An agreement signed by IICA and the World Rural Forum seeks to strengthen the contributions of family farming to food and nutritional security.
San José, Costa Rica, 8 April 2016 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the World Rural Forum (WRF) signed a technical cooperation agreement to promote the sustainable development of family farming and increase its contributions to food and nutritional security and the rural economy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos, and the President of WRF, José María Ceberio, signed the agreement in Costa Rica, formalizing a three-year partnership.
The entities identified common areas of interest, allowing them to focus their cooperation efforts on:
- drafting guidelines for the governance of agrarian systems based on family farming;
- promoting the permanence of family farming in order to drive the creation of public policies and institutional frameworks in favor of its sustainable development;
- attaining recognition of the vital role of women and youth in family farming and of their specific rights; and
- promoting participatory research and studies on the sustainable development of agrarian systems prevalent in family farming.
“Family farming is a strategic topic for IICA: we recognize its importance for the comprehensive and sustainable development of rural territories and our countries. Therefore, any partnerships that entail gaining allies and partners for driving actions that contribute to food security are gratifying,” stated Villalobos.
Ceberio stated that it was critical for producers to receive good technical assistance and training. He also highlighted the partnership’s emphasis on supporting rural youth.
“Young people must prepare to face the great challenges ahead of them. We must make agriculture appealing to them and ensure that it will allow them to earn a decent living, comparable to that of other individuals. Any actions taken to improve on a technical level, in terms of market presence and different aspects of family farming, will play a critical role,” he stated.
Some of the activities that will be carried out by IICA and WRF within the framework of the agreement are international forums, project management, technical missions, knowledge management, and coordination of stakeholders.
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