The representatives of IICA and FAO in Haiti and the Dominican Republic have entered into an alliance to coordinate actions in the two countries, focusing on the border region.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti. July 26, 2010 (IICA). The representatives of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) based in Haiti and the Dominican Republic have reached agreement on the preparation of a binational project that will focus on the border region.
The agreement – which IICA’s representatives described as groundbreaking – was adopted at a meeting held at the IICA Office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 21.
The organizations also formalized a partnership to coordinate their actions in the agricultural sector in the two countries.
The meeting involved IICA’s Representatives in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Alfredo Mena and Manuel Sánchez, respectively, and their FAO counterparts, Ari Toubo Ibrahim and Deep Ford.
The four representatives shared information about the projects that their organizations are implementing in the two neighboring countries that could be of mutual interest. They then agreed to formulate a proposal, with the final version of the document expected to be ready in September.
“The binational project will make the cooperation provided more effective, avoiding duplication of functions and making better use of the resources available, for the benefit of the countries and, especially, rural communities,” said Alfredo Mena.
Manuel Sánchez explained that the group had reached agreement on the three main components of the initiative: transboundary diseases that limit trade in agricultural products; the promotion of agribusinesses for generational change in the countryside, and agricultural technology to cope with climate change.
These components coincide exactly with several of the lines of action that IICA has established for the next four years: competitiveness, production, and agricultural markets; agriculture, territories, and rural well-being; agriculture, natural resources, and climate change; and, agriculture and food security.
IICA and FAO have been laying the groundwork for this partnership for several months. During a recent meeting on the future of Haiti, held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, IICA officials met with the Assistant Director General of FAO for Latin America, José Graziano da Silva. It was decided that the two institutions would work together on the design and implementation of projects in both countries, in areas that could contribute to agricultural development, especially along their common border.
IICA and FAO have stepped up their joint activities since the earthquake in Haiti in January of this year. The two organizations assisted the Ministry of Agriculture of Haiti with the preparation of the Emergency Plan drawn up in response to the earthquake on January 12 and the National Agricultural Investment Plan.
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