The answers to the global challenges facing agriculture may be found in the Americas

San José, Costa Rica, October 19, 2011, (IICA). The Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2011 began today, with all participants firmly convinced that innovation in agriculture can contribute to efforts to ensure food security and combat environmental degradation.

President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica inaugurated the meeting, organized by the Government of Costa Rica, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Farming (MAG), and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Chinchilla applauded the priority being attached to innovation in agriculture as a means of addressing the common problems facing the region. “To innovate is to change, explore, add value and re-invent, and is the only way we can continue to expand our agricultural frontiers without putting the environment at risk or sacrificing the health of producers,” she said.

“Given these challenges, we must find effective responses,” she added.

The opening of the meeting of ministers was attended by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza; the Vice President of Costa Rica, Luis Liberman; the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Farming of Costa Rica, Gloria Abraham; and the Director General of IICA, Victor M. Villalobos.

According to Insulza, this meeting of ministers of agriculture in Costa Rica is the most important in recent years in the hemisphere, considering that nation increasingly need more and better food.

“The Americas as a region is a net supplier of food to the world,” he stressed.

The opening remarks were given by Prabhu Pingali, Deputy Director of Agricultural Development Policy and Statistics with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which focuses in part on cooperation in agriculture as means of overcoming poverty and hunger in Asia and Africa.

“Innovation in Latin America and investment in agriculture were very important some years ago, not only because it helped the region survive famine, but also because it gave a boost to the emerging economies and helped millions of people in the world to rise out of poverty and hunger,” Pingali said.

The current challenge, he added, is to invest more in research and development, and to find ways to transfer that knowledge to all countries.

A call to innovate

Addressing representatives of international financial and cooperation agencies, Minister Gloria Abraham called for improvements in the way agriculture is managed in the countries of the hemisphere, as one way to innovate in the sector.

“I call on organizations such as IICA, FAO, ECLAC and the IDB to increase their support and provide us with the best practices in the area of public policy,” she said.

The motto of the meeting is “Sewing Innovation to Harvest Prosperity.” On October 20 and 21, representatives of the member countries of IICA will try to chart a course for agriculture to be more competitive, sustainable and inclusive.

“IICA can help to find answers to issues of great importance: to guarantee food security for this and coming generations: to care for the Earth, putting a halt to environmental degradation and adapting to reducing the impact of climate change; and to alleviate the poverty that affects millions of people in rural territories,: said the Director General during the inauguration.

The need to attract investment and create partnerships between technical and financial cooperation agencies will also be discussed in the meeting, which can be followed at www.iica.int and on IICA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.

For further information: 
patricia.leon@iica.int
rbrenes@mag.go.cr