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 19, 2025

The IDB and IICA announce technical cooperation to support implementation of the ACTO-led Strategy for Sustainable Economies for the Amazon

At COP30, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a new technical cooperation effort aimed at supporting implementation of the Strategy for Sustainable Economies for the Amazon, approved recently by the member countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Belém do Pará, Brazil

November 19, 2025

The reality of the Central American Dry Corridor, a region highly vulnerable to extreme climate events, was discussed at COP30: innovation is the key for achieving resilient agriculture

The Central American Dry Corridor is an area affected by recurrent droughts as well as extreme rainfall, whose impact is worsened by poverty and the degradation of natural resources.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

November 18, 2025

An agriculture sector that protects the environment is more productive and profitable, according to producer associations speaking in the IICA COP30 pavilion

The pavilion established by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its partners at the world’s largest environmental discussion forum hosted a dialogue on the need to produce more food amidst the reality of natural resource degradation.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins