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

June 10, 2022

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

Canada

April 5, 2022

Production bovine durable dans les Amériques / Session 1: Intersections entre la production animale et l’environnement

San Jose, Costa Rica

May 8, 2025

Small farmers’ organizations and international agencies meet at IICA Headquarters to bolster family farmers’ leading role in transforming agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean

Strengthening small farmers’ organizations is key to enabling this sector to play a more prominent role in transforming agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean. This was one of the main takeaways of a meeting among family farming representatives, authorities and researchers from international organizations, professionals and policymakers, held at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

May 7, 2025

Akiesha Fergus and Ryan Khadou, a young couple from Saint Kitts and Nevis, recognized by IICA as Leaders of Rurality of the Americas who are demonstrating that rural production can be a great option for younger generations

Akiesha and Ryan—proud parents of little Lyon—have embraced farming as a way of life, proudly calling themselves a rural couple.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

May 5, 2025

At a meeting organized by IICA and attended by stakeholders from 22 countries, experts presented progress in developing disease-resistant banana varieties

The presentation was made to more than 190 stakeholders in the banana production, marketing, and research sectors from 22 countries in the Americas and Europe, all of whom are on alert due to the spread of the Fusarium TR4 fungus.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins