Together with IICA, governments of U.S. and Guatemala launch joint program to strengthen food security and the role of small-scale farmers in that Central American country

Washington D.C., 4 June 2024 (IICA) - Together with the government of Guatemala and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the U.S. government launched a technical cooperation program aimed at strengthening food security and the everyday work of small-scale farmers in that Central American country.

The initiative is part of the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) project, which brings together the public and private sectors in an effort to build a resilient food system grounded in diverse, nutritious, and climate adapted crops grown in healthy, fertile soils.

Launched in Africa in early 2023, the VACS project garnered global interest, which resulted in multiple donors. Guatemala is the first country of the Americas where it will be implemented. The project was developed by Cary Fowler, U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security and recipient of this year’s World Food Prize for his exceptional contributions to eradicating hunger on the planet.

José W. Fernández, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment at the U.S. Department of State, represented the United States at the launch event. Also in attendance were the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Food of Guatemala, Maynor Estrada, and IICA Director General Manuel Otero, as well as representatives of the private sector, multilateral financial agencies, the diplomatic corps and non-governmental organizations committed to collective action to combat global food insecurity.

Assistant Secretary Fernández underscored that joint work is crucial to achieve positive impacts, and called for mobilizing public and private resources to achieve the objectives of the VACS initiative. He also highlighted the importance of an organization with IICA’s technical expertise participating in Guatemala as an implementation agency.

Fernández also discussed the program’s proposals and needs during a meeting in New York with the President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, who took office in January.

The partnership to implement the VACS initiative seeks to identify areas for future investment and resource mobilization from the public and private sectors to drive progress towards meeting the program’s objectives.

A key goal is to promote traditional and indigenous, nutrient-rich crops that historically have received little investment.

Partnership between the U.S. and IICA

This new project will further strengthen the partnership of more than 80 years between the United States and IICA, which has focused on agricultural sustainability and preventing pests and diseases that put food security on the continent at risk.

The initiative will also allow for strengthening linkages with multilateral credit agencies such as the World Bank, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, IDB and other organizations committed to technical assistance and international aid.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a particularly important player with close ties to IICA, which is also collaborating in this initiative, as are several U.S. multinational food companies.

Guatemalan Minister Maynor Estrada expressed his government’s full support for the initiative and emphasized that building resilience and enhancing the production units of small-scale farmers, indigenous peoples and vulnerable communities is a priority in Guatemala.

Estrada stated that family farmers must be key players in the transformation of their own production systems, with the support of a State that prioritizes the principles of transparency and efficient governance.

The minister took part in a bilateral meeting in the United States with Otero, during which he highlighted IICA’s efforts in Central American countries to achieve a more sustainable agriculture sector.

New philosophy

The IICA Director General also delivered a speech at the launch event for VACS in Guatemala and stressed the fact that the project presents a new philosophy for technical cooperation.

“It is the same philosophy that IICA promotes, which focuses on the health of agricultural soils and funding that emphasizes public-private synergies, because results cannot be achieved through individual efforts,” he remarked.

“Technical cooperation must focus on actions and the achievement of results; to that end, joint work is essential. Now it is a matter of moving forward in the search for greater financial resources to give the program the momentum it requires”, he added.

As part of his working visit to the United States, Otero met with the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Alexis Taylor, with whom he discussed the role of the agriculture sector in combating climate change.

He also met with Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS); the Ambassador of Argentina to the United States, Gerardo Werthein; and Sonia Cavallo, appointed Ambassador of Argentina to the OAS.

Otero also held a meeting with scientist Rattan Lal, IICA Goodwill Ambassador, with whom he defined the next steps of the Living Soils of the Americas project, which has achieved successful results in Latin American and Caribbean countries and was recently launched in Africa.