Discussions in the Hanoi forum will focus on the transformations needed to enable food systems to contribute to overcoming the overlapping and interrelated crises now facing humanity, due to climate change, loss of biodiversity, inflation, the energy situation, hunger, malnutrition and the war in Eastern Europe.

The induction ceremony was carried out during an extraordinary public session led by Jorge Errecalde, Chair of the Academy, at its headquarters in the city of Buenos Aires, where Otero then delivered a lecture on “The Challenges Facing Agrifood Systems in the 21st Century”. The Director General of IICA will be a corresponding member of the Academy in Costa Rica, which is home to the headquarters of the organization specializing in agricultural and rural development.

The regional seminar “The Road to Sustainability in Livestock Farming in the Americas” provided an opportunity to present data, scientific evidence and information on the contribution of livestock farming. Specialists discussed ways to reduce environmental impacts and achieve sustainable and profitable production.

The three working days were designed to improve participants’ knowledge of electronic phytosanitary certification; increase the participation of countries in the region; exchange information among countries; promote networks of experts and identify areas for cooperation.

The rural connectivity study is a continuation of and update to the first study on this issue, which IICA and its partners undertook in 2020. That study revealed that 77 million people had no access to quality internet services.