G20 asked to encourage investment to improve agricultural productivity

San Jose, Costa Rica, June 14, 2012 (IICA). The development of policies that encourage market-oriented investment as well as knowledge transfer to producers, are among the actions to be taken by governments to promote the productivity of family and small-scale agriculture. This was discussed at a forum held at IICA headquarters, where the inter-agency report on this topic, submitted to the interim chair of the G20, Mexico, was discussed.

The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica, Gloria Abraham, academics and representatives of the public and private sectors participated in the forum which was organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

This exchange of ideas took place only a few days before the G20 Summit, to be held in Los Cabos, Mexico, on June 18-19, 2012. This Summit will bring together Heads of State and Government of the world’s largest economies, as well as representatives of other invited nations (Colombia and Chile in the case of Latin America) and international organizations.

According to Minister Abrahams, “The G20 has placed the topic on the table and has also provided us with the opportunity to elevate the issue of food security and the contribution of agriculture to the top of our agenda. The policies emerging from the meeting must be long term, separate and must improve public spending, since they need to be transformed into concrete tools”.

Victor M. Villalobos, Director General of IICA, stated that responsibilities and calls for action will flow from the G20 Summit: “The Institute has the willingness and the technical capacity to get involved and to respond successfully to the task of increasing agricultural productivity and its contribution to food security”.

The report analyzed during the forum is entitled “Sustainable Agricultural Productivity Growth and Bridging the Gap for Small Family Farms”. It was presented to the international community on June 12, 2012 by the 12 agencies that participated in is preparation.

This document served as the basis for discussions of the Group of Vice-Ministers of Agriculture of the G20, which met prior to the Summit, and whose suggestions will be examined at the meeting of Heads of State and Government.

Among its conclusions, the report highlights the fact that increased productivity from small farms will require guaranteed, sustainable access to agricultural inputs and reduced post-harvest losses and product waste. These needs can be addressed through research, development and innovation to provide solutions in a context of international cooperation.

The report was prepared by the World Bank, Biodiversity International, CGIAR, FAO, IFAD, IFPRI, IICA, OECD, UNCTAD, the Coordinating team of the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, WPF and WTO.

According to the Director General of the Institute, who will attend the G20 Summit, “IICA was invited to work along with this select group and the result is a document that underscores the urgent need to guarantee food security worldwide”.

He added that the report recognizes the limitations to greater efficiency in the transformation of natural resources (such as water and soil) into food, outlines the need to reinforce the contribution of small and medium-sized farming units to food security and invites the private sector to participate more actively in the transfer of applied scientific knowledge.

IICA Leadership

Rafael Trejos, Manager of the Center for Strategic Analysis at IICA, explained during the technical forum that the inter-agency document follows up on the plan outlined last year by the G20, which seeks to establish a system of agricultural market information, implement a rapid response mechanism for situations that threaten food security and create a platform for innovation in tropical agriculture, among other actions.

According to Trejos, “One of the recommendations made is to strengthen research to reduce the use of water in agriculture, a topic that IICA will address as the regional leader”.

During a teleconference from Mexico, Alfonso Cebreros, Director of Government Relations at the Gruma Company, outlined the vision of the private sector, indicating that efforts had to be maintained in order to increase agricultural productivity and its contribution to food security: “Were it not for institutions such as IICA that pay attention to these matters, the recommendations would begin to fade in the wake of the euphoria generated by the G20 meeting”.

Felipe Aráuz, Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Costa Rica, noted that another of the important aspects of the report was sustainable management of tropical regions of the Americas, as a source of agricultural biodiversity, given the possibilities that this presents for research, innovation and transfer of knowledge.

According to Aráuz, “Tropical agriculture can provide examples of good practices, such as the use of biodiversity for soil management and biological pest control”.

For more information, contact: 
rafael.trejos@iica.int