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.

November 17, 2025

COP30. Day 7. Block 2

November 17, 2025

COP30. Day 7. Block 1

Belém do Pará, Brasil

November 21, 2025

At COP30, IICA Director General-elect holds high-level meetings, presents proposals, and pledges assistance for Bolivia’s new government with drafting of agricultural development plan

The meeting took place in the COP Blue Zone in Belém, the city in Brazil’s Amazon region that has been the focus of the world’s attention for the past two weeks as countries negotiate new commitments for tackling the economic, social and climate challenges facing the planet.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Belém do Pará, Brazil

November 21, 2025

Profitability, collaboration and public policies seen as key to advancing agriculture that restores degraded environments, say private sector and civil society actors at IICA Pavilion at COP30

Participants agreed on placing farmers’ needs at the center of the discussion and stated that it is necessary to expand approaches that reward those who carry out good agricultural practices which, in turn, offer ecosystem benefits.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Panel sobre sostenibilidad y ganadería en la COP30, organizado por el Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA). Expertos internacionales discuten la importancia de la carne vacuna, la reducción de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y las soluciones agropecuarias para enfrentar el cambio climático en Belém do Pará, Brasil.

Belém do Pará, Brasil

November 21, 2025

In the IICA pavilion at COP30, the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef highlighted the importance of animal production for food security and environmental health

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins