The Embassy of Israel in Costa Rica launched the summit from IICA headquarters, where the Institute presented its hemispheric initiative on Water and Agriculture.
San Jose, 20 September 2023 (IICA). The Israeli Embassy in Costa Rica was tasked with officially launching Agritech 2023, the 21st Global Agricultural Technology Summit to be held on 17-18 October in the city of Tel-Aviv, with a primary focus on food and water security.
The presentation for Latin America and the Caribbean of one of the largest agricultural technology summits and fairs in the world—this year dubbed Food Security in a Disrupted Era—took place at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in San Jose and convened representatives from the government, diplomatic corps and international organizations. It was led by Michal Gur-Aryeh, Israeli Ambassador to Costa Rica; Victor Carvajal, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica; and Manuel Otero, Director General of the hemispheric agency specialized in agriculture.
Agritech 2023 is considered one of the most important expositions in the fields of technology, irrigation, fertilization, mechanized agriculture, water and food. It is also a leading platform for global expositors presenting the best innovative technologies in the field of agriculture.
The Summit will feature over 100 displays of innovations and the participation of 150 leading companies in the world as well as startups (technology-based ventures) from the agrotechnology, water and food sectors. There will be 20 technological business sessions with over 120 participants and field tours to demonstrate technologies applied to agriculture.
“Given its geographic conditions and limited natural resources, Israel has become a leader in developing agricultural technologies to tackle modern challenges such as climate change and food production for a growing population. This means producing more with less, the slogan Israeli technology has adopted as its own, and its agriculture has been shown to increase production and profitability of products that are more efficient, durable and ecological”, commented Ambassador Gur-Aryeh.
“That is why we are extending the invitation to participate in Agritech 2023 in October in Tel-Aviv”, she added.
Victor Carvajal, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica, emphasized that for countries like his own, which has a high population of farmers and a dependency on the activity as an engine for economic and rural development, it is necessary to leverage the new opportunities offered by emerging technologies to improve productive systems and make them more competitive and sustainable.
“Technology is indispensable in each of the processes and also to ensure that the carbon footprint is as low as possible, a component we are now integrating as a ministry in all policies we issue. All of these efforts are important, such as those being made by Israel, as is taking advantage of the technology available in the market, incorporating it into our production systems to help not only with food security, but also with sustainability”, explained Carvajal.
“Here at IICA we believe in our farmers, in our capacity to lead a series of changes through science and technology that, obviously with government leadership, will contribute to creating the foundation for a more sustainable agriculture that respects biodiversity, and that is why the launch of Agritech 2023 is so important”, added Manuel Otero, head of IICA.
“Agriculture is at the top of the global agenda; we have challenges and opportunities offered by the new frontier of knowledge and a threat that is global warming. We are aware of the seriousness at present, but we are cautiously optimistic that, with technology, with farmers, with government guidelines, with IICA’s support, it is possible to think about the utopia of development strategies that are much more sustainable”, he added.
Hemispheric initiative on Water and Agriculture
In the framework of the launching of Agritech 2023, Fernando Schwanke, Director of Projects at IICA, presented the hemispheric initiative on Water and Agriculture, through which agriculture can contribute to the water crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) based on the premise that without water there can be no agriculture, and without agriculture there can be no food security.
The project aims to consolidate capacities and to promote strategic public-private sector partnerships as a means of improving the integrated management and efficient use of water in agriculture and supporting ministries and lead agencies, thereby promoting collective efforts aimed at ensuring that the invaluable water resources of the Americas will further contribute to achieving greener, more inclusive, resilient and sustainable development, even despite the severe impact of climate change.
The initiative includes four key lines of action with different objectives: water production and storage; efficiency in water use; governance; and investment promotion.
“There is an urgent need for joint continental action to improve the integrated management and efficient use of water for agriculture. Without water there is no agriculture and without agriculture there is no food security, especially since LAC is key to global food security: it produces 13% of food worldwide and is the largest net food-exporting region”, cautioned Schwanke.
“Israel has solid technology to work on efficiency in water use and it is through innovative technologies that agriculture must be a part of the solution to the water crisis”, he concluded.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
The Embassy of Israel Press Office
Info@sanjose.mfa.gov.il
