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.

Canada

July 24, 2025

Leaders Panel: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Agriculture Today

Canada

July 24, 2025

Leaders Panel: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Agriculture Today

Tegucigalpa

July 29, 2025

Government of Honduras announces its nomination of Laura Suazo, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock, for the position of Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)

An agricultural engineer, Suazo specialized in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness at Escuela Agrícola Panamericana El Zamorano. She holds a Master’s degree in Agricultural Education and Rural Sociology from Louisiana State University in the United States, and a Doctorate (PhD) in Agricultural Extension with a specialization in International Agriculture and Environmental Sociology from Cornell University in New York.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

July 28, 2025

Ramona Vargas, a renowned community leader from Paraguay who advocates for fair trade and promotes organic sugarcane farming, is honored by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Ramona will receive the Soul of Rurality award, an initiative of the Inter-American System’s specialized agency for agricultural and rural development, aimed at recognizing men and women who leave a mark and make a difference in the rural areas of the continent.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

July 28, 2025

Over 40 leading U.S. agrifood companies highlight their partnership with IICA, which they consider a model for its commitment to public–private collaboration

Representatives of these American companies met virtually with IICA Director General Manuel Otero to convey their support. They also sent a letter to senior U.S. government officials, commending the hemispheric organization’s efficiency and transparency. The letter also praised IICA’s concrete results in preventing the spread of animal and plant diseases across the continent and its collaboration with the private sector.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins