IICA Director General challenges researchers to apply more scientific knowledge to agriculture

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, January 24, 2013 (IICA). At an activity held in the Dominican Republic to discuss the current and future food situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Víctor M. Villalobos, challenged the researchers present to incorporate more science and technology into agriculture, to assist the sector with the enormous task of producing more food in a more sustainable way.

At the opening ceremony of the Sixth International Seminar on Agrifood Policies in Santo Domingo, Mr. Villalobos explained that agrifood systems needed to be improved to meet the challenges of climate change, the increase in the world’s population, and changes in consumption habits. The meeting was organized by the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Agriculture and the National Agricultural and Forestry Research Council (CONIAF), with support from IICA.

The IICA Director General’s visit to the Dominican Republic includes a meeting with senior government officials and several field trips.

At the seminar, Villalobos stated that a new form of agriculture was emerging, based on innovation: “This element will be the key to making the transition from traditional agriculture to a more productive, sustainable, and inclusive system,” he remarked.

The challenges facing current agrifood systems include the planet’s burgeoning population, which is expected to top nine billion within 40 years, with most people living in cities. The average income of the population of emerging countries will rise, so the demand for goods is also expected to increase.

In the case of foodstuffs, the markets called upon to meet the demand are unstable, following the 2008 price crisis.

Other forces driving and modifying the agrifood outlook worldwide are the globalization and liberalization of markets, changes in value chains, competition for limited resources and consumers’ insistence on production systems that are more respectful of the environment and human health, safety, traceability and food quality.

Energy, water, soil, access to technological innovations, information and communication technologies, and human capital are some of the resources for which production systems will compete in the future, explained Villalobos.

He went on to state that the major challenges facing new agriculture fell under three headings: competitiveness, sustainability, and food security.

The first of the three called for efforts to raise productivity per unit of area or per animal, and to improve the value, quality, type, and use of food. “The research efforts to develop new plant and animal varieties, conserve germplasm, and make more and better use of soils and water are a big step towards improved agricultural competitiveness,” the IICA Director General added.

Mr. Villalobos asked the researchers to find mechanisms for including smallholders and rural women in agricultural value chains, which would enhance economic and social sustainability, and speed up efforts aimed at climate change mitigation and adaptation in the agricultural sector, to achieve a better environmental balance.

“Improving smallholders’ links with the markets is also an opportunity to increase food security, but more efforts are needed to strengthen their access to plant and equipment, increase investment in infrastructure and rural territories, and reduce food losses,” he added.

For more information, contact: 
manuel.sanchez@iica.int