Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Competitiveness Inclusion Sustainable development

Meeting of delegates of the countries of the Americas gets under way

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

At an activity being held prior to the most important ministerial meeting on agriculture in the Americas, the delegates are discussing an inter-American declaration intended to promote agricultural productivity and rural inclusion.

Representatives of 31 countries of the Americas attended the meeting.

Cancun, 19 October 2015 (IICA). The ministerial delegates of the countries of the Americas today began presenting the positions of their respective States on productivity, development, and rural inclusion, with a view to consolidating an inter-American declaration aimed at promoting joint activities on those issues.

This activity is a curtain raiser to the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2015, the most important high-level forum for inter-American agriculture, which will begin on 20 October on the Riviera Maya.

The delegates, the direct representatives of the ministers of agriculture of the Member States of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), will engage in discussions before issuing a mandate on Thursday designed to guide actions in the region’s agricultural sector over the next two years.

The Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos, was the first to speak at the meeting, underscoring the great responsibility that the delegates have to construct shared desires and common proposals on the topic of agriculture.

“The position that each one of you will have to express is a reflection of the thinking of the heads of the agricultural bodies, and ultimately, of the vision your countries have of agricultural development”, remarked Villalobos.

The Meeting of Delegates is being chaired by Ricardo Aguilar Castillo, Under-Secretary of Food and Competitiveness of SAGARPA in Mexico.

Villalobos informed the meeting that the final declaration approved by the ministers of agriculture would be presented to the Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS), as it forms part of the Summits of the Americas process in which the continent’s Heads of State and Government are directly involved.

In concluding, Villalobos stated that “the Declaration is not binding in the legal sense, but as a political expression, it is of great value because it serves to send a message of Inter-American unity and commitment to the agricultural sector”.

The meeting of delegates will conclude tomorrow. The countries taking part are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela.

More information: héctor.iturbe@iica.int

Share

Related news​

San José, Costa Rica

June 5, 2025

At IICA, Costa Rican cacao producers are recognized for the excellence of their products and for their contribution to rural development and nutrition in the region

Experts analyzed 15 samples of cacao from various parts of the Central American country, with the five that received the highest scores then declared winners of the 2025 competition. The same five samples were sent to Rome, Italy, where they will represent Costa Rica in the international “Cacao of Excellence” competition, the stepping stone to the International Cocoa Awards.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Turrialba, Costa Rica

June 3, 2025

On a study visit to Costa Rica, ministers of Agriculture, rural youth and women of the Eastern Caribbean were introduced to improved agricultural practices

The mission began with two days of activities at IICA Headquarters in San Jose, including meeting with the IICA Director General, Manuel Otero. The visitors then travelled to CATIE.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

June 2, 2025

Ibero-America sees biofuels as a solution to decarbonize the energy sector  

The annual meeting of the Ibero-American Association of Energy Regulators (ARIAE), held in San Jose and Guanacaste, Costa Rica, featured the II Entrepreneurial Forum, attracting 200 participants, including the Costa Rican Minister of Environment and Energy, the Executive Secretary of the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and authorities of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB); the XV Regular Annual Meeting of the ARIAE General Assembly, which was attended by 17 regulatory agencies of ARIAE; and the XXVI Annual Meeting of ARIAE Energy Regulators.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins