25/8/23 00:00

Building alliances for a sustainable agriculture worldwide

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Confederation of American Associations for a Sustainable Agriculture (CAAPAS) are collaborating to consolidate a regional network to promote conservation agriculture at the global

In picture: Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA in Spanish), Manuel Otero, Chair of Aapresid, Marcelo Torres, and Representative of FEBRAPDP, Jonathan Ma. 

Based on science and innovation, led by producers and addressing global demands, the panel “Latin America’s cooperation in favor of sustainable agriculture” was developed. Said panel was led by the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, the Representative of FEBRAPDP (Brazilian Federation of No-Till System and Irrigation), Jonathan Ma, and the Chair of Aapresid (Argentine No-Till Farmers Association), Marcelo Torres. 

At the beginning of the panel, Manuel Otero presented the IICA organization, which specializes in agriculture in the Inter-American System and supports the efforts of other Member States to achieve agricultural development and rural welfare. By means of joint and continuous work among the 34 Member States, IICA is experienced in technology and innovation matters related to agricultural health, safety and agrifood quality, agricultural international trade, family farming, territorial development, natural resources management and bioeconomy. 

In addition, the Chair of FEBRAPDP, Jonathan Ma, presented CAAPAS, an umbrella organization of producers across the American continent that build, by the day, paradigms to transform global agriculture. With more than 30 years of innovative experience, farmers intend to reach every frontier to share the success of practices that will allow sustainable output possibilities. Ma claimed: “Every country in the world talks about carbon.”

For his part, the Chair of Aapresid, Marcelo Torres, explained that joining agriculture and nature to be able to regenerate soils and mitigate environmental impact means zero tillage, crop rotation and diversity of species, and permanent soil cover. Moreover, he broadened on the challenges of agrifood systems from a global perspective.

Within the framework of this panel, CAAPAS and IICA signed an agreement for technical cooperation, which aims to design and enforce actions that allow coordination, interaction and cooperation for competitiveness improvement in the continental agrifood sector through sustainable agriculture, no-till systems, soils conservation and those practices that help improve both yields and quality life of rural dwellers.

Concerning this agreement, Manuel Otero expressed the need to broaden the network and to communicate, together with charting a clear path and committing to delivering outcomes that benefit our producers. Regarding this agreement, Jonathan Ma stated that it will mark a turning point to raise awareness on what they have been working on. 

Said agreement takes into account cooperation matters related to Innovation and Bioeconomy, Territorial Development and Family Farming, International Trade and Regional Integration, Climate Action and Agricultural Sustainability, Agricultural Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality, Digitalization of Agrifood Systems and Gender Equality and Youth. 

In turn, Manuel Otero received recognition for his contribution to the development of sustainable agriculture in America.