Director General of IICA: “Agriculture could be the key to development in the Americas”

Mexico, Federal District, August 3, 2011 (IICA). Agriculture has a key role to play in meeting global challenges such as food security, environmental conservation and the need for clean energy, according to the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Victor M. Villalobos.

By 2050 it will be necessary to produce twice as much food as is produced today if the needs of a growing world population are to be met, he said in an address he delivered to the Mexican Senate during a forum entitled “Public policies for the development of the agricultural sector.”

The forum, held on August 2, was attended by the President of the Senate, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, the former Minister of Agriculture of Brazil, Roberto Rodrigues, and the former Minister of Agriculture of Chile, Jaime Alfonso Campos Quiroga, as well as high-level representatives of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Inter-American Development Bank.

In the judgment of the Director General, the agricultural sectors of the 34 Member States of the Institute have a historic opportunity to become more efficient and productive by making new investments and adopting joint development models, which can turn the greatest challenges of the 21st century into opportunities for growth.

These challenges include the growth of the world population, predicted to reach nine billion by 2050, and the need to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change and to reduce poverty.

Agriculture, which is essential in guaranteeing food security, must contribute less to deforestation and more to environmental conservation, while providing raw materials for clean and renewable energy.

Villalobos told the Senate that a more modern agriculture would create greater economic opportunities which would make producers less vulnerable to financial speculation and enable countries to create sources of jobs that would counteract the negative effects of migration and unemployment.

The week-long visit of the Director General to Mexico also included meetings with representatives of major institutions of higher learning and scientific and technological research centers.

For more information, contact:
gino.buzzetti@iica.int