The IICA Executive Committee, agriculture ministers and senior officials of the Americas highlight partnership, as a means of guaranteeing food and water security, and a strong and sustainable agriculture sector

San Jose, 20 July 2023 (IICA) – Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas and other senior officials of the sector, meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica, emphasized the key role of international cooperation in strengthening collective action and facilitating a partnership that will prepare the agriculture sector to tackle the crises and challenges threatening global food security.
 
The ministers and officials discussed these topics during a meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which is being held over two days at the headquarters of the specialized agency for agricultural and rural development.
 
During the meeting, special emphasis was placed on the actions that are currently underway and those required to tackle multiple crises that have a strong impact on agriculture in the region and, in turn, on global food, nutritional and environmental security. Thus, the delegates discussed the status of efforts to create a hemispheric partnership for food security and sustainable development, which was spearheaded by IICA, to benefit a region that is the world’s major food producer, as well as a biodiversity powerhouse.
 
“We proposed the thematic basis for a hemispheric partnership, given the recognition that no country can singlehandedly overcome this crisis, whose issues and challenges are common to all. It is one in which agriculture—may I emphasize—is in a position to become a key strategic pillar for the sustainable development of our countries”, maintained IICA Director General, Manuel Otero.
 
The IICA Executive Committee is comprised of twelve Member States, which are chosen to serve for a two-year term, according to the principles of partial rotation and equitable geographic distribution. However, the participation of the other thirteen member countries was sought, given the nature of the agenda under discussion. Thus, fourteen ministers of Agriculture and other senior agricultural officials of the Americas, representing 25 countries, are in attendance.
 
Indar Weir, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security of Barbados, was elected to serve as Chair of the Executive Committee on this occasion, succeeding Laura Suazo, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, who has completed her mandate.
 
Other participating ministers of Agriculture included José Abelardo Mai, from Belize; Victor Carvajal, from Costa Rica; Oscar Guardado Calderón, from El Salvador; Adrian Thomas, from Grenada; Floyd Green, from Jamaica; Víctor Villalobos, from Mexico; Augusto Valderrama, from Panama; Alfred Prospere, from St. Lucia; Zulfikar Mustapha, from Guyana; and Charlot Bredy, from Haiti. They were joined by the St. Kitts and Nevis Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship and Creative Economy, Samal Mojah Duggins; the Minister of Agriculture of the Dominican Republic, Limber Cruz; the Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries of Trinidad and Tobago, Avinash Singh; and the Minister of Agriculture of Antigua and Barbuda, Everly Greene.
 
Also participating were the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Peru, Enrique Regalado Gamonal and senior officials from other ministries and secretariats of Agriculture, namely Fernando Zelner, from Brazil; Ariel Martínez, from Argentina; Esper Burgos, from Bolivia; Joe Hain, from the United States and Teresa Hernández Vergara, from Colombia. Elizabeth Williams and Margarita Portuguez González, the ambassadors of Canada and Chile to Costa Rica, respectively, were also present.
 
The international organizations represented at the meeting included the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); the International Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA), the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the Market Information Organization of the Americas (MIOA).  
 
A representative from Spain was also present, and Germany, the European Union and Türkiye participated, as observers.
  
The agriculture sector’s role

“The agriculture sector plays an important, strategic role in the economic and social development of our countries. Not only does it provide food, but also social stability and better living conditions for the population”, said Panamanian Minister Valderrama, who noted that agriculture should not be held responsible for climate change, “given that fossil fuels account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions”.

Minister Limber Cruz of the Dominican Republic called for uniting efforts. “Our combined strengths as a region make us the best country in the world. We need to take the best of what we each have to improve our production capacity and expand our markets”.

Avinash Singh, of Trinidad and Tobago, highlighted IICA’s instrumental collaboration in driving agricultural digitalization in his country. “It is time to look at agriculture differently. If we fail to take youth into account, we’ll be in trouble”, he said.

Donald Willar, of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), expressed his support for IICA’s efforts to “shine the spotlight on the role of biofuels in reducing the use of fossil fuels and fostering value-added agriculture in the region”.

In turn, Daryl Nearing, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, pointed out that today’s agriculture poses tremendous challenges around the world, which demonstrates the important role played by institutions like IICA in identifying solutions. “It is crucial to achieve progress with respect to climate change and sustainability. The goal is to increase productivity using these approaches”, he stated.

Complex scenario

Otero, for his part, underscored the current complex and challenging scenario, which has placed agriculture and food and nutritional security at the top of the global agenda.

“This context underscores the value of IICA’s institutional mission. The objectives of the organization, which celebrated its 80th anniversary last year, must be updated and analyzed based on three convergent principles: an institution that looks outward to the world from the Americas, an IICA that serves as a catalyst for collective action, and an institution of open doors that listens, understands, reflects and takes action”, he explained.

Otero underscored the outstanding achievement of countries of the Americas and IICA with respect to the development of 16 messages on the irreplaceable role of agriculture, which allowed for presenting a clear regional position at the UN Food Systems Summit. He also highlighted the consensus document developed at COP27 in Egypt in 2022, in which the ministers and secretaries of Agriculture of the Americas stated that climate actions to achieve a more sustainable agriculture sector must be based on science, as a means of safeguarding and boosting productivity and to avoid compounding the ongoing food crisis, which is already a cause for concern.

“Alongside the governments of the Americas and the private sector, we generated substantial impact at COP27, where we flew the flag for sustainable agriculture at the world’s premier forum for environmental negotiations. We also made it clear that the agriculture sector will no longer be left out of these discussions”, said Otero. In this regard, he anticipated that Agriculture of the Americas will play a prominent role later this year at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“We reiterate the fact that agriculture in the Americas is undergoing a profound and irreversible transformation and transitioning towards greater sustainability, resilience and inclusion. This is demonstrated by the changes that have taken place in terms of new practices, such as direct seeding, agrosilvopastoral systems, pasture improvement or better use of biomass, which have boosted rural development and contributed to environmental protection”, he concluded.

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