Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA.
Belém do Pará, Brazil, 10 November 2025 (IICA). The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, stressed his organization’s commitment to work with strategic partners to demonstrate how through innovation and the support for science and technology, tropical agriculture in the hemisphere plays a fundamental role in ensuring food security and the sustainability of the planet.
Otero was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the AgroBrasil Pavilion at COP30, a pavilion sponsored by CNA/SENAR in the AgriZone. The AgriZone area was established by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) and key partners, such as IICA, to demonstrate how agricultural production and environmental conservation are progressing hand in hand.
“Our presence here further strengthens the partnership that we have maintained with EMBRAPA since its creation fifty-two years ago up to the present time, when it has become a pillar of global agricultural innovation. We take pride in the fact that EMBRAPA’s first President was José Irineu Cabral, who was also an IICA Representative in Brazil”, said Manuel Otero.
In addition to the IICA Director General, other speakers at the AgroBrasil inauguration were Silvia Massruhá, President of EMBRAPA; Daniel Carrara, Director General of Brazil’s National Rural Learning Service (CNA/SENAR); Muni Lourenço, President of CNA’s National Environmental Commission and President of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of Amazonas (FAEA); Carlos Xavier, President of the Agriculture and Livestock Federation of Pará (FAEPA); Bruno Quick, Technical Director of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE Nacional), as well as authorities from regional organizations involved in agriculture.
Silvia Massruhá, President of EMBRAPA.
The EMBRAPA President explained that, “We intend to use the AgriZone to showcase the agriculture sector in Brazil’s six biomes and its enormous contribution to global food security. We also hope to gain support for our efforts to ensure that family farming adopts more sustainable practices, based on agricultural research”.
Daniel Carrara called attention to the need to integrate efforts to build knowledge on agricultural production and sustainability in the Amazon region. He also took the opportunity to launch IAmazon, an app that provides a listing of initiatives linked to the bioeconomy and products originating in that region of Brazil.
The Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas
IICA also launched its own pavilion in the AgriZone, namely the Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas, where it will host close to fifty events, featuring specialists in agricultural research, policies and innovation.
IICA’s partners in this initiative are Canada Agriculture and Agri-food, Bayer, CropLife International, Elanco, the Organization of American States (OAS), PepsiCo, Protein Pact, the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC), the World Bank, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UKFCDO) and World Vision International.
IICA was present at the inauguration ceremony of the AgroBrasil Pavilion at COP30, a pavilion sponsored by CNA/SENAR in the AgriZone.
The IICA Director General remarked that, “Agriculture in the Americas is diverse and therein lies its tremendous value as a driver for development, inclusion and competitiveness. Here in the COP30 Agrizone, we are demonstrating that farmers, and in particular, family farmers, are fundamental for food security and environmental conservation”.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
