The forum promoted efforts to propose the One Health concept as a mainstay in the process of strengthening food security in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The recommendation is made in The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas 2023-2024, a report prepared by the three institutions and presented in Costa Rica during the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the hemisphere.

The conference sought to provide a forum to facilitate discussion, drive collective action and reinforce the region’s role as a guarantor of global food security and environmental sustainability, in a world that is currently grappling with converging crises and uncertainty.

Agriculture ministers of the Americas explained to representatives of IDB, CAF and the World Bank that support mechanisms are required for family farming, to incorporate advanced water management and soil regeneration practices, among others that foster sustainability. 

Discussions on the first working day of the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2023 focused on the transformations taking place in agriculture and its role as an engine of economic development and social inclusion in the countries of the hemisphere.

The agreement was signed by Terry Branstad, CEO of WFP, and Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA, during the opening ceremony of the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2023.

Uruguay will take over from the previous Chair, Brazil, which exercised this role over the last two years. The Brazilian government was represented at the meeting by the sector’s highest authority, Paulo Teixeira, the Minister of Agricultural Development and Family Farming.