During its annual meeting, the Advisory Commission of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) analyzed operational matters together with the Director General, Manuel Otero, who received support to continue restructuring the specialized agency.
San Jose, 9 May 2019 (IICA). The official delegations of eight member countries of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) supported the initiatives of the Institute’s Director General, Manuel Otero, which are geared toward renewing and strengthening the operational capacity of the specialized agency for agricultural and rural development. These efforts will allow for responding more efficiently to the technical cooperation needs of countries across the hemisphere.
The delegates of the ministries and secretariats of Agriculture in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Honduras (represented at the meeting by Mauricio Guevara, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock), Jamaica, Mexico, the United States and Uruguay supported the initiatives that Otero is implementing in order to strengthen IICA through integrated planning, a process culture, resource mobilization and rationalization, as well as knowledge management and institutional outreach.
On May 8, the delegations participated in the meeting of the Special Advisory Commission on Management Issues (SACMI) of IICA, which comprises several member countries of the Institute. During this annual meeting, the General Directorate analyzes strategic, financial and administrative matters together with the corresponding representatives.
SACMI members are selected from IICA’s 34 Member States, on a rotating basis. The Commission’s meeting is held prior to the annual meeting of the Executive Committee, one of IICA’s governing bodies, whose members are also appointed on a rotating basis. The upcoming meeting of the Executive Committee will take place in July.
In anticipation of this meeting, SACMI participants requested that the Director General expand on certain issues, such as the establishment of partnerships and institutional management.
“Our renewal efforts are aimed at complying with a resolution issued by the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) in 2015, which underscores the need to restructure and strengthen IICA,” stated Otero during the SACMI meeting, which brought together IICA authorities at the Headquarters in Costa Rica with delegations in the other countries via videoconference.
The SACMI and the Executive Committee meetings are held prior to the biennial meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), IICA’s highest governing body, comprising the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas. This year, the IABA meeting will be held in October in Costa Rica.
Manuel Otero was elected Director General of IICA by the IABA in 2017, for the period 2018-2022. The Institute’s Medium-term Plan for the four-year period is based on the following hemispheric programs:
- Bioeconomy and Production Development
- Territorial Development and Family Farming
- International Trade and Regional Integration
- Climate Change, Natural Resources and Management of Production Risks
- Agricultural Health, Safety and Food Quality.
Additionally, each program incorporates two cross-cutting issues: Gender and Youth, as well as Innovation and Technology.
More information:
Miguel Ángel Arvelo, IICA Chief of Staff.
