Specialists unveiled the main conclusions that the three international organizations recommend to promote the development of rural in LAC
More than a hundred actors of the agricultural sector in Spain became familiar with the policy recommendations that three international agencies consider necessary to return the dynamism to agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and to boost the development of rural territories.
Achieving a competitive, sustainable and equitable agriculture is not only a governmental task, it involves a joint effort with farmers, other international organizations and the private enterprise.
This is indicated by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in a publication jointly presented in Spain.
“In addition to continuing to work on policies on financing, innovation, infrastructure, value chains, risk management, etc., mechanisms need to be built to allow for greater inter-institutional coordination and the application of a participatory approach in formulating, building and implementing policies for agriculture, “said IICA representative in the United States, Miguel Garcia.
Garcia, who also serves as director of the Center for Strategic Analysis for Agriculture (CAESPA) IICA, presented the publication, which contains the main perspectives of agriculture and rural development in the Americas.
He also shared the trends and perspectives of the macroeconomic and sectoral context, agriculture, livestock, fisheries and rural welfare to conclude with a review of the policies and institutions of the sector in the region.
The event was organized by IICA and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) of Spain. The undersecretary of Agriculture, Jaime Haddad Sánchez de Cueto; the FAO official in Spain, Arturo Angulo; and the coordinator of the Permanent Office for Europe of IICA, Soraya Villarroya were in charge of opening the event .
The undersecretary highlighted the commercial ties between LAC and Spain, since Spain is one of the main investors in LAC, and LAC is the second trading partner of Spain, after the European Union.
“In recent years, Spain has strengthened relations with Latin America, intensifying technical cooperation through joint projects in such fields as rural development, risk management, strengthening of the cooperative sector, promotion of organic agriculture, the development of geographical indications, the control of dams, the management of watersheds or the reuse of water, “he said.
The publication discussed in this event is prepared by a ministerial mandate and is presented, in the first instance, at the meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (one of the governing bodies of IICA), every two years.
Following the presentation of the report, the symposium “Integrated risk management in family agriculture”, moderated by the professor of the Polytechnic University of Madrid, José María Sumpsi was held.
The speakers during the symposium included the president of Cajamar, Eduardo Baamonde; the director of the State Agrarian Insurance Agency (ENESA), José María García de Francisco; the deputy director of the Center for Studies and Research for Risk and Environmental Management (CEIGRAM), Isabel Bardají; the representative of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID), Ana-Regina Segura; and FAO chief economist Cristian Morales.
The event was attended by officials from MAGRAMA and other public and private entities, representatives from the private sector , cooperation agencies, autonomous communities, agrarian unions and producer organizations, academia, university students and diplomatic personnel from the Embassies of Bolivia , Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Spain has been an Associate State to IICA since 2001, and since then, it has made available to the Institute the opening of a Permanent Office for Europe, which this year celebrates 15 years of its opening in Spain. Currently, it is located in Madrid, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of Spain.
More information: soraya.villarroya@iica.es / miguel.garcia@iica.int
CHIL.ORG relay event: http://agricultura-y-desarrollo-rural.chil.me
*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 – September – December 2016
