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In This Issue

IICA USA Welcomes a New

Member of the Team!

The Permanent Council of the OAS

endorses IICA’s new cooperation

model / Examples of IICA Member

Country Achievements in 2014

Investment in agriculture require

better liaison between the public and

private sectors.

Panama Advances in Development of

National Climate Change

Strategy for Agricultural Sector

Central America prepares for the

UNFCCC COP21

Rural Advisory Services using Infor-

mation and Communication Technol-

ogies

LAC and African Countries

discuss Regional Positions at Codex

Alimentarius Meeting

Caribbean Climate Smart

Agriculture Forum Launched

OAS recognizes IICA’s

contribution to the development

of the Americas

Strengthening Producer Organiza-

tions to Improve Market Linkages

National Climate Change and Agricul-

ture Forum held in Nicaragua

Progress In Preparing ECLAC-FAO-

IICA Outlook For Agriculture And

Rural Development In The Americas

ECLAC-FAO-IICA Newsletter on

Family Farming

Major Trends and Challenges in the

Design and Implementation of Agri-

cultural Policies

New Inter-American Task Force

Launched to tackle (NCDs)

Infographic: Agriculture in Latin

America and the Caribbean

Upcoming Events

From the Desk of the Representative Welcome to our third edition of 2015! As you will discover in the following pages, our Institute in general, and our office in particular have been extremely active in respond-

ing to demands from our member countries and continuing with the implementation of our new model of technical cooperation. To start, this office has strengthened its technical capacity with the arrival of Dr. Horrys Friaça, a national from Brazil, who will contribute his talents to advance IICA’s work in the area of food safety and animal and plant health. Horrys comes with vast experience in these fields and after serving for more than 10 years at the Ministry of Agriculture in Brazil, of which the last 4 he served as Agricultural Attaché for the Brazilian Embassy in the United States. During the time period covered in this newsletter there have been several important de-velopments in the US. The passing of the Trade Authority Bill by the Senate and the House has allowed Congress the ability to vote for or against international trade agree-ments made by the White House. As explained in this article “It is the latest win for Presi-dent Obama who hopes to use TPA's "fast track" authority to secure the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership, which involves the U.S. and 11 other nations. The vote comes less than a week after the House did not pass a trade assistance bill connected to TPA. Since one bill passed and the other did not, both must now return to the Senate and pass in separate votes. If both bills pass the Senate and then the House, President Obama will have the authority to negotiate with the 11 other countries to make the Trans-Pacific Part-nership a reality. (June 25): As separate bills, TPA and TAA, both pass the Senate as well as the House. The legislation now awaits President Obama's signature. The bills also include a 10-year extension program giving sub-Saharan African.” In a statement issued by the USDA regarding the passing of the Trade Promotion Authority, Secretary Vilsack indicated that “Trade agreements are a driving force behind expanded U.S. exports, which means U.S. companies can provide more, better paying jobs. Last year, American agricultural exports grew to a record $152.5 billion, and the past six years represent the strongest in history for U.S. agricultural trade. Still, ninety-five percent of the world's con-sumers live outside of our borders. Trade Promotion Authority allows the U.S. to be a leader in achieving free trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, that have strong labor and environmental provisions that are actually enforceable, while maintaining a level playing field for our workers and businesses and allowing farmers and ranchers to reach new customer” In May our Director General presented to the Permanent Council of the OAS the 2014 IICA annual report. He highlighted the contributions that IICA has made to the develop-ment of agriculture in the countries of the Americas and confirmed his commitment to further results. In June IICA participated at the OAS General Assembly where linkages with other Inter-American organizations were strengthened. Finally in June a historical meeting, organized by IICA with the support of the US, brought together representatives from Latin American, Caribbean and African countries to discuss and analyze proposals on food safety issues within the framework of CODEX. On lighter note, during this period we witnessed American Pharoah win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1978 and also saw the US women national soccer team win their third FIFA women´s world cup. I hope this newsletter is of your interest and we would love to hear from you.

Sincerely ,

Dr. Miguel García-Winder, IICA Representative in the USA, Head of CAESPA

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May —June 2015

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

IICA Office in the USA Welcomes a New Member of the Team!

Horrys Friaça joined IICA in 2015 as an Agricultural Health and Food Safety Specialist. Horrys is a Veterinarian and also holds a MSc and a PhD in Veterinary Medicine. On his previous duties as a Veterinarian Officer of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (2003 – 2015), he got different positions related to international negotiations on agricultural health and food safety requirements. Over this period, he had the opportunity to coordinate multilateral negotiations on animal health and food safety matters discussed at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee (SPS Committee), Codex Alimentarius and World Animal Health Organization (OIE). He also su-

pervised bilateral negotiations on SPS matters related to market access for agricultural products to many different countries. Over the past 4 years he worked as the Agricultural Attaché to the Embassy of Brazil in Washington, D.C., focusing on facilitating and broadening U.S. access to Brazilian agricultural products. In this capacity we was able to support negotiations resulting in market access for Brazilian fresh pork and beef to the U.S., among many different other.

In his new role, Horrys hopes to learn, share and serve IICA and its member countries. He recognizes the important work IICA carries out to improve agriculture in developing countries, and hopes to contribute with his knowledge to supporting that cause.

The Permanent Council of the OAS endorses IICA’s new cooperation model

On May 19th, 2015, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) expressed its endorsement for the new cooperation model of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which was presented by Dr. Víctor M. Villalobos, Director General of IICA. The council’s ambassadors recognized the Insti-tute’s commitment to delivering results and its important contribution to agriculture in the region. The Director General explained that IICA’s new cooperation model will make contribu-tions to member countries more impactful and measurable. The Ambassadors embraced the 2014 Annual Report of the Institute, presented by Vil-lalobos, who recalled that one of the topics that sparked general consensus at the Summit of the Americas, held in April in Panama, was the importance of agriculture for food and for combating poverty. “A prosperous agricultural sector is crucial for an equitable society,” asserted the Direc-tor General of IICA before the Permanent Council. “This relaunch implies getting the Institute up to speed with the present times, which demand a different way of facing agricultural challenges,” stated Villalobos. Increasing productivity and competitiveness, adapting to climate change, making agriculture more sustainable and promoting in-clusion in rural areas are some of those challenges. According to the 2014 Annual Report of IICA, 593 projects were carried out this year. Their contributions included strengthening the capacities of several countries to manage agrifood chains, disseminating innovations for the production of renewable energies and food, designing models for participative social management, improving risk management and prevention of disasters in the Caribbean, and strengthening agricultural health services in various countries.

Víctor M. Villalobos, DG of IICA, presented the

Institute's Annual Report at the OAS

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

Additionally, with support from the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) of Mexico, 108 scholarships were awarded to young professionals in agriculture from various countries of the hemisphere. Recognition from Ambassadors Emilio Rabasa Gamboa, Mexican Ambassador on the OAS Permanent Council, stated that IICA’s relaunch and its focus on pro-jects were bringing new energy to the Inter-American System and benefiting regional integration. Rabasa also extended an invitation to the countries to participate in the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, orga-nized by the Government of Mexico and IICA, which will take place in the Riviera Maya, from October 19 to 23. Margarita Riva-Geoghegan, Alternate Representative of the United States, stated that the Institute’s work in food security was im-pressive and that the U.S. government would continue to support activities for improving the competitiveness and productivity of agriculture in the hemisphere. “The renovation of IICA’s model is quite opportune for the OAS, which is also renewing its administration. This is a time in which changes could take place,” indicated Juan Pablo Lira Bianchi, Chilean Ambassador. Pablo Barahona Kruger, Ambassador of Costa Rica, considered it necessary to relaunch agriculture, not only as an economic activ-ity, but also as a type of culture. His Peruvian counterpart, Juan Federico Jiménez Mayor, added that IICA’s contributions promote reflection on the role agriculture plays in alleviating poverty in the hemisphere. “It is a fundamental sector for countries in the Americas,” concurred Hugo Cayrús, Ambassador of Uruguay. Leonidas Rosa Bautista, Honduran Ambassador, stated that the enthusiasm for the development of agriculture, which was revived at the Summit of the Americas, must be maintained. “A noble activity in our nations has the opportunity to make a key contribution to feeding the world,” he claimed. Stephen Vasciannie, Ambassador of Jamaica, thanked IICA for motivating an exchange of knowledge of agriculture among coun-tries in the Americas. Diego Pary Rodríguez, Bolivian Ambassador, echoed that opinion and stated that the Institute provided cooperation and motivated countries to share their successful experiences, which could be adopted by other nations. Hubert J. Charles, Ambassador of Dominica, invited the Institute to become a part of a project on cassava in the Calinago region, where the Institute’s actions related to compliance with phytosanitary measures and the inclusion of women and young people in rural areas could be replicated. Among the specific contributions received by the countries in 2014, Carmen Luisa Velázquez, Alternate Representative of Vene-zuela, highlighted the importance that strengthening of capacities for water storage and use has for her country. José Luis Ramí-rez, Alternate Representative of Colombia, explained that 75 Master’s and Ph.D students had benefited from the scholarship pro-gram led by IICA and CONACYT of Mexico. Elliston Rahming, Ambassador of Bahamas, stated that the Institute of Agriculture and Marine Sciences in that country was recently created with support from IICA. “We value the cooperation provided by the Institute in areas such as biotechnology, biosecurity, Codex Alimentarius and knowledge management for food security,” stated José Eduardo Pereira Sosa, Alternate Representative of Paraguay. More information: miguel.garcia@iica.int Speech of the Director General of IICA before the Permanent Council of OAS and Ambassador's remarks: Audio - Video

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Examples of IICA Member Country Achievements in 2014

IICA Antigua & Barbuda: Following the implementation, support and coordination of

the Zero Hunger Challenge Initiative, over 1200 backyard gardens were developed, and assistance was provided to the National School Feeding Programme and the Agricultur-al Science school gardens. To date, there are approximately five primary schools partic-ipating in the programme, which allows students to appreciate agriculture from an early age.

IICA Bahamas: In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, MAMR, BAIC and BAM-

SI, a Market Information System was established with the Market Information Organiza-tion of the Americas (MIOA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Mar-keting Service (AMS-USDA). Twelve 12 technical persons were trained in the use of the platform and data analysis.

IICA El Salvador: Through 15 days of training at the national level, IICA strength-

ened the capacities of 300 small producers, 8 productive agricultural chains, linked 21 Storage and Service Centers (SSC) managed mainly by the Family Farming Plan (PAF) from the Salvadoran Government. Producers have more knowledge in the areas of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) and health issues on transformation, post-harvest and value-added technologies, production and export platforms, negotiation techniques and use of IT tools.

IICA Guatemala: As part of the alliance between IICA and the World Food Programme (WFP), seven technical, two institu-

tional videos, nine guides and other extension tools based in the comprehensive model of rural extension implemented on the initiative Purchase for Progress (P4P) were developed. This initiative has benefited more than 9,700 producers and their families in three regions of the country, whose capabilities were strengthened in the use of good agricultural practices (GAP) to improve the competitive performance of corn and beans agri-food chains .

IICA Haiti: Bean production increased from 10% to 15%, thanks to the seed production centers established in the

districts of Mirebalais, Gonaïves and Grand Goave within the framework of the project "Resistant varieties of beans," funded by USAID and conducted under the coordination of Michigan State University.

IICA Mexico: The Government of Mexico and IICA executed a capacity building program in agriculture, through which 295

technicians from 15 countries of the Caribbean were trained in protected agriculture, rural tourism, family agriculture and backyard, soil and water protection, plant pathology and sheep production, areas of great importance for development of Car-ibbean agriculture.

IICA Peru: IICA and the International Centre for Forestry Research (CIFOR) organized an inter -ministerial dialogue in

the context of the twentieth Conference of the Parties (COP20) of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Lima, Peru. In this dialogue, 13 environmental and agricultural ministers from 7 Latin American countries participated. They reached consensus on the need for all sectors to work together for agricultural producers to better face the challenges of climate change.

Read IICA’s 2014 Annual Report here.

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

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Investment in agriculture require better liaison between the public and private sectors

At the World Economic Forum on Latin America, held in Mexico in May, the Director General of IICA stated that the private sector is a key ally for strengthening agriculture. A new type of liaison between the public and private sectors that prompt the crea-tion of partnerships with common objectives is needed to attract new investments to agriculture in the Americas. Víctor M. Villalobos, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Coopera-tion on Agriculture (IICA), asserted that these investments are necessary in order to transform agriculture, making it more competitive, productive, sustainable and inclusive, and allowing it to be a source of food for the world population. The Director General stated that agriculture in the Americas holds that potential, but all stakeholders in the sector must tap into it to elicit change. In the presence of global leaders at the 2015 World Economic Forum on Latin America, Villalobos stated that the private sector is a key ally for agricultural re-search, development, and innovation. “Innovation is needed in its broadest sense: from technological innovation for greater sustainability, to innovation in social and productive management models, so that producers will become even more linked to markets,” he asserted. According to Villalobos, country capacities in agricultural health and food safety must be strengthened to boost agricultural trade. Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, and Enrique Martínez y Martínez, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Develop-ment, Fisheries and Food of Mexico, participated in the forum. The Director General of IICA added that agriculture must be develop in a context free of distortions; in other words, in one with macroeconomic, structural, agricultural and institutional policies that support its development. “Other types of policies that are new to agriculture could relate to improving the nutritional quality of agricultural products, adapting to and mitigating climate change, and carrying out a comprehensive risk management,” he stated. Villalobos highlighted the importance of agriculture for countries in the region; its contribution to the economy, as an expanded sector, is as high as 30% in some countries. More information: evangelina.beltran@iica.int

The private sector can be a key ally for agricultural

research, development, and innovation

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

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Panama Advances in Development of National Climate Change

Strategy for Agricultural Sector

A stakeholder consultation workshop was held in Santiago, Veraguas in late May to advance in the development of a national climate change strategy for Panama’s agricultural sector. Supported by IICA’s flagship project on Resili-ence and Risk Management, the workshop convened 50 actors from minis-tries of agriculture and environment, academia, civil society, international organizations and others. In the morning session, a series of talks provided participants with context regarding the climate change governance frameworks at different scales, from the international (by IICA) to the regional level (by the Central American Agricultural Council - CAC) and national levels (by the Ministry of Agricultural Development, The Ministry of Environment and FAO). Participants then identified existing research, practices, policies and strategies, and capacity development efforts at the local and national levels, and mapped them to determine the climate smart agriculture goals to which each contributes. At the end of the day, participants identified the information necessary to further develop the mitigation and adaptation components of the plan and determined the gaps that exist. These inputs will be used to develop the sectoral climate change plan, being led by the Environmental Unit of the Ministry of Agricultural Develop-ment (MIDA). For more information contact kelly.witkowski@iica.int

Photo source: http://www.mida.gob.pa

Central America prepares for the UNFCCC COP21

Experts in agriculture and climate change from six Central American Countries met at IICA’s headquarters in San Jose on June 9-10 to exchange advances, successes and barriers to climate smart agriculture in the region in preparation for the 21st Confer-ence of the Parties (COP21) to the international climate change negotiations that will take place in Paris later this year. The regional workshop, organized by The French Institute of Central America (IFAC), CIRAD, the French Embassy in Costa Rica and IICA, was preceded by a series of national workshops held in each country. These events brought together different stake-holders for a dialogue intended to enhance the visibility of climate smart agriculture and highlight the importance of enhanced collaboration between the agriculture and environment sectors and the urgency of addressing climate change in the agricultural sector. Activities and research currently being undertaken as well as challenges and success factors were identified in each country. At the regional event, the inaugural session, which was broadcast throughout the region, featured talks by Julie Lennox of CE-PAL, Peter Läderach, of CIAT, Edwin Castellanos, de la Universidad del Valle in Guatemala, and Manuel Jimenez of the Execu-tive Secretariat of the Central American Agricultural Council. This was followed by discussion sessions conducted with a smaller group in which participants shared the outcomes of the national workshops and identified synergies and areas for regional collab-oration. For more information contact kelly.witkowski@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

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Rural Advisory Services using

Information and Communication Technologies

Access to knowledge and information services are crucial to expand farmer’s ability to inno-vate, as was agreed during the 51st Annual Association for International Agriculture and Rural Development (AIARD) Conference on June 1st, 2015 in Washington D.C.. Over 100 representatives from the agricultural and rural development community discussed rural ex-tension and advisory services that are required to meet the needs of farmers as they man-age their production and livelihood systems, and face climate change. The main message of the conference can be summed up with a quotation from Norman Borlaug: “take it to the farmers.” The panel “Innovative Models for International Rural Extension Incorporating New Technol-ogy”, moderated by Dr. Margaret Zeigler, Executive Director of the Global Harvest Initiative, brought together representatives from development organizations, academia and the pri-vate sector. Panelists discussed how extension services must take advantage of the grow-ing technological links between knowledge providers (government agriculture extension agents, universities, and private sector input providers) and farmers through mobile phones and web-based knowledge platforms. Priscila Henríquez, Innovation Specialist with IICA, presented two projects designed to in-crease the impact of extension services in Guatemala, which are helping bridge the knowledge gap for farmers, particularly those that speak local languages such as Q’eqchi.

The Purchase for Progress (P4P) is a program within the World Food Programme wich, among other objectives, is working to improve the quantity and quality of maize and beans, reduce losses, develop business management skills, provide access to credit, and increase the production capacity and management roles for women in Guatemala. Almost 10,000 farmers have greatly benefited from this program, which has led to the production of training videos now widely available in Q’eqchi, Spanish, and English. In-creased access to these videos has improved the effectiveness of the training modules, reaching more farmers in the region.

The second program called TotoGeo, already serves as an application dashboard for infor-mation delivery designed to increase education and outreach around the world. IICA is collab-orating with other partners to adopt the TotoGeo platform, currently used in Africa and Asia, to be used in a pilot test in Guatemala. It provides access to relevant and geo-localized infor-mation on soils, weather, crops, markets, prices, and more. Both of these programs have proved to be effective, and have shown that collaboration is key to spread education and advisory systems. Importantly, they have also utilized a feed-back loop, to continually improve and tailor the services to the particular needs of these farmers. There are over 17 million family farms in Latin America and the Caribbean accounting for 40% of food production and employing 64% of people in rural areas. It is in these same areas where the most dramatic increases in the adoption of mobile technology have occurred in the past five years. Smallholder farmers have been limited by remote loca-tions and lack of information about market conditions, and have not always been able to secure fair prices for their products. Now, the use of mobile phones and internet, along with radio and television, can also assist farmers with market information to help them sell their products at a fair price. This provides the farmers with more options, and brings them closer to regional and global markets so they can earn more money and improve their livelihoods. More information: priscila.henriquez@iica.int

Priscila Henríquez presents at AIARD

conference. Photo source: Margaret Zeigler

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

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LAC and African Countries discuss Regional Positions at

Codex Alimentarius Meeting

With support from IICA and the United States government, Latin American, Caribbean and African countries coordinated their points of view on global food safety standards During an unprecedented meeting held in San José in June, over 60 del-egates from Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) and African countries analyzed proposals for international food safety standards in order to facil-itate global negotiations on this topic. The countries are preparing for the meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, recognized by the World Trade Organization as the go-to organization for food safety standards. Given that LAC and African coun-tries represent 45% of the commission’s member countries, reaching agreements on regional positions can advance progress in topics of com-mon interest and drive multilateral agreements. Organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the United States government, the meeting in Costa Rica was the first of its kind held between the two regions. The Codex Alimentarius coordinating committees for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) and Africa (CCAFRICA) participated in the event. “Conflicting options that make it difficult to reach consensus commonly exist in negotiations, but discussions facilitate mutual under-standing and increase trust among countries,” stated Carlos Mora, Vice Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce of Costa Rica. The Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos, agreed with Mora, and added that establishing standards facilitates the multilateral trade system, which in turn benefits consumers and small and medium-sized producers. “Its dual objective of ensuring consumer health and promoting trade devoid of arbitrary discrimination shows that, beyond being a process for approving standards, Codex represents opportunities for development and social welfare,” he stated. The CCLAC and CCAFRICA representatives discussed regional and international standards for products that are of interest to their regions, such as pirarucu (Amazonian fish), quinoa, fondue, panela, and cadmium in cocoa, among others. The positions discussed at the colloquium will be analyzed with the rest of the Codex member countries at the global meeting, which will take place in Switzerland in July. Additionally, participants agreed on the importance of approving or rejecting standards based on technical and scientific criteria. This acknowledgement was made following discussion on a standard for recombinant bovine somatotropin (a product that increases milk production in cattle), approval for which has been under discussion over the past 15 years. Mary Frances Lowe, the U.S. Codex Coordinator, stated that trusting the technical basis of the standards is crucial to making pro-gress in the negotiations and commit to protecting consumer health, as well as ensuring fair trade practices. Her counterpart from CCAFRICA, Charles Booto Ngon, expressed his interest in holding similar meetings and highlighted the importance of dialogue for improving participation during food safety meetings. Guilherme da Costa Junior, Vice-Chairperson for Codex Alimentarius, and Isabel Cristina Araya, CCLAC Coordinator in Costa Rica, also participated in the meeting. More information: erick.bolanos@iica.int Related news: LAC and African countries coordinate regional positions for global Codex Alimentarius meeting

The Director General of IICA, Victor M. Villalobos presents remarks.

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

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OAS recognizes IICA’s contribution to the development of the Americas

Luis Almagro, the new Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), recognized the crucial role that the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) plays in the strengthening and development of the countries within the Inter-American System. Almagro expressed his appreciation to the Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villa-lobos, during the 45th OAS General Assembly, which took place on June 15th—16th, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Both Almagro and Villalobos reasserted their commitment to providing mutual sup-port, with the goal of propelling development in the nations of the Americas. “I believe there is room for improvement in the coordination of the Inter-American System in order to gain in efficiency for the benefit of everyone,” stated the Secretary-General of the OAS during his speech on modernizing this hemispheric organiza-tion. Within the framework of the Assembly’s main topic, “The present and future of the OAS,” various delegates at the General Assembly recognized the importance of IICA’s contributions to consolidating regional integration. Represented by their ambassadors, the member countries of the Organization reiter-ated their commitment to continue working together for the benefit of the Americas. More information: hector.iturbe@iica.int

Luis Almagro, the new Secretary-General of the

Organization of American States (OAS) and the

Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos.

Caribbean Climate Smart Agriculture Forum Launched

IICA and its partners launched the Caribbean Climate Smart Agriculture (CCSA) Forum in June of this year to provide a space for inter- and intra-sectoral dialogue to discuss impacts of and solutions to climate change on agriculture in the Caribbean, and to raise awareness of best practices effective in the small island context. The Forum, launched under the framework of IICA’s Flag-ship Project on Resilience and Risk Management, will periodically convene actors at the national level and also provide a link be-tween countries in the region to enhance technical expertise required to address the challenge. Over 150 participants gathered at IICA’s 12 offices in the English Speaking Caribbean. Representatives from IICA, the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (5Cs), FAO, GIZ and the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute spoke during a regional webinar. The speakers covered climate change projections and impacts, highlighted ongoing efforts to address the challenge, and stressed that regional knowledge exchange and partnership are key to successfully addressing the threats climate change poses to food security and economic development in the region. Discussions then continued at the national level in each country, during which actors grounded the regional discussion in the na-tional context and discussed how to use the CCSA Forum as a vehicle for consensus building, priority setting, and driving action to address climate change in the agricultural sector. In support of the International Year of Soils, the upcoming forums will focus on the link between soils, desertification and climate change. For more information contact kelly.witkowski@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

Strengthening Producer Organizations to Improve their

Market Linkages

By Daniel Rodríguez Sáenz, Leader, Flagship Project on Competitiveness and Sustainability of Agricultural Chains

Over the past 50 years, the Americas have considerably increased their participations in production and exports of agricultural products throughout the world. Even though in the long run population growth, rapid urbanization and higher incomes in develop-ing countries, among other factors, will continue promoting an increase demand for agricultural products; the current economic context presents the challenge of a slowdown in global demand for food products and a possible decline in agricultural prices. Despite efforts of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to promote strategies and polices to consolidate producer’s par-ticipation in local and international markets, some countries still have limitations increasing the linkage and share of small and me-dium scale producers and family farmers. Most of these producers still have to deal with their limited supply and low managerial skills, as well as with limitations in their resources, in terms of access to information, inputs, credit, and modern technology and knowledge. Producer organizations (POs) including cooperatives can help family farmers and small and medium scale producers to improve their competitiveness by overcoming some of the challenges mentioned above in four basic ways:

Improving access to information: having a better understanding of market demands, production windows and con-

ditions, technological alternatives, prices, and competitors, can help producers negotiate a fair price or avoid exploitation by buyers.

Generating economies of scale: by buying agricultural inputs in large quantities for its members, POs can negotiate

lower prices that can help reduce production costs. Lower transaction costs and economies of scale may also reduce the cost of services such as technical assistance, transport, storage, and packaging.

Increasing bargaining power and market presence: by bulking and improving the consistency and quality, by

spreading production between individual producers over the production season, or by adding value, producers can meet the precise demand of buyers and therefore negotiate better prices, better terms, or new markets.

Increasing influence: POs can help producers promote their interests and influence policies and strategies at the

local and national level.

IICA has worked for the past 10 years strengthening producers and producer organizations to improve their competitiveness and market access. By doing this work, the Institute has identified a set of key factors that can guide public and private efforts to strengthen POs:

Promote a market oriented approach as the foundation for their production and marketing strategies.

Always include socio-organizational aspects such as leadership, trust, communication, participation and commitment; and

managerial aspects.

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

Begin with an analysis of the organization and its environment. The analysis should include information about the agricultural

chain involved, the history of the organization and the characteristics of its members, as well as the socio-organizational and management situation.

Based on findings of the analysis and jointly with the organization leaders, define specific strengthening plans and perfor-

mance evaluation criteria.

Planning is fundamental for strengthening managerial and productive aspects. It is recommended to include three tools: stra-

tegic plan, which should become the roadmap of the organization; agribusiness plan, which defines the production and mar-keting strategy; and operational plan, which allows the organization to program short-term activities needed to implement the agribusiness plan.

Developing or strengthening POs services are strategic to consolidate market linkages and strengthen member’s commit-

ment to the organization. This process should include four steps: identification of services needed by members, evaluation of services offered, identifying gaps and defining (or redesigning) services to offer.

It is important to start with services that enable members to have access to more profitable markets, by reducing costs, bulk-

ing sales, improving consistency and quality or by increasing value. Once POs have consolidated their presence in the mar-ket, it is recommended to make efforts to promote services that will help improve the welfare of its members and their fami-lies. This can be achieved by organizing activities that help improve education, health, housing and recreation, among other factors.

For more information contact daniel.rodriguez@iica.int

Improving trust among POs

To promote trust four types of activities are recommended.

Economic: activities that promote economic benefits to members are the most important for

group cohesion. In early stages of the POs development is recommended to focus on cost

reductions activities, such as joint inputs purchases; latter on the organization can develop

joint sales seeking better prices and terms;

Socio-cultural: activities that allows members to know each other better and to develop

common values and principles;

Technological-productive: activities to know and share production practices carried-on by

the most productive members, so others will be motivated to follow them, and

Organizational: activities to ensure transparent communications, progress evaluation and

encourage teamwork.

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Progress in Preparing the ECLAC-FAO-IICA Document

“Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas”

In October 2015, ECLAC, FAO & IICA will launch a new edition of the document “The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas”. For the construction of the document, these 3 institutions have carried out an extensive consultation process with both technical staff and experts from governments and other partner institutions. This sixth edition discusses how agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may be impacted not only by the economic slowdown of its main trading partners (mainly the EU and China) but also by climate variability which will affect the decisions made by farmers in the region (especially those located in re-gions with the greatest impact of the El Niño). In this scenario, the main challenges for LAC is how to stay competitive in international markets for tropical products (mainly pineapple, cassava, coffee, and cocoa) before the accelerated production and exports of some Asian and African countries increases. The chapter on rural well-being in the document makes an analysis on inequality, agricultural growth and rural areas, with special em-phasis on the conditions of young people and women, while the chapter on policy focuses on analyzing the new generation of policies for agriculture in LAC, which in addition to the search for competitiveness include objectives concerning social inclusion, sustainability and governance of rural areas. The sixth edition of “The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas” will be officially presented at the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) to be held in October 2015 in Mexico. As in previous years, following the JIA several launch events for the dissemination and discussion of the messages will be conducted. http://bit.ly/1gjKl9Q More information: hugo.chavarria@iica.int

National Climate Change and Agriculture Forum held in Nicaragua

A national climate change forum attended by over 180 stakeholders was held on June 22 and 23 in Managua, Nicaragua. The country is ranked as one of the world’s most vulner-able to climate change, and it is expected that the thousands of smallholder farmers there will be particularly hard hit. An El Nino event and prolonged drought are currently impacting food security in the region, especially in the Central American Dry Corridor. Supported by IICA’s flagship project on Resilience and Risk Management and organized by IICA and CATIE, the forum sought to raise awareness and promote dialogue among a wide range of actors including producers, researchers, NGOs and government agencies.

Presentations highlighted innovative efforts to help the sector adapt at both the farm and landscape levels through a climate smart agriculture approach. Seed banks, silvopastoral systems, rainwater capture and harvest systems, agroecology, early warning systems and organic production are among the technologies being promoted in the country with success. Improved soil management and integrated watershed management efforts were also emphasized. Participants shared barriers to adoption and lessons learned to help ensure future efforts are successful. The event finished with an open discussion of how to promote collaboration and a collective vision to enable a more effective and sustainable response to the challenge of cli-mate change. Future forums on soil and water, pests and diseases and family agriculture will allow the stakeholders to continue the dialogue on climate change and agriculture this year.

For more information contact kelly.witkowski@iica.int

Kelly Witkowski, IICA Agriculture & Climate Change

Officer

Stakeholders at the Forum

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

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ECLAC-FAO-IICA Newsletter on Family Farming

Last year ECLAC, FAO and IICA agreed to replace the special chapter accompanying the document "The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development" by a series of technical bulletins that analyze strategic issues for agriculture in Latin America and the Car-ibbean (LAC) from the vision of each of the three institutions. For the 2014-2015, the 3 institutions agreed that the common theme would examine the challenges and potential of family farming in LAC, for which three complementary bulletins were proposed: 1) the short food supply chain for the marketing of the Family Farming; 2) risk management of Family Farming in LAC; and 3) outstanding achievements and results of the International Year of Family Farming in LAC. In late 2014 the first newsletter, which analyzed the potential of short food supply chain for the promotion of Family Farming was launched. The newsletter analyzes and systematizes the experience of open markets in Chile, Peru gastronomic chains, public procurement for school feeding in Peru and Brazil, and nutrition education programs in the US. The second bulletin concerning risk management in Family Farming, will be launched in July-August this year. The document will identify the main sources of risks for smallholder agriculture and analyze their potential impact on income and food security. The bulletin will also discuss strategies available to farm families to anticipate and prepare for risks, reduced losses, and even take advantage of opportunities that may generate greater welfare at home. The document closes analyzing instruments for risk transfer that can be used in situations in which the risk is beyond the control of the producer or the family. The third and last bulletin describes the main actions and results achieved by governments, civil society and producers in 2014 as result of the work conducted within the framework of the International Year of Family Agriculture and includes some suggestions to construct policies, projects and strategies to enhance the performance of Family Farming in the production, trade and food security in LAC. For more information: hugo.chavarria@iica.int

The first bulletin on Family Farming

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

CAESPA

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

Major Trends and Challenges

in the Design and Implementation of Agricultural Policies

The Center for Strategic Analysis for Agriculture (CAESPA), the IICA Office in Brazil, the IICA Office in the United States and the IICA Flagship Project on Competitiveness and Sustainability of Agricultural Value Chains, have established an opportunity for dia-logue in the Americas regarding agricultural policies through a series of seminars. The objective of the “Dialogue for Agricultural Policies in the Americas”, is to support IICA’s member countries in defining their agricultural policies, keyed to the con-struction of the post-2015 development agenda. Given the challenge of having policies and institutions consistent with the trends, challenges, and opportunities of the future, these policy seminars serve as a mechanism for dialogue among IICA’s member countries to facilitate awareness, analysis and identifi-cation of lessons that can be applied to the specific conditions of each country, based on a consideration of the changes under way in different regions and countries of the world. To this date, IICA has held five seminars: the US. Farm Bill, the Brazilian Agricultural Policy, the Canadian Agricultural Policy, the Chilean Agricultural policy and the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (for more details see: http://goo.gl/4WQkDC). We expect to hold two or three more seminars before organizing a meeting with guest speakers and panelists from previous seminars in Washington D.C. (in September) to discuss in detail the main lessons learned and identify implications for Latin America and the Caribbean. A summary of the major trends in the design and implementation of the agricultural policies identified thus far is presented below.

More orientation towards market opening. This implies the development of domestic markets (to be able to compete

with imports) and the expansion, consolidation and diversification of external markets. Probably the leader in Latin America is Chile, by lowering tariffs and signing trade agreements (bilateral and multilateral) with countries that represent 86% of world GDP and 62% of world population. In general, policies are more focused on consumers, to promote quality, standards, pro-cesses, nutritional value, social values and ethics associated with a product. However, there is much to be done to abolish import quotas, supply controls, price controls and non-tariff measures to truly open markets to competition.

Providing support that does not distort production decisions and trade. This, in the language of the World Trade Or-

ganization, means emphasizing green box policies, so that support to agriculture is decoupled from production decisions and prices. Fortunately, most countries are making progress as reflected in the Producer Subsidy Estimate (PSE), so countries are in the right direction making producers respond better to market signals.

Promotion of environmental sustainability. More and more, policy instruments are designed to provide financial and

technical assistance to agricultural producers in order to address natural resource concerns and deliver environmental benefits such as improved water and air quality, conserved ground and surface water, reduced soil erosion and sedimentation or im-proved wildlife habitat. Farmers are offered the opportunity to earn payments for actively managing, maintaining, and expand-

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

ing conservation activities like cover crops, rotational grazing, ecologically-based pest management, buffer strips, and the transition to organic farming – even while they work their lands for production. These kind of policies also provide incentives for sustainable production practices (multi-cropping, organic farming, etc.) and the supply, distribution and efficient use of water. Good examples of policy instruments are found in the US Farm Bill, the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, and in the Brazilian Agricultural Policy.

More inclusive agriculture. The purpose of these policies is to reach the majority of small farmers, attract the youth

to agriculture, to incorporate women into the sector and to respect indigenous communities and cultures. Another common modality is policies targeted to family agriculture, for which the PRONAF program in Brazil is a referent for the region, as a national program targeted to support small producers.

Adoption of comprehensive economic and environmental risk management mechanisms. This a major change in

policy design, to protect producers against income variability, climate events, and natural disasters. Just as an example, for the new US farm bill, farmers gave up direct payments in exchange for better protection in times of crisis (low prices and yields). Chile and Brazil have interesting mechanisms to combine insurance with financial tools targeted to small farmers.

More policy coherence. This is manifested as more integration of policies for food security, nutrition, trade and agri-

culture is taking place across the region. Examples are school programs, eat local foods programs, the fresh vegetable and fruit consumption programs and commercialization programs that contemplate buying products from small farmers (the Zero Hunger program in Brazil is an example). In Canada, for example, the integration of policies began in 1994 when the govern-ment expanded the jurisdiction of agriculture beyond the primary sector to include processed foods and food services. This is an ongoing process in several Latin American countries.

Despite great progress in policy design and policy implementation, major challenges have been identified from the series of sem-inars held thus far. In the future we will be discussing some of the following major issues:

Management for more effective use of public financial resources (beneficiaries, type of suport, priorities, etc.);

Policies to manage risk in agriculture and for more effective and efficient investments to reduce and prevent risk, and make

agriculture more resilient;

Need for public-private partnerships to increase investment in R&D and extension services, as key for success in increasing

agricultural productivity, and to adapt emerging technologies to the needs of the sector, like robotics, genomics, big data, etc.;

Better management of production factors, given restrictions on water availability, higher frequency of extreme weather

events, the high cost of energy and nutrients, availability and cost of labor (related to low labor productivity and competition from more profitable sectors); land concentration and tenure; and capital and credit restrictions.

Sustainability of agricultural practices, facing the fact that voluntary measures in conservation practices have not been

enough, particularly in regards to nutrient contamination (nonpoint source of pollution, and how to properly compensate farm-ers for the environmental services they provide.

Integration of instruments and jurisdictions with long term view of the sector so that policies do not translate into a disperse

set of instruments without the proper context and long term perspective to respond on time to ongoing changes. Examples of success are Brazil and Chile, where instruments for commercialization, financial services, insurance and agro-ecological zoning are combined for better policy coherence. Another example of integration, is how Canada clearly defines the role of the federal government in collaboration with provincial and territorial jurisdictions, not only for budget sharing but also for sharing responsibilities in the design and implementation of programs. This is a wonderful experience in light of the decen-tralization process in Latin America.

We look forward to more discussion on these trends and issues in forthcoming events. For more information contact: Joaquin.arias@iica.int

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New Inter-American Task Force Launched to tackle

Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) participated in the launch of the Inter-American Task Force on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) on June 17th, 2015 at the OAS headquarters in Washington, DC. This task force will be chaired by Pan American Health Or-ganization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), work-ing collaboratively with the Organization of American States (OAS) and associated international institutions and agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Carib-bean (ECLAC), the World Bank and IICA. As stated in the Inter-American Task Force on NCDs terms of reference document, “Globally, more than 36 million peo-ple die annually from NCDs, representing 63% of all deaths. NCD deaths are projected to increase by 15% to 44 million globally between 2010 and 2020 if no further action is taken (WHO, 2013). In the Americas, NCDs are now responsible for over 80% of all deaths, and resulted in 3.9 million deaths in 2008. Thirty six percent of these deaths occurred prema-turely in persons aged less than 70 years of age. Millions of people in the region live with at least one NCD and require quality health care” The purpose of the Inter-American Task Force on NCDs is to promote intersectoral work and coordinate activities with the Inter-American organizations and associated international institutions and agencies, towards the achievement of the Regional Plan of Action on the Prevention and Control of NCDs.” The "Declaration of Commitment: Strengthening Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases through Cooperative Action of the Inter-American System" was shared during the launch. In the declaration the agencies recognized the enormous social and economic burden and threats posed by noncommunicable diseases in the Americas and agreed to provide full support to combat it. The food and agriculture sector can influence the production, manufacture and marketing of more nutritious food and the devel-opment of transparent and efficient food markets that enhance availability of food options that support healthy living and preven-tion of NCDs. During the event Dr. Miguel Garcia-Winder, Representative of the IICA Office in USA shared that “there are main-stream nutrition concerns into the agenda of the agricultural sector in the Americas. It is important to influence nutrition and food security policies, including agrifood-systems (food quality, availability, costs, supply, etc.), in support of health eating and NCD prevention.” Related news OAS Press Release PAHO Press Release More information: miguel.garcia@iica.int

Daniel Dulitzky, Practice Manager for Health, World Bank, Inés Bustillo, Director of the Washington

Office of ECLAC, Albert Ramdin, OAS Assistant Secretary General, Carissa F. Etienne, Director of

PAHO, Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the IDB, Neil Parsan, Ambassador, Permanent Representative

of Trinidad and Tobago to the OAS, Miguel García Winder, IICA Representative in the U.S.

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May— June 2015

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CAESPA

Infographic prepared by

Eugenia Salazar, Research Assistant, CAESPA

eugenia.salazar@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015

Contact Us

IICA Office in the USA

1889 F Street, N.W.,

Suite 360,

Washington, D.C. 20006

Phone: 202-458-3767

Fax: 202-458-6335

Website: www.iica.int/usa

Email: iica.us@iica.int

Twitter: @IICA_USA

September 9th -10th, 2015 - XVIII Annual CAF Conference, Washington, D.C. October 14th-16th, 2015 - 2015 Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium -

Borlaug 101: Fundamentals of Global Food Security, Des Moines, Iowa October 19th-23th, 2015 - 2015 Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the

Americas, Cancun, Mexico

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—May—June 2015