The Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development, Jhenifer Mojica; the Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Susana Muhamad; the Deputy Minister of Environmental Land Management of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Francisco Javier Canal Albán; the President of the Rural Development Agency, Luis Alberto Higuera Malaver; the Director of National Natural Parks, Luis Olmedo Martínez Zamora; and the Rector of the National University of Colombia, Dolly Montoya, were among the officials who welcomed the Director General of the agency specializing in agricultural and rural development.

Geared towards teachers, the course focused on sharing knowledge on and providing training in CRISPR-Cas gene editing techniques. This will allow for expanding the number of institutions that could eventually contribute biotechnology solutions to address various agricultural issues.

The agreement was signed by the Costa Rican Minister of Tourism, William Rodriguez, and the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, during the meeting of the Executive Committee of the international organization, in San Jose.

At IICA Headquarters in San Jose and at its Delegation in Brazil, the flags of the Institute and Brazil will be flown at half mast, in memory of Paolinelli and as a way to mark his legacy as a visionary who is considered to be the father of the world’s most efficient tropical agriculture model.