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

Asuncion, Paraguay

March 25, 2026

IICA and the Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural Technology jointly organized a regional meeting in Asuncion on agricultural scientific cooperation between Korea and Latin America

IICA highlighted the value of the international cooperation forum that promotes knowledge exchange and coordination between countries and scientific institutions.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

March 25, 2026

Agricultural waste could be converted into electricity in Costa Rica under a new project promoted by the Ministry of Environment and Energy and IICA

Every sugar harvest and every agroindustrial process in Costa Rica leaves behind tons of agri-food byproducts, but what hitherto has been an environmental challenge could be transformed into a new source of clean electricity that would boost the Central American country’s energy security and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Quito, Ecuador

March 23, 2026

IICA promotes the conservation of the Andean blueberry and agrobiodiversity in Ecuador through the Sacha Ñawi project

The initiative aims to conserve edible wild species and their agricultural relatives, strengthen agrobiodiversity, and generate sustainable opportunities for rural communities.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins