Full supply of fertilizers and energy through public-private partnerships and greater investment in agricultural innovation are key to maintaining food production in the Americas

Manuel Otero — The Director General of IICA referred to the decisions that must be made in order to address the current situation, and urged countries of the Americas to avoid unilateral measures that affect food trade and to maintain diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Ukraine from affecting their agricultural production and the transportation of food and fertilizers, “which are not weapons of war”, he said.

San Jose, 26 July 2022 (IICA) - Implementing public-private partnerships aimed at guaranteeing the supply of fertilizers and energy for agriculture is a key measure to keep rural areas of the Americas active as well as ensure adequate food production and supply in the region and the rest of the world.

During a dialogue with members of the Advisory Board of the Wilson Center, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, listed measures that should be adopted in the region to prevent a food catastrophe triggered by the confluence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Eastern Europe, and health, climate, environmental and social crises.

The meeting was organized by the Latin American Program of the Wilson Center, a leading U.S. forum for tackling global issues through independent research and dialogue. The Center was established by the U.S. Congress in 1968 as the official memorial to President Woodrow Wilson. Its Advisory Council is comprised of private sector leaders and former public officials from various countries in the Americas.

The Director General of IICA, who was introduced to the participants by Benjamin Gedan, Acting Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, referred to the decisions that must be made in order to address the current situation, and urged countries of the Americas to avoid unilateral measures that affect food trade and to maintain diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Ukraine from affecting their agricultural production and the transportation of food and fertilizers, “which are not weapons of war”, he said.

In his call to action, he underscored the need for greater efforts and investment in science, technology and innovation.

“Countries of the Americas also require a new generation of public policies to transform agrifood systems – this is the only way to overcome the challenges of the 21st century”, added the Director General of IICA.

“We must focus on supporting those living in poverty and other vulnerable groups through programs and food transfers. IICA has called for establishing a partnership for food security in the Americas among public and private stakeholders, non-governmental organizations, think tanks and, of course, international cooperation agencies”, said Otero, highlighting an initiative by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide several Latin American nations with food and humanitarian assistance.

Participants in the dialogue convened by the Wilson Center agreed with the Director General of IICA on the importance of avoiding trade restrictions, which aggravate an already complex situation given the current global crises, and of advancing towards innovations that improve the availability of fertilizers and food production in the Americas. In this regard, they cited the opportunities afforded by the bioeconomy, biotechnology and gene editing.

They also considered that the participation of countries’ national agricultural research institutes is more than necessary. “Building bridges between production and the environment requires investing more in research and transforming findings into opportunities”, said Otero.

Otero also noted that the upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in November in Egypt, will provide the Americas with an opportunity to demonstrate that regional agriculture is on an irreversible path towards sustainability. Consequently, IICA’s call for collective action against food insecurity involves strengthening synergies between production and the environment.

In addition to highlighting the need to increase intra-regional trade and foster associative and cooperative undertakings among small-scale producers, the Director General of IICA said that a food crisis would also lead to environmental and energy crises, which is why advancing towards global food security would make a major contribution to peace and social, economic and political stability.

Towards the end of the dialogue, the participants determined that improving rural connectivity and empowering rural dwellers in the use of agricultural technologies is crucial in order to curb domestic migration in Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as migration to the United States.

“Sooner or later, extensive farming and rural populations with low educational levels lead to migration. It is a vicious circle that can and must be broken”, concluded Otero.

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