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

San José, Costa Rica

March 12, 2026

IICA supports the validation process for Costa Rica’s National Bio-inputs Strategy led by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

The Strategy is a public policy instrument designed to organize national actions, coordinate actors and define strategic priorities in order to strengthen bio-input development, use and innovation in this Central American nation.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

March 11, 2026

A new publication by IICA and its partners explores public policies needed to transform agrifood systems and promote economic and social development

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.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

March 10, 2026

Leaders from 12 Latin American countries discussed how to consolidate and deepen regional advances in bioeconomy, at a meeting organized by the governments of Panama and the United Kingdom together with the IICA.

Some 80 leaders from 12 Latin American countries exchanged experiences on the significant advances they are making in the bioeconomy and discussed, together with delegates from the United Kingdom, the policies, strategies and investments needed to translate the region’s comparative advantages into global leadership.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins