More than 40 men and women who work day to day to foster food security and well-being in their communities will gather in Costa Rica at the First Meeting of Leaders of Rurality of the Americas, organized by IICA 

San Jose, 12 April 2024 (IICA) - More than 40 Leaders of Rurality of the Americas from various regions and countries in the hemisphere will gather in San Jose, Costa Rica, from 16 to 20 April during a meeting organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to foster dialogue and the sharing of experiences. Distinguished agricultural experts from around the world will also take part in the event.

The rural leaders, from all corners of the hemisphere, will attend lectures by Álvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Rattan Lal, Director of the Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration (C-MASC) at The Ohio State University; and Roberto Rodrigues, former Minister of Agriculture of Brazil and a globally renowned leader of cooperative movements, among other issues. The specialists will discuss key topics such as sustainability, organization and funding.

They will also participate in meetings with IICA specialists in different areas, from digital agriculture and the bioeconomy, to family farming and commercialization. The Leaders of Rurality of the Americas will engage in dialogue among themselves and with experts on topics such as the road to sustainable development, crop science, challenges for rural development, the opportunities afforded by connectivity, financial matters and associative undertakings.

The event will also include exhibits and conversations with specialists from other international agencies such as CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and with representatives of private sector companies dedicated to food and agriculture, such as Bayer Crop Science.

IICA created the Leaders of Rurality initiative in 2021 to give visibility to those who are playing an irreplaceable dual role in their daily work, both as guarantors of food and nutritional security, as well as custodians of the planet’s biodiversity.

The agricultural development agency of the Americas confers the “Soul of Rurality” award to men and women who are leaving a mark and making a difference in rural areas of the Americas, by contributing to the production of healthy, accessible food; to the well-being and retention of rural dwellers; and to environmental conservation.

The IICA-led initiative has enabled numerous Leaders to increase their influence and economic, productive and social leadership. It has also led to other awards and invitations and enabled them to expand their networks as well as the scope and impact of their work.

This First Meeting of Leaders of Rurality will bring together a heterogeneous group of individuals that includes family farmers, medium-scale farmers, smallholder farmers, members of indigenous communities, teachers, promoters of cooperatives, students, community leaders, promoters of innovation and technology in the countryside and activists working to strengthen the leading role of women and youth in agriculture.

Strengthening rural areas

With a view to driving the transformation of agriculture and rural areas of the Americas, the meeting will include a technical field trip to an agricultural production region in Costa Rica as well as discussion sessions and activities related to various topics at IICA Headquarters in San Jose.

IICA Director General Manuel Otero will participate in the opening session alongside Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay and Chair of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), IICA’s highest governing body, which is comprised of 34 Member States.

The leaders will tour the Interpretive Center for Tomorrow’s Agriculture (CIMAG), an innovation center at IICA Headquarters that brings together education and agriculture. Promoted by IICA together with several companies, the center highlights the pivotal role of new technologies in the agriculture sector through virtual and interactive experimentation.

The Leaders of Rurality are men and women who produce, plant, harvest, create, innovate, and unite. Their influence can be seen in the food that we eat and in each plot of agricultural land and in the communities where they live.

IICA strives to ensure the recognition opens spaces for cooperation with state, civil society, and private sector organizations to gain support for their causes.

The full list of the Leaders of Rurality of the Americas is as follows: Alina Ruiz, Andrea Izzo Capella, Daniel Bruno, José Muñoz, Milagros Paulón, Patricia Gorza (Argentina), Deon Gibson (Bahamas), Trigidia Jiménez, Yessica Yana (Bolivia), Francisca Neri, Katia Silene Tonkyre, Simone Silotti (Brazil), Gillian Flies (Canada), Alfredo Carrasco, Bernarda Salazar, Emilio Sepúlveda, Macarena Valdés, Marco Aceituno, Paulina Carrasco (Chile), Julio César Delgado, Liliana Jiménez (Colombia), the group of students of the  27 de Abril Professional Technical School, Sonia Murillo (Costa Rica), Elvia Monzón, Gustavo Rivas (Guatemala), Rosamund Benn (Guyana), Lorena Valdez (Ecuador), Odette Varela, Salomón Zelada (El Salvador), Krysta Harden, Marilyn Hershey, Philip “Chip” Councell (United States), Eodora Méndez (Honduras), Gabriela Lucas Deecke, Juana García Palomares (Mexico), Chito Quintero (Panama), Rosalina Jarolin Fernández (Paraguay), Haydée Anccasi (Peru), Joelin Santos (Dominican Republic), Gillian Goddard, Ramgopaul Roop (Trinidad and Tobago) and Andrea Ballestero (Uruguay).

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int