Soul of Rurality

IICA’s recognition of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas is part of an initiative that seeks to turn the spotlight on men and women who are leaving their mark and making a difference in the rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.

It pays tribute to those who play an unparalleled dual role: as guarantors of food and nutritional security and as caretakers of the planet’s biodiversity. It also emphasizes their capacity to drive positive changes in the rural areas of the region. For all these reasons, these individuals are the Soul of Rurality.

Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

Costa Rican high school students, creators of a module for the promotion and dissemination of silvopastoral goat farming, recognized by IICA as Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

This initiative promotes agricultural education and training among young people and producers in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, selling goat milk-based products in their communities.

Odette Varela, General Director of the National School of Agriculture, is recognized by IICA as a Leader of Rurality of the Americas for her work to strengthen smallholders in El Salvador

The Leaders of Rurality award is a recognition for those who fulfill an irreplaceable double role: being guarantors of food and nutritional security and at the same time guardians of the planet's biodiversity through production in any circumstance.

Indigenous Amazonian collector and entrepreneur Katia Silene Tonkyre, the first woman cacique of her village, will receive IICA’s “Soul of Rurality” award, which recognizes Leaders of Rurality of the Americas

The award is part of an initiative of the agency specializing in agricultural and rural development to recognize men and women who are leaving a mark and making a difference in rural areas of the Americas.

Andrea Ballestero, a Uruguayan artisanal fisherwoman who has blazed a trail in this traditionally male occupation, has been named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

The Leaders of Rurality of the Americas award pays tribute to those who are playing a unique dual role, both as guarantors of food and nutritional security, as well as custodians of the planet’s biodiversity, by producing under all manner of circumstances.

Yessica Yana, an indigenous woman who operates a drone that makes agriculture in the Bolivian Altiplano more efficient, named a “Leader of Rurality” by IICA

Yana grew up in Villa Puni, a small community in the department of La Paz, on the shores of Lake Titicaca and more than 3800 meters above sea level. Most of the people who live there engage in fishing and the production of crops such as potatoes, quinoa, broad beans and barley, despite having to contend with the poor quality of soils in the area.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Office of the Director General

Directors Emeritus

Members

Observer countries

Associated​

IICA 3D

CIMAG

AgroArt