San José, 11 March 2026 (IICA) – The growing complexity of agrifood systems, in a shifting geopolitical and technological context, calls for a new generation of public policies in Latin America and the Caribbean and recognition of their close links with nutrition, health and the conservation of natural resources.
This is the conclusion of a new publication by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its partners, which warns that more innovative, coordinated and differentiated policies focused on the provision of public goods are needed, supported by multi-actor and multilevel governance schemes to drive sustainable and inclusive transformations.
“Overcoming the structural traps of low growth, high inequality and ineffective governance requires a new generation of public policies that integrate sustainability, inclusion and robust governance”, states the document, coordinated by Joaquín Arias, head of IICA’s Public Policy Observatory for Agrifood Systems (OPSAa).
OPSAa is a digital platform (https://opsaa.iica.int/en) that serves as a meeting point for exchanging knowledge and promoting a new generation of public policies that strengthen agrifood systems in the Americas. Through this tool, IICA aims to support decision-making by policymakers and foster partnerships, cooperation and the exchange of experiences among actors and countries in the region.
The 60-page document is a collective work prepared by experts from IICA and strategic partner institutions, entitled “Transition to a new generation of public policies for agrifood systems”.
The publication analyzes the historical evolution of the role of agricultural production in economic and social development, as well as its transition toward the current concept of agrifood systems, which encompasses a broad set of actors, activities and processes, from primary production to industrial processing and final consumption.
This shift poses new challenges for the design of modern policies, which today must incorporate, among other attributes, a long-term vision, be based on consensus and strike a balance between efficiency and risk management, including the growing exposure to sanitary, climate and biological shocks such as the spread of transboundary pests and diseases. They must also incorporate phases of experimentation, learning and adaptation.
The institutions that worked on the document alongside IICA are the Bioversity-CIAT Alliance —part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)— the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), CAF–Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
The authors are Joaquín Arias, Diego Arias, Jesús Antón, Carmine Paolo De Salvo, Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla, Miguel Guzmán, Pedro Martel, Deissy Martínez, Martín Piñeiro, Valeria Piñeiro and Monica Rodrigues.
The document examines public policies directed at the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean throughout history and across different countries. In this regard, it highlights the need for public policies to evolve toward a more comprehensive approach to agrifood systems, recognizing that their increasing complexity poses substantial challenges for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies.
The publication warns that the interdependence between the stages of production, processing, trade and consumption—and among the multiple actors and territories involved—expands policy objectives, multiplies interactions and requires managing risks, tensions and trade-offs that cannot be addressed through traditional sectoral approaches.
These dynamics, shaped simultaneously by biophysical factors—such as water, soil and biodiversity—and by socioeconomic factors such as income, employment and nutritional health, are particularly exposed to threats that do not recognize national borders, such as pests and diseases.
The document also notes that the deterioration of natural resources must be addressed by strengthening science and technology, as well as through the development of regulatory frameworks and incentives that promote sustainable practices.
The authors acknowledge that although technological advances will redefine rural productivity, global fragmentation could limit technology transfer, highlighting the need to strengthen regional cooperation and national efforts in science, technology and innovation.
Challenging context
In a global and regional context of profound change—marked by geopolitical tensions, greater market uncertainty, shifts in consumer preferences, accelerating technological change and growing environmental and social pressures—the role of agriculture has been transformed significantly, increasing its complexity and expanding the expectations placed on the sector.
The study explains that the global agricultural sector incorporated technologies that increased productivity, which in turn made it possible to expand production and reduce hunger worldwide.
However, new nutritional challenges have emerged and are spreading rapidly, the most significant being the rise in overweight and obesity. This has shifted food priorities, which in many parts of the world now focus on “healthy diets” and greater concern for food safety.
The publication presents a number of examples of countries that have implemented successful agricultural policies to promote sustainability, innovation and resilience in the sector in challenging contexts.
Through these highlighted examples, the study emphasizes that long-term policies are essential to ensure security and stability, as well as to enable the transformations required in agrifood systems.
Another key point highlighted in the work is that public policies, to be effective and transformative, must be based on solid and up-to-date evidence and also on consensus, ensuring they are inclusive and capable of enduring through political changes.
The document also underscores the importance of strengthening governance and public institutions, broadening the perspective beyond ministries of agriculture and effectively articulating multiple sectors and actors.
One of the main challenges in the transition toward a new generation of policies for agrifood systems, the study notes, is the need to reorient policy instruments toward the generation of public goods, moving from traditional subsidy or support schemes toward results-based incentives with significant and lasting impacts on the development of agrifood systems.
The publication “Transition to a new generation of public policies for agrifood systems” is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/11324/24212
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
