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

Mapeo de Techs del Agro

Brasilia, Brasil

June 23, 2026

AgTech Radar has created the first-ever map of agricultural startups in Latin America and the Caribbean

The AgTech Radar experience developed in Brazil has expanded and, for the first time, has mapped agricultural startups across Latin America and the Caribbean. A total of 2,656 AgTech companies were identified in 23 countries, with the highest concentration located in the Southern Cone.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Cork, Irlanda

June 22, 2026

IICA agreement with German organization Elfin will facilitate access to financing opportunities for agricultural projects in the Americas

The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, signed an agreement in Ireland with the German organization Elfin that will facilitate access to international financing opportunities, capacity building for small-scale producers, value chain integration, and compliance with social, environmental, and governance standards.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Cork, Irlanda

June 22, 2026

In Ireland, at IFAMA Conference, the Director General of IICA argued that strengthening agrifood systems in the Americas is essential not only for the continent itself, but also for global stability

During the discussion, it was pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean is the biggest net food exporting region in the world. It accounts for about 23% of global agrifood exports and around 13% of the global net value of agricultural and fisheries production.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins