Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agricultural markets

Market information systems to be strengthened in Latin America and the Caribbean

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

The countries of the Americas have recognized the importance of reliable, transparent data for market intelligence, affirms the Deputy Director General of IICA, Lloyd Day.

Frank Lam (IICA’s specialist), Lloyd Day (IICA’s Deputy Director General) and Arlyne Alvaro (vicepresident of MIOA) attended MIOA’s Executive Committee meeting in San Jose.

San Jose, Costa Rica, March 2013 (IICA). The Market Information Organization of the Americas (MIOA), a hemispheric network whose technical secretariat is operated by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), is to support the compilation, processing, and sharing of data on agricultural markets in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At a meeting of the MIOA Executive Committee held at IICA Headquarters in San Jose, the organization agreed to work to improve the data compilation capabilities of the agricultural market information systems (AMIS) of 14 Caribbean countries, while in Central America financing will be sought to increase the benefits of the Regional Fruit Market Intelligence System (SIMEFRUT) and other initiatives.

“Thanks to the MIOA, the countries of the Americas are more aware of how important it is to have reliable information for market intelligence, information that must be gathered and processed according to international standards,” IICA’s Deputy Director General, Lloyd Day, explained.

The chairman of the MIOA, Terry Long, pointed out that, “Market intelligence makes it possible to increase efficiency and transparency, and to tap economic opportunities, for the benefit of everyone involved in the agricultural sector, such as producers, merchants, and consumers.”

IICA has been in charge of the MIOA’s Technical Secretariat since 2004. “The Institute has played a key role in the consolidation of the MIOA, in the technical assistance that the organization provides to its member countries, and in the facilitation of horizontal cooperation among them,” remarked Frank Lam, an IICA agribusinesses and marketing specialist.

At the meeting in San Jose, the MIOA Executive Committee endorsed the consensus reached at the last meeting of IICA’s Executive Committee (October 2012) on the need for the ministers of agriculture of the Americas to support the efforts to strengthen, modernize, and guarantee the sustainability of national price and market information systems.

During the meeting of the IICA’s Executive Committee, there was also agreement on the urgent need for the member countries of the Institute and the MIOA to bolster the latter organization both technically and financially, and to strengthen horizontal cooperation between countries and regions, two ideas that the MIOA’s Executive Committee also endorsed.

The Executive Committee of the MIOA will be meeting again in June this year, in Washington, to strengthen ties with the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank.

For more information, contact: 
frank.lam@iica.int

 

Share

Related news​

San José, Costa Rica

July 18, 2025

IICA will co-organize Caribbean Week of Agriculture, to be held in Saint Kitts and Nevis in September, with a focus on building resilience

“Sowing Change, Harvesting Resilience: Transforming our Caribbean Food Systems for 2025 and Beyond” is the title of the 19th edition of Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), which is scheduled to take place in Saint Kitts and Nevis this year, from September 29 to October 3.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

July 18, 2025

IICA celebrates “Digital Agriculture Days” to drive agricultural transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean

The 2025 Digital Agriculture Week will take place at IICA Headquarters in San José, Costa Rica, from September 22 to 25.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

July 16, 2025

FONTAGRO and IICA launch the “LATAM 2025 Agro-bioentrepreneurship with Impact” competition to promote agricultural innovation in Latin America

This competition is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to improve their projects, and is designed to strengthen the region’s bio-entrepreneurial ecosystem by promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing among the participants.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins