Minister of Agriculture of Guyana calls for joint actions to position the agriculture of the Americas as the foundation of sustainable development in the region
Georgetown, 28 September 2023 (IICA) – The 2023 Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas will have the strategic purpose of setting out how the agriculture sector can be the cornerstone of sustainable development in the region, explained Zulfikar Mustapha, Minister of Guyana, whose president, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, will participate actively in the summit.
The conference is scheduled to take place from 3-5 October in San Jose, Costa Rica, and will bring together the ministers of agriculture of the hemisphere, a region whose natural resources and exceptional biodiversity are fundamental for global food security and sustainable development.
Mustapha spotlighted the opportunity for the Member States of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)—the conference organizer—to discuss innovation in regional agriculture.
“We have a great opportunity and responsibility as members of IICA to promote positions that have been mutually agreed upon and to implement specific actions to strengthen the agriculture of the Americas—the largest food producing region in the world”, he emphasized.
The Conference will include a meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), IICA’s highest governing body, which comprises 34 ministers of agriculture of the hemisphere.
In response to IICA’s call to strengthen the scope of a continental partnership in favor of food security and environmental sustainability, Mustapha expressed that only in partnership and through joint actions are we able to face the challenges posed by current crises.
“Let’s give this partnership one voice as a region and a strategic scale, creating networks and platforms that in practice will strengthen our institutions”, he added.
The Guyanese minister urged to strengthen ties with international agencies, corporations and civil society organizations to coordinate actions that will drive the contribution of agriculture to food security and the fight against climate change.
He underscored the importance for agriculture to improve the livelihoods of the people and to not only focus on productivity, and also recognized the strategic importance of water.
“Water is a strategic, yet limited, resource. Without water there can be no agriculture”, warned Mustapha.
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Institutional Communication Division.
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