IICA and CINVESTAV sign agreement to promote scientific research
Mexico, Federal District, August 4, (IICA). Exchanges of scientists and specialists, training for high-level human resources, scholarships and participation in joint research projects are only some of the activities that the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) of Mexico and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will promote under the terms of the agreement.
The Director General of IICA, Victor M. Villalobos, and the Director General of CINVESTAV, Rene Asomoza Palacio, signed a framework agreement for cooperation aimed complementing the capacities of both institutions and creating a strategic alliance with benefits for both in the areas of science, technology and human resource development.
For Villalobos, CINVESTAV, as a partner, has much to contribute to efforts to make agriculture in the Americas more efficient as a means of tackling complex challenges such as climate change and food security, in which agriculture must play a strategic role.
Regarding the agreement, Asomoza stated that it is very important to create partnerships that will strengthen agricultural research in Mexico and the other countries of the Americas, with a view to ensuring food security for the peoples of the region.
CINVESTAV, a public institution with more than 50 years of institutional life, boasts internationally recognized scientists who are actively involved in the generation of alternatives solutions to the scientific and technological problems facing Mexico, many of which are global in scope.
IICA is a specialized agency of the Inter-American System that has been working for almost 70 years on behalf of agriculture and rural well-being in the hemisphere.
The technical cooperation the Institute provides to its 34 member countries focuses on four strategic objectives: to make the agricultural sector more productive and competitive; to enhance agriculture’s contribution to territorial development and to rural well-being; to enhance agriculture’s capacity to mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change and make better use of natural resources; and to enhance agriculture’s contribution to food security.
CINVESTAV is a decentralized public agency with legal personality and its own patrimony. To perform its functions, the Federal Government provides the Center with an annual subsidy. Besides the subsidy, the institution is supported by contributions from various sources: decentralized Agencies, foreign institutions, industry and individuals.
At present, CINVESTAV offers 56 graduate programs, 27 classified as competent at the international level, making it the leading institution in Mexico. It has some 620 researchers, 90% of whom belong to the National System of Researchers, of the National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) of Mexico.
Some 2,700 students from Mexico and other countries are pursuing degrees on nine campuses. In 2010, 178 Doctoral degrees and 378 Master’s degrees were awarded by the Center in the exact and natural sciences, biology, health sciences, social science and humanities, as well as technology and engineering science.
In March of this year, Asomoza visited IICA Headquarters, in Costa Rica, at the invitation of IICA’s Director General to explore areas for possible joint efforts, which are now clearly defined in the agreement.
For further information:
gino.buzzetti@iica.int