Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, 4 June 2026 (IICA) – More than two hundred farmers, technical officers, and representatives of research institutes in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia, took part in an international workshop organized by the Raíces project in Puerto Iguazú, focusing on the conservation, recovery, and decentralized participatory genetic improvement of Creole and native seeds.
The workshop was part of a trinational initiative in Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia, to promote the integration of scientific research, agroecological practices, and traditional knowledge. It was developed in partnership with various international organizations.
The Raíces project is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), through supplementary funding from the European Union, and is being implemented by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). In Argentina, the project benefits 1,200 farming families in the provinces of Misiones and Jujuy.
The Puerto Iguazú event brought together participants with varying rural experiences. It was attended by farmers and technical officers from Misiones and Jujuy, as well as delegations from Brazil and Bolivia. Colombia also participated as a guest country. In total, more than twenty-five organizations representing farmers, indigenous communities, and other seed guardians who are part of the project took part in the workshop, as well as experts from ten academic institutions in Misiones.
Leading national agricultural research institutes in the region were in attendance, such as the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), the National Institute of Agricultural andForestry Innovation (INIAF) of Bolivia, the Argentinian National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), and the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA), thus establishing the event as a forum for coordination between science, rural areas, and farmers.
Regional exchange focusing on farmers
The workshop enabled the participants to share and thoroughly examine strategies aimed at the conservation, production, dissemination and use of seed varieties adapted to various environmental contexts.
Technical presentations and training were delivered by regional specialists, including Altair Machado, a researcher from EMBRAPA, who is an expert in decentralized participatory genetic improvement and who discussed methodologies to develop varieties adapted to local conditions, based on local agrobiodiversity.
The event also provided networking opportunities for the organizations of the various countries, where they shared experiences in the conservation, distribution, and commercialization of seeds, as well as the challenges posed by current regulations governing seed registration and distribution.
Silvina Fariza, a researcher at INTA Cerro Azul, who is the project lead in Argentina, stressed that “the focus is to support farmers on their farms, using their seeds and addressing their needs, to enable them to improve, preserve and sell Creole seeds, under existing regulations.”
Colombian producer and seed guardian, María Belma Echavarría, stressed the importance of changing perceptions regarding the term “improvement.” She said: “Speaking about improvement is something new to us, because we were made to believe that improvement is done in labs and by scientists. However, we now realize that it is something our ancestors were already doing thousands of years ago.”
Rural areas as a space for learning
In Santa Cruz del Monte, the workshop participants and the local community toured the first agrobiodiversity demonstration corridor implemented in Argentina under the Raíces project, involving twelve farming families. The corridor features diversified production systems, cultivating corn in conjunction with sunflower, sunn hemp (crotalaria juncea), sword bean and peanut, thereby promoting agrobiodiversity, soil fertility, and integrated pest management to enhance agrifood system sustainability.
The participants also harvested pre-selected ears of corn during the workshop, working with a Creole variety known as “100 days,” which has been cultivated for more than forty years by farmer and community leader, Valdir de Paula. It is a high-yield variety that is extremely adaptable to variable climate conditions—such as droughts and storms—and has demonstrated outstanding resistance to pests and diseases.
Valdir underscored the intergenerational and collective nature of working with seeds: “From when I was a child, I learned about seed selection and today I see that there are young people who have an interest in continuing the practice. The most important thing that we should do in this corridor is to add other seeds and to work together to continue learning.”
Brazilian farmer and seed guardian, Cintia Reis, stressed that, “This process needs more women and young people to participate. Corridors can play a very important role in helping our rural areas to further develop our seeds and to strengthen food sovereignty.”
Esmeralda Copareare, a farmer and seed guardian from Bolivia, emphasized the technical knowledge that she had gained from the exchange session. “Much of this is quite different to what we have in Beni, but this project has taught us a lot about these techniques. What stood out most to me was how they mark the best stalks in the field.”
Doina Popușoi, the technical officer at IFAD, who is in charge of the Raíces project, underscored the fact that “the aim is to build stronger and more resilient food systems. We are also seeking to promote nutrition and social inclusion, particularly for women, youth, and the indigenous and traditional communities in the food systems, both in terms of production and commercialization.”
On the other hand, Caio Lourenço, Project Supervisor at IICA Brazil, spoke about the value of the collaborative component of the project: “We are working with technical officers and farmers, integrating technical knowledge with local practices. These forums allow us to exchange lessons learned, generate significant results, and disseminate them at the regional level.”
The group also visited a Guarani village in the Puerto Iguazú region, where there were exchange sessions discussing traditional knowledge on seed use, conservation, and diversity. These discussions added a cultural perspective to the technical approach of the workshop, recognizing the historic role of communities in preserving agricultural agrobiodiversity.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
