The program promotes capacity building, adopting the “learning by doing” methodology to integrate training, innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaborative work.
San José, 29 July 2026 (IICA). The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of Costa Rica, the National Learning Institute (INA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have launched AGRI-Lab, a program aimed at strengthening leadership, participation, the development of technological initiatives, and the integration of rural youth into Costa Rica’s agricultural sector.
The initiative aims to create new opportunities to enable rural youth to develop their potential as agents of change in the sector, through an approach based on the “learning by doing” methodology, a teaching and learning system that the INA implements in Costa Rica and IICA utilizes in several other countries in the Americas, which integrates training, innovation, entrepreneurship, and collaborative work.
AGRI-Lab consists of four main components:
- AGRO-TALK, based on meetings and networking involving young leaders, entrepreneurs, and mentors;
- Agricultural and technological field schools (ECA-t), aimed at practical learning and the training of trainers who replicate knowhow in the regions;
- The development of entrepreneurial and business skills; and
- Open Innovation, which generates solutions to the challenges facing the sector.
The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica, Juan Gabriel Ramírez-Guillén, underlined the importance of integrating different generations into competitive, resilient agriculture, with access to knowhow, technology, financing, and the development of new business models spearheaded by young people.
“AGRI-Lab becomes a tool that enables young people to discover the opportunities that the Costa Rican agricultural sector can offer them for their training and their future as professionals or entrepreneurs, focusing on different areas, such as research, innovation, knowledge generation, extension, marketing, and many other fields in which they can develop and contribute to the country’s development,” the minister explained.
The INA’s Executive President, Edgar Oviedo Blanco, pointed out that “AGRI-Lab demonstrates the value of cooperation between institutions to respond to the challenges facing the agricultural sector. The INA contributes its experience in professional training to enable more young people to find opportunities for development, leadership, and a permanent stake in the country’s productive activities.”
Marco Zapata Ramos, IICA’s Representative in Costa Rica, said that AGRI-Lab is a national-level commitment to supporting the creation of opportunities in rural areas.
“It is not only a question of training young people, but of activating an ecosystem that allows them to develop leadership skills, adopt technologies, generate entrepreneurship, and build solutions for the challenges faced by their communities and productive sectors. Our goal is to enable rural youth to find a means of development, innovation, and personal growth in farming, while contributing to the productivity and sustainability of the national agrifood sector,” Zapata said.
The project will begin with a pilot activity that includes organizations in the sector such as CORBANA, CORFOGA, the National Chamber of Dairy Farmers and the United Chamber of Pineapple Producers of Costa Rica, and will be implemented with extensionists and institutional facilitators who will act as territorial multipliers.
As part of the program launch, the first edition of AGRO-TALK, Jóvenes inspirando a jóvenes, will be held on August 17. Young people will share their experiences with regard to innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurship with their peers in the Costa Rican agrifood sector.
The activity will promote the exchange of knowledge, the construction of collaborative networks, and the inspiration of new generations interested in transforming agriculture through innovative ideas.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
