The strengthening of agrifood systems in the Americas is central to economic recovery and global stability, Manuel Otero tells the Council of the Americas.

New York, 8 March 2022 (IICA) – Agriculture and agrifood systems in the Americas have a central role to play in the economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic and are also in a position to contribute to stability in the world and in the countries of the region.

Such were the words of Manuel Otero, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), at a presentation at the Council of the Americas, a leading U.S. business forum that brings together investors, senior officials and academics.

Otero gave a presentation and then conversed with Susan Segal, president and CEO of The Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA), on the agricultural agenda that the hemisphere must address.

As Segal explained, the activity gave continuity to the cycle of collaboration that the Council of the Americas and IICA began last year with a series of round tables in preparation for the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit.

Issues were discussed there such as food security and the sustainability of agriculture, the importance of international trade and the technological revolution that is taking place in food production.

“With IICA, which is one the main organizations of our hemisphere, we are focusing today on how to address agrifood issues at the 9th Summit of the Americas that will take place this June in the city of Los Angeles”, said Segal.

Otero began his presentation by expressing his concern at the events in Ukraine. As well as the irreparable loss of life, he warned, these events will have very serious consequences for food security throughout the planet, jeopardizing democratic and economic stability in other regions of the world.

“The prevailing difficulties in trade and the possible increase in the price of grains and fertilizers are starting to have a strong bearing on food prices”, said Otero, who considered that the world must react quickly to prevent the social problems that were triggered by the food price crisis of 2008.

The situation in Eastern Europe comes in addition to the historical difficulties of Latin America and the Caribbean, aggravated since 2020 by the outbreak of Covid-19.

“The pandemic has put us back ten years in terms of economic growth, trade and the fight against poverty. I recognize the extraordinary effort that governments have made; however, despite that, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region decreased by 8% in 2020. The slowdown of economic activity has increased unemployment, poverty and food insecurity, reaching the same levels that we had in 2000”, said the Director General of IICA.

“Exports of agricultural products grew 2.7% in 2020 and that demonstrated the resilience of agricultural activity, but the scenario is one of economic, social and environmental crisis, to which is now added a threat to world peace that causes us distress and anger”.

In this context, and looking to the future, agriculture and agrifood systems in the region are destined to play a strategic role in socioeconomic recovery and food security, and will contribute to peace and stability, both at the global level and within the countries of the region.

In this regard, Otero explained that at the global level, one in four agricultural products comes from the Americas. In terms of exports, the continent accounts for over 28% of total exports of agricultural products in general and the same proportion of food products.

“This is why our continent is putting all its efforts into keeping open the channels of international trade and that is why we are concerned about the crisis in Eastern Europe”.

Otero went on to underscore the strategic role played by the Americas, particularly Latin America and the Caribbean, in terms of global environmental security, given its availability of natural resources, decisive for guaranteeing the water and oxygen cycle at global level.

“In short, whichever way you look at it, if the concerns and goals are growth, employment, exports, the fight against poverty and inequity, shoring up environmental sustainability and resilience to climate change, water, biodiversity, health and nutrition, mitigating the causes that generate migration and urban overcrowding, it is inevitable to think about the development of agriculture and agrifood systems as part of the solution, not the problem”, he concluded.

The need for greater investment in science and technology

Otero called for strengthening agrifood systems so that they can contribute more to the new challenges of the region and the world. In this regard, he considered it a priority to increase investment in science and technology in agriculture, considering not only the productivity agenda but also the dimension of sustainability.

“We must take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital agriculture and also biotechnology, especially through genome editing, and to do so it is important to strengthen public-private partnerships”.

Otero also explained that it is essential for the region to harness its biological wealth through the development of the bioeconomy, a key tool for increasing the efficiency and environmental sustainability of agriculture.

“We must be self-critical and advance towards sustainable productive models, recognizing that there is room for improvement in our systems. But we do not accept that they are failed systems. A lot is being done in terms of environmental sustainability and we must further develop this path in order to mainstream environmental issues in agriculture. It is time to go from words to actions, and to transform agrifood systems so that they play the role they have to play”.

At the end of the presentation, the president and CEO of The Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) spoke in Spanish with Otero, proposing a future meeting at the same forum between the Director General of IICA and the US Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and conversed on a number of issues that are part of the agricultural agenda in the hemisphere in the present context and in the long term.

Segal asked Otero to give more details on the role that Ukraine plays as a producer and exporter of agricultural commodities and the impact that the conflict with Russia will have on international food prices. Along the same lines, Segal showed her interest in China’s influence on the agricultural reality in Latin America and the Caribbean, considering that it has become the main buyer of many of the foods produced in the region.

She also spoke with Otero about the projects that IICA has underway to bring the technological revolution to agricultural production in different countries of the continent, and on the policies necessary to give visibility to the obstacles that rural women face in accessing land ownership and loans.

More information:

Institutional Communication Division

comunicacion.institucional@iica.int