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

Bahamas

February 5, 2026

Minister of Agriculture of The Bahamas and IICA Representative continue to make progress with distribution of supplies to farmers affected by Hurricane Melissa

The Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources of The Bahamas, Jomo Campbell, and the Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in The Bahamas, Mari Dunleavy, and her team, received agricultural inputs for distribution in the district of Exuma to support farmers affected by Hurricane Melissa.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Panama City

February 2, 2026

The IICA Director General  and the CAF President and Vice President discuss the role of financing in expanding the scientific and technological revolution in agriculture of the Americas

In meeting, they analyzed new and better synergies between the development bank and the specialized agency in agricultural and rural development, specifically in issues such as health, soil health and restoration, water resources and specific crops.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

January 30, 2026

On his first international mission, the new Director General of IICA places agricultural development cooperation at the center of the Latin American and Caribbean agenda

The new Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, took part in the International Economic Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by CAF, where he held meetings with senior authorities from Jamaica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Panama and other international organizations, seeking to scale up programs and projects aimed at underpinning agricultural development, the well-being of rural producers and food security in the region.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins