Together with its partners IICA promotes the development of a bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean

San José, Costa Rica, August 11, 2011 (IICA). A project involving several Latin American, Caribbean and European organizations, including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), will result in the definition of conceptual frameworks for bioeconomy and to joint efforts to promote its adoption in the region.

*The project began in late June, comprises five thematic areas* *and will last 30 months.*

The new bioeconomy is seen as a viable alternative that will enable economies to continue to grow while making sustainable use of natural resources. In essence, it involves bringing biology, chemistry, materials science, genomics and information technologies to bear in making better use of natural resources, both in agriculture and industry.

The project, entitled Toward a Knowledge-based Bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Association with Europe” began in late June, comprises five thematic areas and will last 30 months.

The initiative is headed by the Center for International Cooperation in Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD), together with the Headquarters and Uruguay Office of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Grupo CEO (Argentina), University of Ghent (Belgium), Institute of Experimental Biology and Technology (IBET, Portugal), Wageningen University and Research Center (Holland), Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in Production (MINCYT, Argentina), International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, Colombia), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA; Brazil), Forschungzentrum Julich GMBH (JULICH, Germany) and the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia).

According to Pedro Rocha, Coordinator of Biotechnology and Biosafety at IICA, “The project will provide support for the definition of conceptual frameworks for bioeconomy, conduct SWOT analyses and diagnostic studies for Latin America and the Caribbean and systematize and disseminate results.

For more information, contact:
pedro.rocha@iica.int