Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Food safety

G20 will tackle obstacles to the achievement of global food security

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

In June, the leaders of the G20 will discuss the recommendations made by the Vice-Ministers of Agriculture and other entities such as IICA for strengthening the agricultural sector and increasing its contribution to food production worldwide.

Viceministers of Agriculture of G20 met in Mexico to prepare the recommendations to the leaders of their countries, directed to increase food security.

Mexico City, May 2012 (IICA). The Deputy Ministers of Agriculture of the Group of 20 (G20) recommended to the leaders of the principal economies of the world that they broaden cooperation in research and transfer of technology, as well as increase investment in agriculture through public-private alliances, in order to achieve global food security.

Meeting in Mexico City on May 17 and 18, the Deputy Ministers drafted a report to the Presidents and Heads of State and Government of the G20, to provide political impetus at the highest level, for an increase in the sustainable production of food.

The meeting also brought together invited countries and organizations such the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

The recommendations to be forwarded to the G20 leaders, according to Francisco Mayorga, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food of Mexico (SAGARPA) “will be a way to develop and implement strategies to guarantee the right to food and create conditions for the sustained growth of agricultural production worldwide”.

Victor M. Villalobos, Director General of IICA expressed his satisfaction with the similarity of objectives between the G20 and that Institute.

“I note with great enthusiasm that a group as powerful as the G20 is quite aware that innovation is an important and priority issue for agricultural development. We hope that this will mean greater involvement of institutions such as ours which have to spearhead the use of this technology for resolving problems in the field”, he continued.

Among the tasks required for achieving food security worldwide, the Deputy Ministers approved guidelines for the use of genetic resources, better care and management of water resources, promotion of sustainable agriculture and growth in productivity.

The Director General of IICA highlighted two more topics that were discussed by the Deputy Ministers, among them the creation of a group of scientific leaders, which demonstrates the interest of the G20 for a platform for expressing the knowledge derived from science; and tropical agriculture, which would play a fundamental role in the future of food security.

A previous meeting of Deputy Ministers of Agriculture held in April, resulted in the completion of the International Organizations on Sustainable Growth and Agricultural Productivity and Narrowing of the Gap for Small-Scale Producers Report. This report contains specific recommendations for the leaders of the powerful economics.

The reports of the deputy-ministerial meetings were sent to the sherpas (who carry out the preparatory work for the G20 summits) for further discussion at the Los Cabos meeting on June 18 and 19, 2012.

The G20 includes five IICA Member States: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States, while Chile and Colombia were invited as special guest nations.

In addition to the states mentioned above, the meeting brought together Vice-Ministers representing Australia, China, European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Russia, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Also invited were Cambodia, Colombia, Chile, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Spain. International organizations included the FAO, IFAD, IICA, OECD, World Bank and WTO.

The Director General of IICA was accompanied to the meeting of Deputy Ministers by Gino Buzzetti, Representative of the Institute in Mexico, Miguel Garcia Winder, Manager of the Agribusiness and Commercialization Program and Franklin Marin, Coordinator of the Center for the Promotion of Technical Capacities and Leadership.

Given the importance of the meeting of leaders, and with the aim of sharing the deliberations of the G20 with the entire hemisphere, IICA and SAGARPA created a virtual thematic network to provide a platform that is constantly being updated in the service of academics, researchers, professionals and producers.

Más información: 
miguel.garcia@iica.int

 

Share

Related news​

Santa Fé, Darién, Panamá

September 4, 2025

Coordination between IICA and Panamanian and U.S. government authorities bolsters the fight against New World screwworm in Central America and Mexico

As part of the efforts to curb the spread of the New World screwworm (NWS), a current health threat in Central America and Mexico, the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) of Panama, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworm (COPEG) organized a meeting with livestock farmers in the city of Santa Fé de Darién to strengthen health surveillance and better protect local livestock production.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

El Director General del IICA, Manuel Otero, reafirmó en la inauguración de Biohélice 2025 el compromiso del Instituto con la bioeconomía como eje estratégico para transformar el agro y revitalizar los territorios rurales. En el acto lo acompañaron la Directora General de CINDE, Marianela Urgellés; el Rector de la UNA, Jorge Herrera; y el presidente de CRBiomed, Álvaro Peralta.

San Jose, Costa Rica

September 3, 2025

Specialists and partners at a meeting spearheaded by IICA view the bioeconomy as essential in positioning Costa Rica and the Americas as leaders in sustainability and production transformation

The bioeconomy specialists were participating in Biohélice 2025, an event organized by Costa Rica’s Universidad Nacional, the CRBiomed association and IICA, which brought together more than 130 participants with an interest in innovation and bioeconomy.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Alagoas, Brasil

September 1, 2025

Eliane Faria de Souza, a fisherwoman from Northeastern Brazil combining old traditions with innovative ideas to protect the environment, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Eliane works with other women in the region to transform polluting waste substances into organic fertilizer.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins