Ministers and senior officials of agriculture in the Americas will gather at IICA Headquarters in Costa Rica to discuss global agricultural trade and new threats to the health and future of the sector

San Jose, 22 July 2024 (IICA) – Twelve ministers of Agriculture of the Americas and other senior officials of the sector will meet for two days at the 44th Regular Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)—the Institute’s governing body—to discuss the most pressing issues for the future of agrifood systems.

The global and hemispheric agricultural trade situation and the challenges affecting health and food security will be the two main points of discussion. Also at the top of the agenda during this critical time for the sector will be the future of agriculture, considering the need to produce more food for a growing world population, without endangering the environment.

The IICA Executive Committee is made up of 12 Member States, appointed for two-year periods, based on the principle of partial rotation and equitable geographic distribution. However, there were requests from 13 other Member States to participate, given the agenda of the meeting.

Participants

Ministers of Agriculture who have already confirmed their attendance at the meeting at IICA Headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica, include José Abelardo Mai of Belize; Ángel Manero Campos of Peru; Fernando Mattos of Uruguay; Indar Weir of Barbados; Martha Carvajalino of Colombia; Lennox Andrews of Grenada; Laura Suazo of Honduras; and Saboto Caesar of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Other participants will include Agustín Tejeda, the Under Secretary of Agricultural Markets in Argentina; Fernando Vargas, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica; Ricky Brumant, Director of Agriculture of Dominica; Daniel Whitley, Administrator of the United States Foreign Agricultural Service; Rafael Ortiz, Deputy Minister of Scientific and Technological Affairs of the Dominican Republic; Roberto Perosa, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil;  Marco Antonio Oviedo, Deputy Minister of Rural Development of Ecuador; Oscar Domínguez, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of El Salvador; and Francisco Ameglio, Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama. 

During the meeting, Professor Marcos Jank, of Insper Agro Global, will be recognized with the “IICA Chair” title, which highlights the contributions of those who foster new knowledge about agriculture and rural development in the Americas.

Also in attendance will be representatives of international organizations, such as the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

José Muñoz, of Argentina, and Lorena Valdez, of Ecuador, who were recognized by IICA as Rural Leaders of the Americas, will also participate in the meeting, representing farmers who are playing a unique dual role, both as guarantors of food and nutritional security, as well as custodians of the planet’s biodiversity.

IICA Director General Manuel Otero will spearhead the meeting, which will also address matters related to the Institute’s partnerships with the private sector, IICA’s participation at the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan, a proposal to create a Hemispheric Fund for Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability in the Americas and the climate emergency in the Caribbean.