The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is set to host the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas in Costa Rica from October 3-5. The conference aims to propose joint actions to bolster the region’s agriculture sector, ensuring food security and global sustainability amid climate, economic, and military crises.
The conference, titled “Hemispheric Partnership for Food Security and Sustainable Development,” will be held at IICA’s headquarters. It will feature ministers of agriculture from member countries, special guests including country presidents, a Nobel laureate, a World Food Prize winner, and the CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation.
The Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), consisting of 34 ministers of Agriculture from the region and IICA’s highest governing body, will also convene during the conference. The summit’s primary objective is to foster a partnership among American countries to effectively address food security and environmental challenges.
Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA, emphasized that no country can tackle these challenges alone. He believes that the technical cooperation derived from this conference could drive progress in the agriculture sector. He further stated that these shared challenges require a supranational approach and changes in technical cooperation.
Otero stressed the importance of each minister’s attendance at the meeting in Costa Rica. He explained that technical cooperation should serve countries by providing concrete proposals. As the conference date approaches, Otero underscored the importance of agriculture and urged countries to take a leading role in implementing key changes to overcome new international challenges and renew the role of regional agriculture.
