IICA and the WB promote greater rapprochement to drive rural development initiatives

San José, 6 July 2018 (IICA). The increasing role of the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture (IICA) in initiatives that countries present to the World Bank (WB) in the area of rural development, water resource management, climate change and gender and employment, will lead to greater interaction between the specialized agency for the rural sector and the multilateral institution, which dedicated close to 10% of its overall loan budget to fostering agricultural development.

This forecast was made by Diego Arias, W.B. Lead Agriculture Economist, during a working session with IICA specialists, which discussed strategies to increase linkages between the Institute and the financial entity.

“IICA and the World Bank have a close relationship, which could become much closer and which could see an increase in the number of countries with which we are interfacing.  “We should be more consistent, more stable and should develop a joint work methodology”, maintained Arias, in concluding a three-day visit to Costa Rica.

On the other hand, IICA’s Director General, Manuel Otero, commented that “within the spectrum of our strategic alliances, the World Bank is a key institution, and given the existing complementarities, we can look forward to a mutually beneficial and long-lasting relationship”. The multilateral financial institution allocated approximately 7 billion dollars in loans in the last fiscal year to foster agricultural and rural development.

Arias urged IICA to share its knowledge during all stages of development of the initiatives, in order to contribute in a substantial way to the efforts of both institutions.

He also emphasized that the “World Bank provides investment funds and IICA has developed relationships with governments and other strategic partners that are very valuable”, indicating furthermore that both W.B. and IICA are spearheading innovations on relevant issues, which will facilitate the transmission of a joint vision to governments and strategic partners

The economist, who operates out of World Bank Headquarters in Washington, also hosted a workshop at IICA’s headquarters on “Design Thinking”, which is a methodology that seeks to find innovative solutions to a specific problem, as part of the process of formulating projects.

About IICA

IICA is the specialized international agency for agriculture of the Inter-American system, with a mission to stimulate, promote and support the efforts of its 34 Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being through international technical cooperation of excellence.

More information:

José Alfredo Alpízar

jose.alpizar@iica.int