Ministry of Women and IICA agree to promote the development of rural women in the Dominican Republic

The agreement was signed within the framework of actions promoted by the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, for the development of rural women in the hemisphere

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, December 2018 (IICA).  In December, the Minister of Women, Janet Camilo and the Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in the Dominican Republic, Mr. Frank Lam agreed to promote the development of rural women in the Dominican Republic. The agreement, valid for two years, will allow both institutions to join efforts for the well-being of the women who work in the development of the rural field.

During the ceremony, Minister Camilo highlighted the need to build an agenda for rural women and the importance of signing this agreement between both institutions, as it reaffirms the commitment of the Ministry of Women to promote the rural agenda in the Dominican Republic. She also stressed that this development agenda for rural women should be inter-sectoral, inter-institutional, where different government institutions work together to strengthen the development of rural women, pointing in the same direction from their respective roles and responsibilities, to continue together the strengthening of this framework for the development of women in rural areas.

Likewise, Mr. Frank Lam highlighted the importance of this agreement as a priority for IICA due to the mandate of the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, to strengthen the institutions that work to promote rural well-being and development of rural women in the hemisphere. In this regard, Mr. Lam highlighted the interrupted presence of IICA in the Dominican Republic, with a history of 50 years supporting agricultural development and rural well-being in the country.

With the signing of this agreement, IICA expands its portfolio of partners to promote agricultural development and rural well-being in the Americas. Both institutions will meet at the beginning of 2019 to elaborate a joint agenda of concrete actions for the development of rural women in the Dominican Republic.

It is recalled that on October 15, IICA commemorated the International Day of Rural Women with the publication of the book “Warriors – Rural Women around the World: 28 Enlightened Voices” and the photo exhibition “The Soul of Rurality”, as part of the initiatives promoted by IICA to highlight the role of women in the development of the field.

More information: Gina Rosario, Specialist in Natural Resources, Agriculture and Climate Change, gina.rosario@iica.int