Officials of the ministries of Agriculture of various nations in the hemisphere were participating in a meeting of IICA’s Special Advisory Commission on Management Issues (SAMCI), in which they called for increased collaboration to tackle the challenges facing humanity, while underscoring the decisive role of the Americas in bolstering global food security and natural resource conservation.

Discussions in the Hanoi forum will focus on the transformations needed to enable food systems to contribute to overcoming the overlapping and interrelated crises now facing humanity, due to climate change, loss of biodiversity, inflation, the energy situation, hunger, malnutrition and the war in Eastern Europe.

The induction ceremony was carried out during an extraordinary public session led by Jorge Errecalde, Chair of the Academy, at its headquarters in the city of Buenos Aires, where Otero then delivered a lecture on “The Challenges Facing Agrifood Systems in the 21st Century”. The Director General of IICA will be a corresponding member of the Academy in Costa Rica, which is home to the headquarters of the organization specializing in agricultural and rural development.

The regional seminar “The Road to Sustainability in Livestock Farming in the Americas” provided an opportunity to present data, scientific evidence and information on the contribution of livestock farming. Specialists discussed ways to reduce environmental impacts and achieve sustainable and profitable production.

The three working days were designed to improve participants’ knowledge of electronic phytosanitary certification; increase the participation of countries in the region; exchange information among countries; promote networks of experts and identify areas for cooperation.