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

May 21, 2025

Plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy

“Panel sobre ciencia, innovación y sostenibilidad agrícola en la COP30, organizado por el IICA en Belém do Pará, Brasil. Expertos discuten la transformación de la agricultura en las Américas mediante tecnología, investigación y sistemas agroalimentarios sostenibles.

Belém do Pará, Brasil

November 12, 2025

Evidence, science and results: IICA panel discussion at COP30 highlights the need for a new narrative on agriculture that demonstrates the important role of the Americas in food and environmental security

Rural leaders, producer organizations and public authorities involved in agricultural research all agreed on the need for a new narrative to demonstrate how farmers in the Americas are transforming their activities, by way of science, technology and innovation, to become guarantors of the world’s food, energy and environmental security, while also increasing resilience and protecting biodiversity.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Belém do Pará, Brasil

November 12, 2025

Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of the Environment of Brazil and a globally renowned expert  on the relationship between economic development and climate, recognized as an IICA Goodwill Ambassador before ministers of Agriculture of the Americas

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Durante la ceremonia de suscripción del convenio, el Director General del IICA, Manuel Otero, recibió un reconocimiento en nombre de EMBRAPA, que entregó su presidenta, Silvia Massruhá, por su contribución y compromiso con la cooperación técnica y científica a favor de una agricultura sostenible e inclusiva en el continente.

Belém do Pará, Brazil

November 11, 2025

At COP30 in Belém do Pará, EMBRAPA and IICA strengthen their partnership to drive science and technology use in Latin American and Caribbean agriculture

At the Agrizone of the conference in Belém do Pará, the two institutions signed an agreement formalizing their cooperation, aimed at implementing the Radar Agtech initiative, which promotes innovation in the agricultural ecosystem, across the entire region.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins