IICA Executive Committee declares: “Innovation is central to meeting the challenges agriculture will face in the 21st century”

San Josw, Costa Rica, July 18, 2011 (IICA). The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have the potential to no longer be a net food importing region but to leaders in food production worldwide. For this to happen, however, they must invest in innovation applicable to agriculture.

Eighteen member countries of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), attending the annual meeting of its Executive Committee, analyzed the role of innovation in the agricultural sector and concluded that, without question, innovation and the development of modern agriculture must go hand in hand.

According to IICA Director General Victor M. Villalobos, innovation is fundamental to making agriculture competitive, inclusive and sustainable, meeting the present and future demands of different groups in society and developing socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable production practices. 

This, however, is no easy task. While it is true that in the countries of Latin America GDP grew by 6.1% in 2010, and is expected to grow by 4.7% in 2011, this has not translated into greater investment in research and agricultural technology.

“As a region, Latin America and the Caribbean invest less in innovation than countries such as Spain, Portugal or South Korea, and almost all investment is focused on only a few crops, the most profitable ones being in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. Latin America and the Caribbean invest about 0.5% of GDP in innovation, while other countries invest more than 2.5%,” according to the Manager of the Center for Strategic Analysis for Agriculture, Rafael Trejos.

He also noted that innovation was not all that was needed to meet the challenges of this century. Other elements such as investment, public policy, infrastructure, qualified human resources, etc., would also be required, adding that the formula for success was investment, development and innovation.

The Director General went even further, stating that “an investment in IICA is an investment in innovation.”

“IICA, together with the countries, is working to increase the role of innovation in agriculture, helping the countries to formulate strategies and policies, modernize their institutional frameworks, develop necessary capacities, as well as manage and disseminate knowledge, while supporting the formulation and implementation of projects requiring investment in innovation.

The delegate from Argentina, Jorge Meme, agreed that IICA was an important partner of the countries of Latin America and could help them to do more in the areas of innovation and development of export capacity, through its work with relevant national institutions.

¿Why innovate?

According to Trejos, the current volatility of food prices is a sign of problems to come. One of the major problems is the concentration of trade, considering that ten countries account for the bulk of production worldwide.

There are other factors: little possibility of bringing more land into production; the severe impact of climate change and climate variations on agriculture; increased demand for water, and steadily rising oil prices. All of these must be added to the fact that the world population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050 and that GDP in developing countries is expected to increase more than fifteenfold, thus creating greater demand for both staple and functional foods.

This has led to calls for a “new green revolution” based on a technological paradigm that will make it possible to meet these challenges.

According to the delegate from Mexico, Kenneth Smith Ramos, innovation is fundamental to improving food security. “Mexico will chair the G20 next year. We are currently drawing up an agenda on which food security will be a priority topic, and look forward to IICA’s support,” he stated.

On this topic, the Director General of IICA held that “the five principles of food security defined in Rome can be addressed in part by IICA because we operate at the national, regional and hemispheric levels.”

The countries will once again discuss the topic of innovation when they come together at the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2011, to be held at IICA Headquarters, in Costa Rica, on October 19-21. The delegates from Canada, the United States, Bolivia and other countries applauded the fact that one of the goals of the ministerial meeting will be to issue a declaration on the importance of promoting innovation in agriculture, to be shared with the international community.

The IICA Executive Committee met at IICA Headquarters from July 12 to 14.

For more information, contact:
lars.pira@iica.int