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ECLAC, IICA and FAO Unite to Heighten Role of Agriculture and Rural Development

(23 March 2009) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have united efforts to boost the protagonism of agriculture and rural development in the region.

In light of the current crisis and high poverty levels in rural areas, the agencies aim to draw more attention of public officials and financial institutions to the plight of agriculture. With this, they hope to spur progress in addressing food security.

ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, IICA Director General Chelston Brathwaite, and FAO Regional Director José Graziano da Silva met  at IICA headquarters in Santiago, Chile. Also participating in the meeting were the IICA Representative in Chile, Gonzalo González, and the Officer in charge of the Division of Production, Productivity and Management at ECLAC, Martine Dirven.

The three agencies, which have been working together since 2005, are preparing the report "Perspectives for agriculture and rural development in the Americas. A look at Latin America and the Caribbean", which will contain a database and key indicators.

The report will be presented in October during the Fifth Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas in Jamaica.

The representatives of ECLAC, IICA and FAO also agreed to work jointly to mitigate the effects of climate change on rural development and avoid a food crisis.

They also suggested strengthening the Inter-Agency Group on Rural Development (IAGRD), composed of six international bodies and three bilateral cooperation agencies, with new methods and work focus. They aim to have the IAGRD contribute to the resolutions of Agriculture Ministers in the Jamaica meeting with an inter-agency work plan.