food security. To have had the opportunity to address this audience revitalized my belief that the future of agriculture is in good hands. The new generation of students is seriously committed to make this a better and more equitable world. I congratulate the organizers of this event and I hope they continue to inspire us.
On April 26th, we had the opportunity to represent IICA at the CLA Spring Conference where we shared IICA´s role in crop protection and trade. This presentation, which was prepared in collaboration with our Animal and Plant Health and Food Safety Flagship Project, highlighted IICA´s work on food safety, which focused on three major areas of work: SPS Agreement, Modernization of National Services and Emerging issues and Emergencies. I invite our readers to contact Dr. Robert Ahern at robert.ahern@iica.int and Dr. Horrys Friaca at horrys.friaca@iica.int, for further information on this very relevant work for trade and food security.
During the last two months, we also have been working with the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) to strengthen the work of the Inter-American Task Force on Non Communicable Diseases. These diseases are the cause of more than 5 million deaths annually in the Americas and 35% of them occur in people ages 30-70. Producing affordable healthy food is one of the many interventions that could help to address this pressing issue in the region. IICA, as the leading agency in the Americas for agriculture and rural life, has an important role to play. We will continue to work with PAHO, other Inter-American and International Institutions and the Private Sector to address this issue.
One afternoon early in April, we had the opportunity to visit the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA), which is part of the Organization of American States and home to a very rich and impressive collection of art from prominent artist of the Americas. I encourage our readers to take the time to visit it and enjoy the current and permanent exhibits.
I look forward to continue working with all of you.
Sincerely,
Miguel Garcia-Winder,
IICA´s Representative in the United States.
Miguel.garcia@iica.int
Twitter @mgwmex
*The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and they do not reflect the position of the Institute on the topics presented.
*This post appears in the IICA Delegation in the USA Newsletter – March – April 2018
