Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agricultural chains Agriculture Food and nutrition security

IICA Director General participates in Summit of the Americas

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

The meeting takes place in Lima this April 13 and 14.

Manuel Otero participated in different activities during his visit to Peru.

Lima, 13 April 2018 (IICA). The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, participated in the Summit of the Americas, where he attended the entrepreneurship forum organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Government of Peru; held meetings with high-level authorities of member states around the hemisphere as well as private sector representatives and signed ambitious agreements with the Andean Community (CAN).

Otero stressed that “Cooperation, institution building, innovation and public-private sector alliances are issues that fall under the agenda of the Summit and coincide with our priorities, including to restructure  IICA into a more decentralized and less bureaucratic institution that brings together parties interested in utilizing international cooperation as an instrument to develop our countries, including the private sector”. 

At the 2018 Summit of the Americas IICA’s Director General met with Peru’s Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Gustavo Mostajo Occola, with whom he committed to strengthening joint action.  He also arrived at a mutual understanding with CAN’s Secretary General, Walker San Miguel, that will foster new initiatives for rural development, including the promotion of trade in family farming products, mechanisms for public-private sector dialogue linked to agrarian activity and greater institution building to enable the formulation of effective public policy.

The Andean Community member states are Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, which together cover a land mass of 3.78 million square kilometers with a population exceeding 120 million, of which close to 30 percent live in rural Andean areas.  “This agreement will help to position IICA as a strategic resource to serve these countries”, stated Otero in signing the agreement.

He emphasized that “We are promoting a vision for this continent’s agriculture that moves away from its role as a mere provider of raw material for global value chains and commits to  transforming agriculture in the Americas into a major generator of value added products, such as processed foods, bioenergy, probiotics, neutraceuticals and biomaterials.”

The Director General of this organization that fosters agricultural development in the Americas also met in Lima with Marie Haga, Executive Director of Crop Trust, which is a non-profit entity with a mission to preserve crop diversity as a means of protecting world food security.

The Summit of the Americas brings together Heads of State and Government to discuss topics of common interest and to finalize agreements and undertake joint initiatives to tackle challenges faced by the countries in the hemisphere.

Prior to his arrival in Peru, Otero attended a meeting of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in the Dominican Republic and held discussions with high-level Dominican authorities.

 

More Information:

José Alfredo Alpízar, Press and Outreach Coordinator

jose.alpizar@iica.int

Share

Related news​

San Jose, Costa Rica

June 30, 2025

More than 150 young Costa Ricans present innovative solutions to transform agriculture at the IICA 2025 Robotics Challenge

The competition featured 39 teams and enabled young participants to gain skills in robotics, data science, and emerging technologies, while contributing through their initiatives to the sustainability and modernization of the agri-food sector.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Ribeirao Preto, Brasil

June 27, 2025

At the IFAMA World Conference, IICA Director General underscored the need to build a new narrative for agriculture to be recognized as essential for solutions to planetary challenges

The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, participated in Brazil in one of the largest global conferences in the agricultural sector, IFAMA, where he emphasized the need to build a new narrative highlighting the essential role of agriculture in the Americas as part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Montreal, Canadá

June 26, 2025

Countries of the Americas positioned themselves as global suppliers of sustainable aviation fuels at key industry event held in Montreal

The Pan American Coalition on Liquid Biofuels (CPBIO) had a prominent role at the Aviation Climate Week of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), held in Montreal (Canada), with the participation of leading actors in the sector who discussed the latest developments in environmental matters.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins