This was one of the conclusions of the debate on institutional aspects and policy innovations that took place at the Africa-Americas Ministerial Summit on Agricultural and Food Systems, a meeting that brought together ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials of Agriculture, Environment, and Science and Technology from 40 countries.

The data indicate that, in developing countries, productivity growth has slowed down in most regions over the past 20 years.

Since December 2020, Dr. Lal and IICA have obtained positive results in different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean through the “Living Soils of the Americas” initiative, which has coordinated public and private efforts in combating soil degradation, a phenomenon that threatens food production and security.

These conclusions were highlighted at the round table on Science, Technology and Innovation that was part of the first day of the "Africa-Americas Summit on Agri-food Systems", a meeting that brings together ministers, deputy ministers and senior officials of Agriculture, Environment and Science and Technology from 40 countries.

Von Braun stressed that it is essential that the countries of the two regions increase their investment in research, considering that science and technology are key to achieving a more productive and resilient agriculture sector while protecting natural resources.

The Summit, which seeks to foster the sharing of experiences to accelerate positive transformations in agrifood systems, was convened and organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the African Union Development Agency -New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) at a particularly momentous point in time, when global food security is being threatened by a war and overlapping health and environmental crises.