In Costa Rica, IICA and FECAGRO will host talks involving the agricultural federations of the Americas aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture and the development of the sector

San José, 17 July 2024 (IICA). Senior government officials, international experts and leaders of agrifood organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will gather in San José, Costa Rica, on July 22 for the Meeting of Agricultural Federations of the Americas, to promote dialogue and collaboration among key private sector stakeholders in the region designed to tackle the challenges of sustainable agriculture, seize the opportunities it offers, and drive the development of agriculture across the continent.
 
The first of its kind, the meeting is being organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Federation of Chambers of Agriculture (FECAGRO). It will take place at IICA Headquarters and bring together representatives of some 20 federations from the five regions of the Americas (Andean, Central, Caribbean, Northern and Southern).
 
Around 40 participants will seek to identify topics of common interest and joint actions to boost the sector and foster an integrated approach to food security and sustainable development in the region. In addition, they aim to create an inter-American network for public and private sector dialogue on sustainable agriculture.
 
In doing so, they will take into account the context in which the sector presently operates, characterized by huge challenges such as climate change, the scarcity of water resources and soil degradation, a situation that highlights the crucial importance of sustainable agriculture in guaranteeing food security and technological innovation and science-based international trade to improve farmers’ productivity and quality of life.
 
The participants in the meeting will include Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay; Francisco José González, the President of FECAGRO; and the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero.
 
“It is a historic event because it is the first time that IICA has brought the private sector together through the agricultural federations of the Americas. The aim is to discuss important issues with these key stakeholders and listen to their concerns, so we can construct a proactive, joint work agenda. One of the challenges for the future of agriculture is to achieve an integrated approach to production, international trade, science, technology and innovation, and climate change,” Otero remarked.
 
“At FECAGRO we are delighted to be organizing, with IICA, this first Meeting of Agricultural Federations of the Americas, as it is the first time that business leaders from the agriculture sector from across the continent will meet in the same place to discuss and propose solutions to common challenges. I feel sure that, working together we will continue to position the role of agriculture and farmers in global forums,” added the President of FECAGRO, Francisco José González.
At the event, there will be four keynote addresses: the Director of the University of Nottingham Food Systems Institute, Jack Bobo, will speak on technology and innovation for sustainable agriculture, from a global perspective; the President of CropLife Latin America, José Perdomo, on the challenges and opportunities facing the agriculture sector in the Americas; and the Secretary General of the Pan American Dairy Federation (FEPALE), Ariel Londinsky, on the challenges and opportunities for the region’s agricultural production chains.
 
The current chair of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Tayutic Mena, will also give a presentation on access to freer and more open and transparent markets and trade.
 
Gloria Abraham, IICA international consultant and advisor and former Costa Rica Minister of Agriculture and Livestock and Ambassador to the WTO, will present a technical note prepared by the Institute on the promotion of an integrated approach to agriculture in favor of food security and sustainable development in the Americas.
 
The moderators of the meeting will be IICA Deputy Director General Lloyd Day; the Executive Director of the Chamber of Agriculture of Guatemala and FECAGRO, Carla Caballeros; and IICA trade specialist Adriana Campos.
 
This event, which is designed to bring together organizations that represent producers and promote a vision of the agriculture of the future, will be held within the framework of the Forty-fourth Regular Meeting of IICA’s Executive Committee, which will also be meeting, on July 23 and 24, at the Headquarters of the inter-American agency specializing in agriculture and rural development.
 
The Executive Committee is one of IICA’s governing bodies and meets once a year. It is made up of 12 Member States, elected for two-year periods according to the criteria of partial rotation and equitable geographical distribution.

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int

Sofía Barboza Mora, a journalist with the National Chamber of Agriculture and Agroindustry (CNAA).
sbarboza@cnaacr.com