Columbia University and IICA convene international leaders to design new narrative illuminating essential role of Latin American agriculture for planet
New York, September 24, 2024 (IICA) - Political leaders, executives of major international organizations, researchers and representatives of the private sector and civil society – all leaders in their field – will participate in an unprecedented discussion on ways to construct a new narrative highlighting the value of agriculture in Latin America.
The planned exchange is the result of a major effort by Columbia University's School of Climate and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The partnership is designed to shed light on the true contribution of agriculture in the region to food security, environmental balance and global social stability.
Participants will include the President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Mohammed Irfaan Ali, and the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero. Also participating will be Izabella Teixeira, former Minister of Environment of Brazil and IICA Special Advisor for the G20 and COP 29 and 30; Jeffrey Shaman, Acting Dean of Columbia's School of Climate, a multidisciplinary faculty researching the climate crisis; Marcos Molina dos Santos, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Marfrig Global Foods; and Cynthia Rosenzweig, Senior Research Scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and Adjunct Research Scientist at the Columbia Climate School's Center for Climate Systems Research (CCSR).
WHAT: Creating a New Narrative for Agriculture in Latin America
WHEN: 3:30 to 5:30 pm, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024
WHERE: The Forum at Columbia University, Room 301, 601 W 125th, New York, NY 10027
The mission of the Columbia Climate School is to further knowledge and educate leaders to achieve equitable and just solutions to the changing climate and related sustainability challenges.
IICA, for its part, has been working with various partners to showcase the role of the agricultural sector in the Americas as a source of solutions to climate change, while at the same time strengthening awareness of the region’s contributions to social peace, food and nutritional security and the development of national science, technology and innovation systems.
Background
Latin America and the Caribbean is the world's largest net exporter of food, making it a guarantor of global food security. The region is essential for the environmental sustainability of the planet, as it has 50% of the world's known biodiversity and 35% of freshwater reserves, among other things. The challenge of communicating this with a renewed narrative will be the subject of the debate.
Another issue to be addressed will be the link between agriculture and energy security. The debate will focus on the role that bioenergy is destined to play in rural areas and its place in a communication strategy aimed at strengthening the role of agricultural.
The value of capital and natural assets for sustainable agriculture, which must be a pillar of national and regional strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus contribute to climate change mitigation, will also be discussed.
Additional speakers will include Juan Pablo Bonilla, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Manager of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); Ismahane Elouafi, Executive Director of CGIAR; Paulo Pianez Junior, Director of Sustainability and Communication of Marfrig; Joao Francisco Adrien Fernandes, Head at Banco Itaú of the ESG Strategy, which focuses on social, environmental and climate challenges; Marcelo Brito, President of the Dom Cabral Foundation and Executive Secretary of the Amazon Initiative Consortium; and University of Colombia researchers Walter Baethgen and Glenn Denning.
In addition, participants will include Christian Asinelli, vice president of CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean; Laura Suazo, Secretary of Agriculture of Honduras; Silvia Fonseca Massruhá, president of Empresa Brasileña de Pesquisa Agropecuaria (EMBRAPA); and Luis Correa Carvalho, president of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association (ABAG).
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int