In addition to discussing new diversified farming models with Vilsack, Otero informed the U.S. Secretary of IICA’s work related to rural development and building climate resilience alongside farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Des Moines, United States, 26 October 2023 (IICA) – It is crucial to implement actions and strengthen policies to improve the profitability of small and medium-scale farmers and, in turn, increase rural retention and well-being in rural areas.
This was one of the agenda items of a meeting between Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, and Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Vilsack and Otero met within the framework of the 2023 Borlaug Dialogue, the premier global forum for dialogue regarding agriculture and food.
“The meeting allowed for identifying potential areas of work for IICA, specifically as part of its efforts to identify non-traditional income sources that could improve rural retention and guarantee the viability of small-scale farmers in rural areas”, commented the Director General of IICA at the end of the meeting, held in Des Moines, in the state of Iowa.
“That is the main idea of Vilsack’s proposal, which we at IICA share and try to address through our work: the need to diversify the production of goods and services by producers by identifying mechanisms that can increase their profitability and, in turn, rural retention”, he added.
Otero was invited to participate in the 2023 Borlaug Dialogue by the World Food Prize Foundation, which organizes the event.
The theme of this year’s edition of the event, held every two years in Des Moines, Iowa, is “Harnessing Change”.
Along those lines, and following his meeting with the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture of President Joe Biden’s government, Otero applauded Vilsack’s farmer-centric proposal.
“At IICA, we fully endorse Secretary Vilsack’s vision: that, in addition to producing food, agricultural producers must have other income sources related to carbon markets, water and biodiversity. Producers should receive additional income in exchange for their work to transform production and nature”, he indicated.
During the meeting, Otero recognized the United States’ valuable support to IICA. He informed Vilsack of the Institute’s upcoming participation alongside the ministers of Agriculture of the Americas and private sector partners at COP28, the annual summit hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, later this year.
At the conference venue, IICA will install the “Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas” pavilion to showcase the key role of the region’s agriculture sector in developing climate solutions and enhancing global food security. Otero invited Vilsack to visit the pavilion, which will also give visibility to the contributions of producers and other sector stakeholders to climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The Director General of IICA also informed Vilsack about the Institute’s Leaders of Rurality of the Americas program, which pays tribute to men and women who are making a difference in the rural communities of the Americas. The program presents an award to individuals who are playing an irreplaceable dual role, namely as guarantors of food and nutritional security and as custodians of the planet’s biodiversity, producing under all kinds of conditions.
In addition to discussing new diversified farming models with Vilsack, Otero informed the U.S. Secretary of IICA’s work related to rural development and building climate resilience alongside farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
IICA will continue to exchange knowledge with the United States Department of Agriculture regarding the best ways to support farmers to ensure that they are able to remain in their communities and continue to manage land, water and forests for the next generations.
Built on the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug to tackle the main challenges facing the world of agriculture, the Dialogue brings together global leaders and sector experts to chart the future of food and agricultural production and facilitate the sharing of experiences and solutions between countries and regions to strengthen food security.
At the event, the IICA Director General also met with Gérardine Mukeshimana, Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and with Karis Gutter, Vice-President of Government and Industry Affairs at Corteva Agriscience North America.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
