Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agricultural Health Food and nutrition security Innovation

U.S. Under Secretary of Agriculture views innovation as the key to progress for agrifood systems in the Americas

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

This was one of the ideas shared by Ted McKinney, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), during a webinar aimed at discussing the importance of livestock production and animal protein.

Ted McKinney (izquierda) ahondó en el evento virtual moderado por el Subdirector General del IICA, Lloyd Day, que la innovación es fundamental para avanzar en materia de sostenibilidad productiva, económica, ambiental y social, algo que desde el USDA están impulsando.

San Jose, 23 October (2020). The agriculture sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) must turn to innovation to increase efficiency and productivity and, in turn, guarantee safe and quality agrifood systems, remarked Ted McKinney, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

McKinney made these statements during the webinar entitled “The Importance of Livestock Production and Animal Protein: the Western Hemisphere Perspective”, organized by the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). The purpose of the activity was to provide specialists with an opportunity to discuss some of the pressing issues facing the sector and to compile their perspectives in a document that will be presented next year at the United Nations Food Systems Summit.

“The Summit is extremely important, and as much as I am very positive, I’m also worried that there are false agendas being advanced that are going to try to take us back to the days of my grandparents, and we must not allow that. That is why this IICA seminar and the work of all the participants is to remind people that innovation, safety, quality, productivity and efficiency are the path that most of the world chooses”, stated McKinney.

The Undersecretary stressed the fact that innovation is key to achieving progress with respect to productive, economic, environmental and social sustainability, adding that the USDA’s agenda is based on that approach.

“It’s that kind of thing that we must chase more and more. The Secretary has the goal of increasing productivity, at least in our country, by 40%, and reducing the load on the environment by 50%”, he remarked.

“The key difference between us and other parts of the world is we’re going to do that through innovation. Our farmers have achieved that; we have reduced the use of fertilizers by 25-35% because we’re dialing back and we have soil sampling. We’re using zero insecticides in our corn fields these days, and that is due to the advent of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms”, he added.

He noted that agricultural innovation is crucial, given that it will enable livestock production and farmers in the region to make a profit and to continue to play a key role in people’s food and nutritional security.

“You can do this through innovation and continue to increase productivity. This includes meats and dairy, which is great, because we must not focus solely on vegetables. We cannot forget about all of the products that come from our livestock and poultry sectors”, he explained.

McKinney argued that science and innovation must go hand in hand, explaining that this will allow for eliminating barriers and obstacles that often arise without a scientific basis.

“I strive to break down these barriers. I believe we have a bright future ahead of us, and we will succeed in meeting our needs for productivity as well as healthy, quality food for those 9 or 10 billion people projected to be on the planet by 2050”, he concluded.

The Under Secretary took advantage of the opportunity to highlight IICA’s role as an international organization, describing the Institute as a model institution due to its leadership in the field of agriculture and in preparing the publication that will be presented at the UN Food Systems Summit.

More information:
Horrys Friaca, International Specialist of IICA’s Agricultural Health and Food Safety (AHFS) Program. 
horrys.friaca@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