The German Minister of Agriculture and Food and the Director General of IICA move forward in defining a joint Europe-Americas agenda for production transformation, focusing on environmental protection

Berlin, Germany, 19 January 2024 (IICA) - The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, met in Berlin with Germany’s Federal Minister of Agriculture and Food, Cem Özdemir, to strengthen dialogue between the Americas and Europe and to begin to define joint courses of action to transform this activity, focusing on the link between agriculture and the environment.

In the meeting, Özdemir y Otero agreed that, given its presence in the 34 countries of the Americas and its technical cooperation for agriculture and rural development in the hemisphere, IICA should serve as a nexus for joint work between the two regions.

Minister Özdemir remarked that, “We are advocating that the two regions deepen their ties, as we are convinced that it will be mutually beneficial. Dialogue and joint work are our best option, if we hope to save our forests and transition towards more sustainable agriculture on the planet”.

Otero, on the other hand, maintained that, “The meeting with Germany’s Minister of Agriculture and Food has been extremely productive and our main objective was for IICA to extend bridges to the German government, as we must move towards global agricultural transformation, with a focus on strengthening the link between production and the environment”.

Otero and Özdemir also agreed to explore the possibility of organizing a working meeting of ministers of Agriculture of the Americas and Europe, in addition to inviting the private sector and other agricultural stakeholders to establish networks that will facilitate the sharing of best practices and experiences aimed at sustainability.

Hans-Peter Lampen, Director of the Ministry’s Department for America, Africa, Southern and Southeast Asia and Oceania; and Jorge Werthein, Special Advisor to the Director General of IICA, were also present at the meeting.

IICA attends the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

IICA is participating in the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin, organized by the Government of Germany and bringing together officials, members of international organizations and experts from across the world to discuss the strengthening of agrifood systems and to coordinate efforts to ensure that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are achieved.

It is hoped that the meeting will stimulate multilateral dialogue—which has been threatened and criticized in recent years—to jointly address the multiple crises facing humanity, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, wars and political conflicts.

On behalf of the German Government, Hans-Peter Lampen, remarked that, “We are extremely grateful for IICA’s presence at the Global Forum on Food and Agriculture, because we are mindful of the need to forge partnerships with countries in the Americas and to build consensus on specific issues, especially on sustainable production”.

The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture is taking place as part of “International Green Week” (Grüne Woche), the major international agricultural trade fair in Germany, which is becoming a global center for agribusiness, staging more than 300 events and activities.

On Saturday, January 20—the last day of the Forum—IICA and the ministers of Agriculture of Latin America and the Caribbean will participate in the Ministerial Conference, which will be attended by approximately 70 senior agricultural officials from across the world, who will issue a joint political communiqué.

IICA will also display its photographic exhibit “The Soul of Rurality in Latin America and the Caribbean” at the Forum, shining the spotlight on women, who account for 43% of the agricultural work force of the region and half of its food production.

Otero explained that, “This photo exhibit on women reflects the heterogeneity of Latin American agriculture and rural life, as well as our shared need to highlight the contribution of women and to introduce better policies to increase this gender’s leadership role in production and social life in the countryside”.

Furthermore, he remarked that, “Rural women play a decisive role in transmitting knowledge to upcoming generations and in support of environmental protection. They must be given full access to production resources in rural areas and allowed to participate in decision-making. That is what we hope to foster with this exhibit”.

The IICA Director General also met in Berlin with executives from Crop Life, an international association of agrochemical companies, and with representatives of the German Agency for International Cooperation, GIZ.

Since 2019, IICA has been undertaking various joint cooperation projects with GIZ, particularly in the Andean Region and Central America, with a focus on agriculture, the environment and the situation of small farmers. The executives from the German agency expressed the need to continue moving forward in building a more sustainable agriculture sector and voiced their support for IICA initiatives such as the Public Policy Observatory for Agrifood Systems (OPSAa) and the Living Soils of the Americas program.

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int