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In This Issue

Agriculture was present at the Summit of the Americas

IICA Promotes Access for

Guyana’s Producers to Local Markets

World Health Day 2015

Highlights Food Safety IICA’s Agricultural Health

and Food Safety (AHFS) News

Agricultural Biotechnology

Booming in Querétaro, Mexico

Grow more with less:

Adaptation, Validation and Promotion of Intensive Rice Cultivation System (SICA) in the Americas as a response to the Climate Change

What Have We Learnt from

the Coffee Leaf Rust Crisis? DG’s Technical Note:

Development of Rural Territories in Central America to benefit new geospatial information

FONTAGRO Announces its

2015 Call for Proposals “Innovations for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Latin America”

Upcoming Events

From the Desk of the Representative Welcome to our second edition of 2015! The IICA Office in the United States is pleased to share our current Newsletter as part of our IICA commitment to keep our partners and

stakeholders informed on some of the activities that the Institute conducts to help in the advancement of agriculture and in the betterment of rural life in our member countries. Due to its strategic position within the IICA structure, the newsletter that we are sharing with you highlights not only activities in which IICA personnel of this office directly partici-pates, but also relevant activities that the Institute carries out in the hemisphere. We cannot start this newsletter without expressing our deepest thoughts to the people and the Government of Nepal, India and Bangladesh who have suffered the devastating effect of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and several major aftershock from April 25, to the time we are writing this letter. Nationwide, the USA is entering a time of heightened political activity in preparation for the Presidential election of 2016. Closer to our work, on April 23, Secretary Vilsack and Senior Advisor Brinan Deese announced that the USDA will work in partnership with farm-ers and ranchers to address climate change in the USA, where it is expected to “..reduce net emissions and enhance carbon sequestration by over 120 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent per year…..”. The building blocks for this are: soil health, nitrogen stewardship, livestock partnership, conservation of sensitive lands, grazing and pasture lands, private forest growth and retention, stewardship of federal forest, promotion of wood products, urban forest and energy generation and efficiency. On March 7, Senators Bob Casey and Johnny Isakson, introduced the Global Food Secu-rity Act of 2015, which is aimed “…to develop a whole-of-government strategy to address global food insecurity and hunger. The strategy would emphasize agricultural develop-ment, improving maternal and child nutrition, building the resilience of communities, and civil society engagement. Ensure the alignment of U.S. assistance with country-owned strategies to enhance agricultural productivity, household income, local economies, and food and nutrition security to work toward the ultimate goal of transitioning countries and communities away from the need for U.S. assistance under this Act. Improve upon exist-ing monitoring and evaluation practices to ensure the effective use of U.S. taxpayer dol-lars. This includes a requirement for the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to issue a report in 2019.Require that the Administration report to Congress and to the American people annually about the strategy, its results, and the use of foreign assistance funds…” With the reestablishment of relationships with Cuba, on April 22, Senators Heidi Heitkamp and John Bozzman, introduced a bill to facilitate agricultural exports to Cuba by allowing banks to finance these exports, which confirms the importance that the opening of trade with Cuba has for the agricultural sector in the USA. Our office has also been engaged in a large number of activities, ranging from our partici-pation at the World Strategic Forum that took place in Miami during the month of April to the preparation of the document “The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas” jointly with ECLAC and FAO, and with the continuation of our cycle of seminars on the Dialogue on Agricultural Policies in the Americas in light of the post 2015 Development Agenda. We hope you can find this newsletter useful and enjoyable.

Sincerely, Dr. Miguel García-Winder,

IICA Representative in the USA, Head of CAESPA

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

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Agriculture was present at the Summit of the Americas

In meetings with various heads of state, IICA’s Director General promoted the Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, which will be held this year in Mexico.

Although the Seventh Summit of the Americas which took place in Panama, focused on political dialogues among heads of state, there were opportunities to promote agriculture in our hemisphere and its key role in development. The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Víctor M. Villalobos, had brief encoun-ters with Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, the presidents of México, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, the incoming and outgoing secretaries general of the OAS, and Panamanian agricultural authorities. Villalobos spoke with Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto, of Mexico; Luis Guillermo Solís, of Costa Rica; Salvador Sánchez Cerén, of El Salva-dor; Otto Pérez Molina, of Guatemala; and Daniel Ortega, of Nicaragua. Following the 2001 Summit in Quebec, and in response to requests from heads of state and governments, IICA has been func-tioning as Secretariat for the ministerial meetings on Agriculture and Rural Life at the Summit of the Americas. Its role is to facili-tate the meetings of the highest agricultural authorities within the hemisphere, which take place every two years. While in Panama, Villalobos spoke with the heads of state of the preparations under way for the upcoming ministerial meeting in October. He promoted the participation of President Peña Nieto at the meeting, since the meeting will be held in Cancun and is being organized by the General Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) of Mexico, together with IICA. The Institute’s Director General also met with the Secretary General elect of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, with whom he spoke about the strengthening of the Inter- American System and the role that IICA plays as the agency specializing in agriculture. He also spoke with the outgoing Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza. Additionally, the Director General spoke with the president of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), Enrique García. Accompanied by his chief of staff, Evangelina Beltrán, and the IICA Representative in Panama, Gerardo Escudero, Villalobos met with the Vice-Minister of Agricultural Development of Panama, Esteban Girón, to discuss the expansion of the strategy being exe-cuted in Panama. As a result of this encounter, it was agreed that IICA will support training in areas such as adaptation of agricul-ture to climate change and rural inclusion. This support will be provided in person or through distance training programs provided by the Institute.

More information: gerardo.escudero@iica.int, evangelina.beltran@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 2015

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IICA Promotes Access for Guyana’s Producers to Local Markets

As part of the support it provides to the Agricultural Policies Program (APP) of the Caribbean, IICA analyzed the challenges Guyana’s producers are facing to tap into local markets. Small producers of cassava and ruminant breeders in Guyana will be able to improve their ties to the local market, and in turn make their farms more productive and profitable, thanks to the support that the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agri-culture (IICA) is providing for research in these value chains. A study carried out by the IICA Office in that country will support the development of sustainable agricultural systems and the strengthening of the sector’s capabilities, which will also contribute to eradicating poverty. This analysis is one of the follow-up actions being carried out by IICA’s Agricultural Policies Program (APP), the Caribbean Ag-ricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), with funds from the Euro-pean Union. IICA, through this program aimed at improving ties between producers and the market, carried out field work in Guyana’s ten administrative regions. Specialists analyzed the challenges faced by producers to introduce their products to the market, as well as the use of food by consumers. According to Selwyn Anthony, facilitator for IICA’s value chains, participants in the study are convinced that this work could ben-efit their productivity and profitability, and have therefore collaborated by providing information. The study was carried out with support from local agencies such as New Guyana Marketing Corporation, the National Agricul-tural, Research and Extension Institute, and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, as well as producer organizations, academics, and persons from the tourism and service sectors, among others. The final phase of this initiative consists in systematizing the recommendations, which will be handed in to CARDI as input for technology transfer, and to the CARICOM Secretariat for the creation of a favorable policy framework for producers. IICA will also establish a cassava and small ruminant dialogue platform to ensure fluid communication among the relevant stakeholders. With information from the Guyana Chronicle. More information: wilmot.garnett@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 2015

World Health Day 2015 Highlights Food Safety

Foodborne diseases outbreaks have devastating health and economic consequences around the world. In the United States alone, it is estimat-ed that foodborne illnesses cost the economy more than $15.6 billion annually. More than 8.9 million Americans get sick every year by one of 15 major foodborne pathogens. With increasing globalization of the food supply, it is necessary to strengthen systems that ensure the safety of food in all countries. That is why the World Health Organization (WHO) used the World Health Day, celebrated on April 7, to promote measures to improve food safety along the entire chain. This year’s slogan “From farm to plate, make food safe” stressed the importance of implementing safety measures to minimize the risks of contamination at all stages, from the production to the con-sumer. Priscila Henriquez, from the IICA USA Office participated in a panel orga-nized by PAHO to discuss what needs to be done to make sure all food is safe. Food safety is a requirement for accessing markets, involving pro-cesses like traceability, to identify and establish quality control mecha-nisms from primary production through the consumer. IICA is assisting the Latin American and Caribbean countries in strengthening their national agricultural health and food safety services. The aim is not only to improve their efficiency so that agricultural products can compete in international markets, but also importantly to help protect the health of consumers.

For instance, in Central America, where the different climates set the stage for a varied assortment of food safety problems, IICA has assisted in the evalua-tion of the national veterinary services using an instrument called Perfor-mance, Vision and Strategy. This tool includes a rigorous assessment of the national services performance, and helps to achieve a shared vision with the private sector. Such improvements enhance a country’s ability to create leadership skills and technical capacities in food safety, and help identify, emerging issues that may impact public health or food trade. Particularly challenging for maintaining food safety is that food producers are turning to intensified and industrialized systems to meet the increasing de-mand for food from a growing population. Also, climate change is predicted to impact food safety. Consumers are advised to practice WHO’s Five Keys to Safer Food when

handling and preparing food: keep clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, cook food at safe temperatures, and use safe water and raw materials. For more information contact priscila.henriquez@iica.int

Photo credit: National Fruit Program, IICA-El Salvador

Photo credit: National Fruit Program, IICA-El Salvador

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

IICA’s Agricultural Health and Food Safety (AHFS) News February—March, 2015

Highlights and some examples of the work and activities of IICA’s AHFS program throughout the hemisphere

Regional Virtual School for Phytosanitary Inspectors. Nearly 300 food inspectors from the countries of Central America and the Dominican Republic began a virtual training course on February 26 to acquire up-to-date information on matters of food inspection and to exchange working experiences. The purpose of the initiative is to facilitate harmonization of food safety controls in these countries and promote food trade in the region. Representatives from the eight universities taking part in the project have been trained for their current role as tutors and virtual facilitators. The IICA Offices in each country signed agreements with participating local universities: Universidad Rafael Landívar, Universidad José Matías Delgado, Universidad Nacional de Agricultura, UNAN León, Universidad de Panamá and Uni-versidad ISA. (Ana Marisa Cordero) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). AHFS and the IICA Office in the Dominican Republic held a workshop -course in the cit-ies of Santiago and Santo Domingo, entitled “Requirements for exporting foods to the United States market: the approach under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA),” attended by 141 representatives from interested sectors (79 in Santiago and 62 in Santo Do-mingo). Course participants then visited three fresh vegetable export firms and used the assessment tool designed by IICA to measure their degree of preparedness to meet FSMA requirements. These activities, held from February 1 to 11, informed producers, exporters and public agencies about the new standards introduced under the FSMA. (Alejandra Díaz, Dileccio Vanderlinder) Codex Colloquium. Representatives of 16 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) met in Bogota, Colombia to har-monize their positions on Codex Alimentarius standards on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods, General Principles and Food Con-taminants. The meeting took place on February 3 to 5 and was attended by 64 people. (Eric Bolaños, Pilar Agudelo) Promotion of Participation of the Americas in Codex Alimentarius. Within the framework of this project, SAIA supported the participation of 6 countries in the 19th meeting of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP29), which was held from 9 to 13 March in Paris, France; and of 3 countries in the 9th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Contaminants (CCCF9), held from 16 to 20 March in New Delhi, India. The support provided by the IICA Offices for this initiative is appreciated, which made it possible for the delegates to attend these meetings. (Eric Bolaños, Alejandra Díaz) Virtual CCLAC Coordination Meetings. On March 3, 10 and 12, the respective meetings corresponding to the 29th meeting of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP29), the 9th meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Contaminants (CCCF9), and the 47th Meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA47). AHFS is grateful for the support provided by the Offices for this initiative, which made it possible to successfully hold these meetings. (Eric Bolaños) Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. The Tenth Meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of the International Plant Protection Convention, (IPPC) was held from 15 to 20 March 2015 in Rome, Italy. During the meeting, the controversial issue was raised of putting the proposals on standards to a vote, instead of merely seeking consensus prior to their adoption. Another important discussion was centered on the subject of plant health certification or e-phyto. Additional information and the recorded versions of the sessions may be consulted on the Plant Health Resources Portal (http://www.phytosanitary.info). (Robert Ahern) STDF Working Group. In the week of March 23, IICA participated as an official observer in the meeting of the Working Group on the application of standards and trade promotion (STDF), which took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The topics addressed at this meeting included a presentation of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), discussion on levels and sources of resources, evaluation of pro-posed and completed projects for financing, and discussion of post evaluation of projects. (Robert Ahern) Meeting of the SPS Committee. Informal meetings of the Committee on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) took place on March 25 and 26 in Geneva, Switzerland. The formal meetings were held on March 26 and 27. IICA supported the participation of 5 delegates from the Caribbean Region (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Belize and the Domini-can Republic) with resources from the 10th Economic Development Fund (EDF) SPS Project. Private standards, a topic that was dis-cussed during the informal sessions, continues to be a thorny subject and the new regulatory proposal of the European Union for the so-called “novel foods” generated interventions from a large number of Latin America and Caribbean countries. (Robert Ahern)

More information: robert.ahern@iica.int

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 2015

Agricultural Biotechnology Booming in Querétaro, Mexico

Querétaro is a state two hours north of Mexico City that has achieved extraordinary economic growth in recent years, and is now home to a burgeoning Mexican middle class. It has become a hub of advanced industries including several major foreign bio-technology firms established in AgroPark, a private enterprise aided by Mexico’s Fondo de Capital e Inversión del Sector Rural. There are more than 100 companies linked to biotechnology in the state, responsible for some 25,000 jobs, which are at the cutting edge of science and innovation. Queretaro’s Biotechnology Cluster –BioTQ- is an association that emerged from the partnership between private investment, academia and government to promote the development of biotechnology. The BioTQ is concerned with generating and applying scientific and technological knowledge, developing joint projects, transferring and com-mercializing biotechnologies, and supporting entrepreneurs. The cluster is establishing partnerships with similar organizations in various countries. This spirit of collaboration is evident in the conferences organized by the cluster such as the Third International Biotechnology Symposium that brought together companies, universities, research centers and government agencies working in biotechnol-ogy.

This event took place on March 27 with participation of more than 300 representatives from public and private sector organizations from Mexico and abroad. The audience discussed the implementation of biotechnology in medicine, veterinary, agriculture, and crop and livestock production. Many private companies demonstrated the use of scientific techniques to improve crops, animals and microorganisms. Priscila Henríquez presented IICA’s work in support of the safe implementation of agri-cultural biotechnology to improve productivity and efficiency in the Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

Agricultural biotechnology is more than just genetically modified crops, as was evidenced by the many displays, presentations and posters that featured the use of biological control agents, pollinators, algae and microorganisms to improve agriculture. The Cluster BioTQ demonstrates that success is achieved when business, government and academia work together towards common goals. For more information contact priscila.henriquez@iica.int

Photo source: FONTAGRO

Photo source: FONTAGRO

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

Grow more with less: Adaptation, Validation and Promotion of Intensive Rice Cultivation System (SICA) in the Americas

as a response to the climate change

A consortium of partners including the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Research (IDIAF), the Dominican Council of Agricultural and Forestry Research (CONIAF), the National Federation of Rice Producers (FEDEARROZ-FNA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), will be executing a project to validate the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in the Dominican Republic and Colombia with financial support from the Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO). SRI is an innovation practiced by 9.5 million producers on over 3.4 million hectares in 50 countries innovation. Instead of a prede-termined technological package, SRI is utilizes flexible practices based on four fundamental principles: Favor early and healthy plant establishment Minimize plant competition Build fertile soils rich in organic matter and soil biota Manage water carefully, avoid flooding and water stress, for ideal plant development In Latin America and the Caribbean, the principles of SICA have been tested with positive results in several countries. However many of these initial efforts have not been properly monitored, evaluated and documented. This two year project will validate SRI in Dominican Republic and Colombia to help reduce the vulnerability of small rice farmers to climate change. The project is being implemented under FONTAGRO’s 2014 Call for Proposals: "Innovation for the Adaptation of Family Agricul-ture to Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean". Supported by FONTAGRO and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the call supports innovation platforms and coordination mechanisms that foster competitiveness and sustainability.

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 2015

What Have We Learnt from the Coffee Leaf Rust Crisis?

By Dr. Priscila Henríquez, Specialist in the Management of Technological Innovation IICA

Coffee represents the most important agricultural export crop in Central America and the Dominican Republic, with approxi-mately 958,000 hectares in the hands of 350,000 mostly small producers. An estimated 2 million people depend on coffee for their livelihood, including some of the region’s poorest landless laborers. The coffee leaf rust epidemic that affected 10 countries in 2012, caught many people by surprise, causing havoc from the south of Mexico to Peru, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. It has been the most severe outbreak since the causal agent, the fun-gus Hemileia vastatrix, was discovered in Latin America in 1970. The losses of foreign exchange for Central American coun-tries alone were estimated at about US$500 million in the crop year 2012/13, and US$375 million in 2013/14. For the 2014/15 season, the Regional Cooperative Program for the Technological Development and Modernization of Coffee Cultivation (PROMECAFE) estimates losses of 17% of production and at least 500,000 jobs. The crisis resulted in a declaration of national emergency in five Central American countries and the adoption of an integrated plan against the disease to recuperate their coffee production capacity, led by the Minis-ters of Agriculture. The First International Coffee Rust Summit was co-organized by the World Coffee Research (WCR), PROMECAFE and the Guatemalan National Coffee Association (ANACAFE) in which public and private organizations agreed on increasing the much needed regional investments in research, knowledge sharing, and plantations renewal, among other measures. Three years later, there is still a lack of understanding of why this dis-ease became such a widespread problem. It has been speculated that a new extremely virulent strain caused by a mutation of the fungus was responsible for the outbreak, but extensive research carried so far, has yet to prove this proposition. A second hypothesis indicated that climatic variability - unusual combinations of temperature and rainfall - and in-creases in minimum temperatures in recent years created conditions favorable to the disease. PROMECAFE and its partners identified the factors that influenced this severe outbreak, including some structural in nature. The most important is the advanced age of many plantations. During the first year of the crisis, historically low coffee prices prevented the farmers from implementing good management practices such as renewal of plantations, shade management, fertilization, soil management, and pest and disease monitoring and spraying. There was no preventive control; and curative control was applied too late, when disease incidence was already very high. Also 80% of the coffee area is planted with sus-ceptible varieties that need to be replaced, a costly practice. Poorly maintained rural roads prevents access to farms. Lack of training, and even conflicting advice from service providers, also compounded the situation. There simply are not enough ex-tension agents to reach more than a small minority of farmers.

Photo credit: Ivan Castro—PROMECAFE

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

Coffee experts agree that the rust epidemic evidences a new era of potentially huge impacts of diseases and pests of coffee in the context of climate change. The outbreak also demonstrated that the region lacks the functional tools in place to detect and prevent the disease; and even when the warning signs were there, these were not acted upon. Overcoming the crisis and improving coffee production requires committed strategies from the public and private sectors, like the one by USAID partnering with WCR, PROMECAFE/IICA, CATIE, CIRAD and various other organizations to improve production. Other areas of much needed attention are accurate information collection, systematization, analysis, and timely distribution to inform producers so they can take preventive and corrective actions. Towards this end, PROMECAFE/IICA works with many oth-er organizations to develop an early warning system, an instrument for communicating information about this disease and other risks that will enable actions to be taken to mitigate the harm. The system will incorporate such aspects as coffee rust biology and epidemiology, climatic factors, production, prices and other factors, so farmers can make informed decisions. The efforts will be partly funded by the Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO) which supports research and innovation projects in Latin America. Also breeding for rust resistance is crucial in fighting the disease, as the institutes responsible for providing tech-nology in the region need to have the tools to combat this and other important pests and diseases. Farmers should prepare for more extreme conditions as weather patterns become increasingly erratic, and even diversify away from coffee in some cases. As a long term strategy, coffee will have to be replaced in certain areas, especially lower elevations, with cropping systems that are economically viable and environmentally desirable. For this to be effective, institutional strengthen-ing and enhanced investment in research and capacity development are needed, as well as the promotion and implementation of viable and economically feasible diversification schemes. For more information contact priscila.henriquez@iica.int

Photo credit: Ivan Castro—PROMECAFE

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 2015

Before year’s end, the countries in what is known as the Central American Dry Corridor, as well as the Dry Arch area of Panama, will be able to access an online platform and a knowledge network being created to assist them in deciding how best to develop their rural territories and adapt agriculture to climate change at the local, national and regional levels. Both the GeoWeb system and the network will foster interaction among the governmental, production and academic sectors, their direct beneficiaries, in addressing both issues. The creation of the platform and the network is the objective of an agreement reached between the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Center for Research in Geography and Geomatics (CENTROGEO), of the National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) of Mexico. The Central American Dry Corridor and the Dry Arch area of Panama are located in territories found along the Pacific coast of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama (see figure on next page) The climate, economic and social vulnerability that characterizes these territories is reflected in high poverty levels, food insecurity, the degradation of natu-ral resources and the increasing occurrence of disasters caused by extreme climate-related events. The GeoWeb platform will systematize physiographic geospatial information on natural resources, soil use, demographic, eco-nomic and social trends, the climate outlook for 2030 and 2050, the extent to which these areas are at risk and vulnerable, and other elements needed to make sound decisions. The formal knowledge network will add to and draw on the flow of information and knowledge regarding the region, which will form the basis for proposals on ways to improve agriculture and rural well-being there. With respect to agriculture, thanks to these innovations, it will be possible to make projections, implement science-based actions and apply an approach to the development of rural territories aimed at improving productivity, food security and the ability of the sector to mitigate the effects of and adapt to climate change. The platform will provide access to satellite images available in the Central American Dry Corridor and the Dry Arch area of Pan-ama, as well as demographic, economic and social information gathered by the CENTROGEO, which is currently found in nu-merous databases generated in previous research and projects. Our commitment: results. IICA and the CENTROGEO have agreed to have the first version of the platform ready by April of this year, to share it with users at some point during the first eight months of the year and to make the network available to decision makers in December 2015. This initiative is consistent with several of the contributions that link the Institute’s 2014-2018 Medium-term Plan and its Flagship Projects, such as inclusion in agriculture and rural territories and resilience and com-prehensive risk management in agriculture. In addition, it is consonant with its commitment to deliver concrete results to its member countries. It is hoped that the new infor-mation system and the network will constitute significant contributions to research and projects already under way in the region, including those in cross-border territories, and will be useful in the Central American Strategy for Rural Area-based Development 2010-2030 (ECADERT), which IICA has supported since its creation.

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IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015

The resources of the GeoWeb platform could be applied to research on topics such as territorial analysis and planning, risk analysis, the competitiveness of territories, shanty towns, environmental management and ecological impact, as well as effec-tive management of natural resources. A vulnerable region. Central America is highly vulnerable to climate-related risks due to its geographic location and its extremely variable climate. The Central American Dry Corridor has a marked and lengthy dry season, and in the rainy season there is always the latent threat of drought, which is cyclical and is related to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. As a result of this situation, which is having an increasing impact on agriculture throughout the region, it has become necessary to strengthen planning in rural territories vis-à-vis choosing where to plant (depending on the availability of water and soil), mak-ing changes in production practices and deciding what to plant, among other actions. Planning is also fundamental for decision making in areas such as livestock farming, urbanism and tourism, with the latter being an important economic activity on the Pacific coast of these countries. The system and knowledge network being promoted by IICA and the CENTROGEO, which will be available to government offi-cials, researchers and farmers in the region, will prove useful in such planning. The project will be implemented in three stages, as follows: 1. Design and basic development of the platform, which includes the compilation of the geospatial information available in the countries of the Dry Corridor and in the Dry Arch, as well as design of the knowledge network. In this phase, efforts will also focus on interconnecting the GeoWeb platform and the National Food Sustainability Initiative of Mexico, coordinated by the CONACYT, to increase research topics and knowledge sources in regions with problems similar to those of the Dry Corridor. 2. Release of the platform (testing, implementation and installation in a server), distance training for researchers and officials, and formalization of the network. 3. Incorporation of recommendations for improving the platform and transfer of the platform to IICA. Additionally, a proposal will be made to develop a system for monitoring the Dry Corridor and the Dry Arch with respect to those topics considered strategic by the Institute. The geospatial system and the knowledge network may form the basis of new models for working in rural territories that could promote social participation, inclusion and cohesion, all of which are key elements of the process of regional integration to which IICA hopes to contribute via its alliance with the CENTROGEO. Download this technical note.

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FONTAGRO Announces its 2015 Call for Proposals “Innovations for Sustainable Management of

Natural Resources in Latin America”

The Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology- FONTAGRO will invest up to US $ 1.6 million in projects to support innovations that promote sound practices to prevent or reduce soil degradation, deforestation, desertification, pollution of water, and other natural resource issues that impact agriculture in the Hemisphere. With this call, FONTAGRO intends to support platforms formed by public and private entities from two or more of its member countries. The successful applicants will focus their efforts on improving the sustainable management of natural resources in family agriculture, with effective participation of stakeholders, including women. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is a strategic sponsor of FONTAGRO and shares its agenda on promoting innovation to achieve more sustainable and resilient production. Latin America is rich in natural resources: about 23% of the land is suitable for farming, 13% of the surface area is grassland, and it holds 31% of the planet's available fresh water. Also the Region is home to the wealthiest biodiversity on the planet and holds almost half the world's tropical rainforests. However, land use changes has intensified the use of these natural resources, and land degradation and desertification have accelerated. This is putting at risk the sustainability of agricultural activities, especially given the negative effects caused by cli-mate change and its impacts on small farmers. FONTAGRO is a unique regional cooperation mechanism that promotes innovation in family farming to achieve competitiveness and food security. It was created in 1998 by fifteen member countries that have contributed to capital fund in excess of US $ 100 million. FONTAGROs member countries are Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. To learn more about this call please visit the FONTAGRO web page http://www.fontagro.org For more information about IICA’s support to FONTAGRO contact priscila.henriquez@iica.int

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March –April 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

May 19th, 2015—IICA’s Director General Presentation of IICA’s 2014 Annual

Report to the OAS Permanent Council, Washington, D.C. May 20th—24th, 2015—Congreso Agricultura en Ambiente Controlado, Panamá June 15th—16th, 2015— OAS 45th General Assembly, Washington, D.C. July 6th—10th, 2015—FONTAGRO Annual Technical Workshop and Project fol-

low up, Chile July 13th—14th, 2015— Annual Meeting of Forum for the Americas on Agricultural

Research and Technology Development - FORAGRO, Brasilia July 15th –17th, 2015 - Thirty-fifth Regular Meeting of the Executive Committee,

IICA Headquarters, Costa Rica

IICA Office in the USA Newsletter—March—April 2015