Ministers and senior officials from the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS) have voiced strong backing for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), highlighting its crucial technical role in advancing rural development across the Americas.
The declaration, signed in Paris during the CAS’s 17th Special Meeting, underscores IICA’s pivotal position as a specialized cooperation agency for agriculture, dedicated to fostering agricultural development and rural well-being.
The CAS, composed of agricultural ministers from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, convened in Paris alongside the World Organization for Animal Health’s (WOAH) General Assembly. This ministerial forum aims to coordinate regional actions and define agricultural priorities, with IICA serving as its Technical-Administrative Secretariat since its inception in 2003.
Participating in the meeting were key figures including Fernando Vilella, Secretary of Bioeconomy of Argentina; Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay; Esteban Valenzuela, Minister of Agriculture of Chile; Carlos Goulart, Secretary of Agricultural Defense of Brazil; José Carlos Martin, President of Paraguay’s National Animal Health and Quality Service (SENACSA); and Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA.
The declaration emphasizes IICA’s indispensable technical cooperation in addressing sector-wide issues that transcend national boundaries, stressing the necessity for regional collaboration. It calls upon IICA’s 34 Member States to strengthen cooperation within the Institute, fostering information sharing, capacity building, and concerted efforts to address sector challenges.
In collaboration with its Member States and private sector partners, IICA has notably established the Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas, showcasing the continent’s progress in sustainable agriculture at international platforms like the United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP). This year, IICA is representing the agriculture sector of the Americas in the G20 discussions, further solidifying its role in shaping global agricultural policies and initiatives.
