Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Territorial Development and Family Farming

The program will focus on collaboration with governments and social, economic and entrepreneurial family farming (FF) cooperatives, with a view to promoting the design and application of public policies aimed at fostering systemic competitiveness in rural areas, mid-sized cities, production units and businesses. The program will also seek to integrate various concepts into cooperation activities, such as the notion of institutional quality, public investment policies and the promotion of private investment and associative efforts.

To this end, the program will continue to contribute to the design and implementation of policies, programs and projects to facilitate the inclusion of FF production in agrifood systems, as well the development of a new generation of public policies. There will be a focus on associative strategies that facilitate agricultural competitiveness, ecosystem sustainability, mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, the reduction of depopulation and migration, and coordination and investment in public and private enterprises in rural areas. The program will work with countries to:

  • Promote and support the development of a new generation of public FF policies that drive the development of rural territories and agrifood systems. The aim is to ensure the inclusion of family farming production units and to increase their supply and demand capacity, through their promotion and inclusion in effective and efficient cooperative enterprises, by way of public-private partnerships.
  • Facilitate the social and economic inclusion of FF in agrifood systems, through technical cooperation activities.
  • Contribute to enhancing FF competitiveness in rural areas and agrifood systems, by developing associative capacities, with a focus on promoting cooperative efforts.
  • Spearhead actions to strengthen the capacities of regional policy integration organizations and institutions to stimulate discourse on territorial development- and FF-related public policies.

Specialist

Program Manager

 

Technical team

 

Advisory team

  • Álvaro Ramos, Uruguay
  • José Emilio Guerrero, Spain

Contact us

Mario León Frutos

Program manager

mario.leon@iica.int

Technical Cooperation Direction

dct@iica.int

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Multimedia

Explore our videos and discover IICA’s impact on agriculture and rural development throughout the region.

Headquarters, Sede Central

November 26, 2025

COP30. Day 10. Block 3

Headquarters, Sede Central

November 26, 2025

COP30. Day 10. Block 2

: Reunión de representantes del sector lechero frente a banderas institucionales en Costa Rica, en el marco de iniciativas para impulsar la sostenibilidad de la lechería en América Latina y el Caribe, con participación de organismos regionales como IICA y FEPALE.

San José, Costa Rica

May 19, 2026

IICA and the Pan-American Dairy Federation strengthen strategic agenda for the sustainable development of the regional dairy sector

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

May 19, 2026

Brazil’s Vice Minister of Agriculture and Director General of IICA discuss the launch of a Regional Agricultural Innovation Hub to bring more technology and knowledge to the Caribbean and Central America

The “Regional Hub for Innovation and Sustainable Agriculture” in Georgetown, Guyana, is envisioned as a center of excellence for innovation, technology transfer and agricultural training aimed at making concrete contributions to increasing the productivity and resilience of regional agrifood systems.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Bogotá, Colombia

May 15, 2026

Colombia and IICA agree to strengthen joint work in support of agricultural modernization during visit by the Institute’s Director General to Bogotá

The Government of Colombia and the IICA agreed to strengthen their partnership in support of the modernization and resilience of the country’s agriculture sector, in order to help improve productivity and living conditions in rural areas.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins