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

Compartir

Multimedia

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

Canada

May 21, 2025

Plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy

Canada

June 10, 2022

Stratégies qui favorisent à la fois les résultats en matière de développement

San José, Costa Rica

May 29, 2025

Eastern Caribbean ministers of Agriculture—on a visit to IICA with rural youth and women from the region—maintain that fostering rural retention will play a decisive role in guaranteeing regional food security 

The ministers are accompanying more than twenty rural youth and women from the region on a study trip to IICA, organized by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Madrid

May 29, 2025

IICA to award scholarships to four Latin American students to pursue a Master’s Degree in Digital Transformation in Spain

For the fifth consecutive year, IICA will award tuition scholarships to Latin American youth up to the age of 30 to pursue the Master's in Digital Transformation of the Agri-food and Forestry Sector (Digital Agri) at the University of Córdoba (UCO) in Spain. Applications for admission will be open from 2 to 11 June 2025.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San Jose, Costa Rica

May 28, 2025

On a visit to IICA to deepen cooperation, Eastern Caribbean ministers of Agriculture and rural youth commend the community empowerment efforts of Director General Manuel Otero

The award was presented during a study and training mission to IICA Headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica, by rural women and youth of the Caribbean, accompanied by various ministers of Agriculture of the region.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins