La Semana de la Agricultura Digital (SAD), iniciativa liderada por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA), cuya tercera edición se realizará en septiembre y reunirá a los más importantes actores del ecosistema agtech de las Américas, fue lanzada oficialmente en un webinar junto a los socios que la hacen posible.
San Jose, 15 May 2024 (IICA) – Digital Agriculture Week (DAW), an initiative led by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), whose third edition will be held in September and will bring together the most important stakeholders of the AgTech ecosystem of the Americas, was officially launched during a webinar with the partners involved in the event.
The launch event marked the beginning of the so-called Pre-Week of Digital Agriculture, during which, over the course of four days, relevant digitalization topics will be addressed, giving continuity to debates and actions initiated during previous editions and anticipating aspects that will be addressed in the 2024 edition.
Since its creation in 2022, DAW has become a forum for strategic reflection on the digitalization of agrifood systems, and as a catalyst for collaboration between AgTechs, investment funds, large companies, farmer organizations, research institutes, ministries, public entities and multilateral organizations.
Based on the DAW, IICA developed the AgTech Network of the Americas, comprised of 30 leaders who provide digital solutions for different challenges in the agrifood sector and who participated in previous editions.
DAW 2024 will take place between September 23 and 27 at IICA headquarters, in San Jose, Costa Rica, and 15 selected startups will travel to participate in person with all expenses paid. AgTech companies in countries of the Americas who provide digital solutions that are already available for use can apply on the website https://www.semanaad.iica.int/?lang=en
The selection will be made by a qualified jury selected by IICA based on the potential of digital solutions to improve the production, sustainability and inclusion of agrifood systems. AgTech applications led by women will be received with special interest. AgTechs not selected to travel will be able to participate in the DAW virtually and will also be linked to the IICA Network.
Producing more with less
The Deputy Director General of IICA, Lloyd Day, participated in the opening ceremony of the Pre-Week of Digital Agriculture, together with the Director of Technical Cooperation, Muhammad Ibrahim, and the Manager of the Institute’s Program on the Digitalization of Agrifood Systems, Federico Bert.
“We have seen how the world has completely changed in the last 30 years with the digital revolution, which is now reaching agriculture. This is very important for the entire planet, which needs to produce more with fewer resources, and it is especially important for our region, which is the food basket of the world”, Day said.
Representatives of the three co-organizers of DAW also participated: CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, ECLAC and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).
“Digitalization offers the opportunity not only to increase productivity, but also to improve the sustainability of agriculture, so it is vital to share knowledge, innovations and best practices among the stakeholders who are committed to the issue”, stated Eduardo Chomali, from CAF.
Marco Llinás, from ECLAC, stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean recently experienced a decade of very poor economic growth, whose annual average was 0.9% between 2014 and 2023. “Our productivity is stagnant and even declining, which reinforces the importance of making an effort to promote digital transformation agendas”, he said.
Andrea Gardeazábal, from CIMMYT, considered that digital innovation has enormous transformative potential: “It can radically change trajectories and results. We promote responsible innovation, in harmony with ethical values, social needs and environmental considerations. And we celebrate that IICA promotes partnerships with these objectives”.
Also participating in the launch event were Angelica Acosta, from the Colombian AgTech IncluirTec, and Sergio Rebollo, from Campo Matic, a startup with presence in Chile and Uruguay, who were part of the 2023 edition of DAW and described what the experience meant for them and their companies and the support that IICA gave them.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
