Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agriculture Agroindustry Family farming Indigenous populations

Newly appointed Saamaka Paramount Chief, Albert Aboikoni makes courtesy visit to IICA Delegation in Suriname

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

IICA is currently executing a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) initiative involving a number of Saamaka villages in the Upper Suriname river

 

Curt Delice, IICA Representative & Gaama Albert Aboikoni, Saamaka´s Highest authority.

Paramaribo, Suriname, August 27, 2018. The newly appointed Paramount Chief of the Saamaka Maroon community in Suriname, Gaama Albert Aboikoni paid a courtesy visit to IICA following his formal appointment by the President of the Republic of Suriname, His Excellency Desiré Delano Bouterse, on Sunday, August 12, 2018.  ‘Gaanman or Gaama’ is the traditional title used by the ethnic Maroons in Suriname to denote the highest authority of their ethnic group. The Saamaka Maroons are mainly located in villages along the Upper Suriname River.

The IICA Representative and the Gaama renewed their commitment to continue working jointly towards sustainable agricultural and rural development of the Saamaka Maroons.

IICA is currently executing a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) initiative in upland rice involving a number of Saamaka villages in the Upper Suriname river, as well as agroprocessing and organizational strengthening interventions to strengthen rural women producers, and the promotion of technologies and strategies to facilitate indigenous communities to move from traditional Shifting Cultivation agriculture production systems, to more sustainable sedentary agriculture production systems and installing low-cost potable rainwater harvesting systems for Saamaka villages.

Gaama Albert Aboikoni expressed his deepest gratitude to IICA for its continued support and his appreciation for the participatory and collaborative approach adopted by IICA bringing together, NGO’s, community based organizations, public and private sector rural service provider agencies and academia to find solutions to the challenges in agriculture and rural development faced by his people.

For more information

Curt Delice

Representative of the Delegation in Suriname

curt.delice@iica.int

Share

Related news​

San José, Costa Rica

July 1, 2025

Carbon markets offer an extraordinary opportunity for sustainable livestock farming in Latin America, and collective action is essential to seize it, say public and private sector experts during seminar at IICA

During the seminar, which featured various presentation and discussion panels, participants explored the nature of carbon markets, financing alternatives for carbon capture projects in livestock farming, and the current regional context. They also shared methodologies and ideas to unlock their full potential through concrete steps.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

– El Director General del Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA), Manuel Otero, expresó su pleno respaldo a las conclusiones de la Conferencia Global de IFAMA, en la que 600 representantes de 40 países señalaron que el sector agropecuario seguirá siendo parte de la solución a los desafíos planetarios si profundiza su apuesta por la ciencia y la tecnología e impulsa una nueva generación de políticas públicas.

Ribeirao Preto, Brasil

July 1, 2025

IICA Director General expresses full support for IFAMA 2025 Global Conference document, which called on the agricultural sector to strengthen its commitment to science and technology to remain part of the solution to global challenges 

IFAMA 2025 concluded with a call to promote policies and strategies that advance technologies to conserve resources, increase productivity, and protect the environment.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Sevilla

July 1, 2025

IICA’s photo exhibition, which pays tribute to rural men and women in the Americas, is on display at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville

The exhibition is composed of 27 photographs taken by photographer Cecilia Duarte (Brazil) and curator Virginia Fabri (Argentina), which tell the stories of peasants, family farmers, medium-sized producers, members of indigenous communities, teachers, students, agents of innovation and technology, and advocates for the empowerment of women and youth from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins