Cork, Ireland, 22 June 2026 (IICA). Strengthening agrifood systems in the Americas is an objective of global interest, not only a priority for the continent, argued the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, at the IFAMA Conference, held this year in Ireland.
The five-day 2026 World Conference of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) took place at University College, in the Irish city of Cork.
Addressing some 400 participants from more than 40 countries, Ibrahim said that “the Americas play a systemic role for the entire planet,” adding that, “what happens in that continent affects the availability of food worldwide, international prices, trade flows, supply chains, energy production and the food security of many importing countries.”
This year’s meeting of IFAMA explored strategies for revitalizing agrifood systems in the current context of geopolitical changes, innovative technologies, climate variability, price volatility, new consumer demands and food health risks.
Farmers, entrepreneurs, public policymakers, academics, researchers and students took part, with a collaborative work program that included case studies and is designed to help strengthen the response and adaptation of agrifood systems to challenges, so that they serve humanity better.
A key continent for stability
“The world has yet to fully comprehend that the Americas are not only a major food producer and exporter, but also one of the mainstays of global food, energy and environmental stability,” Ibrahim suggested, in one of the presentations that attracted most interest at the event.
The IICA Director General was one of the speakers in a two-continent discussion on the current paths for achieving resilience in a world in which the scale, speed and simultaneity of disruptions are making the task of ensuring healthy accessible food for all increasingly complex.
Marcos Fava Neves, from the University of São Paulo, and Fu Wenge, an academic from China Agricultural University, also participated.
During the discussion, it was pointed out that Latin America and the Caribbean is the biggest net food exporting region in the world. It accounts for about 23% of global agrifood exports and around 13% of the global net value of agricultural and fisheries production. The region is also a world leader in strategic markets such as soybeans, corn, beef and poultry, coffee, sugar, fruits, fisheries, forest products and biofuels.
Ibrahim suggested that the region can also provide bioenergy, bioinputs, biomaterials, ecosystem services, carbon solutions and new products derived from biomass and biodiversity, if the assets are transformed into sustainable value through science, technology, innovation, investment and the responsible use of natural resources.
In that regard, the IICA Director General warned that the main risk is not that the continent will stop producing, but that it will not transform itself quickly enough to adapt to the new global conditions.
“The region,” he said, “will not be able to maintain its essential role in the future solely by expanding agricultural land or increasing input use. It needs to generate more value per hectare, per worker, per unit of water, per unit of fertilizer and per unit of energy, to reduce the pressure on forests, soils, water, and biodiversity.”
In that scenario, he underscored the role of science and new technologies: “For the Americas, innovation is the bridge between natural potential and global leadership. That is what can enable the region to go from producing more to producing better; from exporting raw materials to generating more value; and from having isolated success stories to achieving a more productive, sustainable, resilient and inclusive transformation of agriculture and agrifood systems.”
Ibrahim gave concrete examples of how IICA’s work with the countries of the Americas not only focuses on the promotion of specific technologies, but also on the development of capacities, institutions, regulatory frameworks, partnerships and markets to ensure the safe and effective use of science, technology, and innovation.
“In the Americas,” he concluded, “it has been demonstrated that science not only improves technologies, but can also transform production paths. The challenge now is to move from successful experiences to systemic transformation, which calls for long-term investment, more robust research and innovation systems, better regulations, digital infrastructure, financing, extension, private sector engagement, consumer confidence, and more regional cooperation.”
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
