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

San José

May 26, 2026

New Minister of Agriculture of Costa Rica and IICA coordinate joint cooperation agenda to strengthen the resilience, innovation and competitiveness of Costa Rican agriculture

Minister Ramírez and the Director General of IICA discussed issues such as the response plan for the El Niño phenomenon, improving the competitiveness of the sector, modernization of the ministry, agribusiness, bioinputs, and the promotion of innovation, research and development.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Comayagua, Honduras

May 26, 2026

Honduran President Nasry Asfura highlighted the importance of IICA’s contribution to providing incentives to producers and rural families affected by drought in this Central American country

IICA is assisting with the procurement of inputs to sustain productivity in the cultivation of staple grains and coffee, as well as in livestock farming, which contributes to the effectiveness and transparency of the assistance, the President stated.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Kingston, Jamaica

May 25, 2026

Jamaica to host 2026 Caribbean Week of Agriculture, which will have a focus on innovation and IICA as one of its organizers

The twentieth edition of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture  entitled “The New Face of Caribbean Food Systems”  will be held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 27 September to 2 October. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will be one of its organizers.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins