El Salvador and Belize will strengthen joint work with IICA to increase food security and foster the technical training of youth in agriculture
San Jose, 30 June 2023 (IICA). El Salvador and Belize will strengthen their joint work with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to drive the modernization of the agriculture sector, consolidate their production chains and increase food security in their territories, stated the leading agricultural authorities of both countries during a visit to Costa Rica.
Óscar Enrique Guardado Calderón, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of El Salvador, and Sérvulo Matías Baeza, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Belize, met with the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, at the Institute’s headquarters in San Jose, where they discussed the need to bolster cooperation and integration within the region’s agriculture sector.
During the meeting, Guardado stressed the importance of strengthening El Salvador’s institutional framework, as well as improving the country’s food security. He and Otero agreed to define concrete actions to improve technical skills and foster the training of leaders in the country’s agriculture sector.
"El Salvador is innovating in precision agriculture and IICA is a key ally in the development of these activities, which will revitalize the country’s economy”, commented Guardado.
The Minister added that IICA is a valuable partner that provides technical assistance and training to develop tomorrow’s agriculture in his country.
In the case of Belize, Baeza underscored the need to modernize the agriculture sector and consolidate production chains in order to improve the country’s integration with the Caribbean and Central American regions.
He also underscored the challenge of involving the younger generations in Belize’s agriculture sector. In that regard, he considered that IICA could assist by providing youth with opportunities to play a leading role in modernizing the sector.
“IICA has been extremely helpful in dealing with disease outbreaks in Belize’s agriculture sector. The Institute’s assistance has been crucial in securing resources and providing technical assistance to curb the spread of diseases to other parts of the country”, explained Baeza.
The authorities of the two countries agreed on priority technical actions during the pro tempore presidency of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC), which Belize will pass on to El Salvador in the second half of 2023.
The CAC is comprised of the ministers and secretaries of Agriculture of Central America. IICA serves as its Executive Secretariat.
While touring the IICA of Open Doors together with Guardado and Baeza, Manuel Otero highlighted the relevance of the technical cooperation delivered in El Salvador and Belize, and commented on the importance of partnerships in overcoming agricultural challenges in the central region.
“IICA is an institution that clearly understands that its member countries are its governors. Therefore, we are delighted to welcome the Minister and Deputy Minister, with whom we are developing a technical cooperation agenda”, remarked the Director General of the Institute.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int