Bve17109275e.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2010 Annual Report Promoting competitive and sustainable Agriculture in the Americas Forty-first Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) March 2011 © Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 2011 ISBN 978-92-9248-333-3 The Institute encourages the fair use of this document. Proper citation is requested. This publication is also available in electronic (PDF) format on the Institute„s Web site (www.iica.int). ii Contents Foreword... … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ........... 1 Executive summary … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ....... 3 1. Origin, legal bases, structure and purposes … … … … … … … … … … … … …. 7 2. Implementation of resolutions and mandates … … … … … … … … … …… … …. 8 2.1 Summit of the Americas Process… … … … … … … … … … … …... …..… …. 8 2.2 IICA’s Governing Bodies … … … … … ... … … … … … … … … …………. ... 10 2.3 Promoting women’s rights and gender equity and equality ……………………... 12 3. Results of IICA’s technical cooperation: Promoting competitive and sustainable agriculture in the Americas.……..….….....….….….…..…............................................... 14 3.1 Innovation for productivity and competitiveness…………………………………. 15 3.2 Agricultural health and food safety……………………………………………….. 29 3.3 Agribusiness and commercialization……………………………………………... 41 3.4 Agriculture, territories and rural well-being……………………………………… 54 3.5 Agriculture, natural resource management and climate change………………….. 66 3.6 Agriculture and food security………………………………………………….…. 70 3.7 Support in the formulation of technical cooperation projects…………………..… 77 4. External relations and types of cooperation … … … … … ….. … … … … … … .... 78 5. Financial information … … … ….. … … … … … … … … … … …… … … … … . 82 6. Information on human capital … … … … … … … … … … … … …. .….……....... 83 7. Principal meetings in 2010…….….….….….….….….….…..….….….………….….… 84 Acronyms … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …. …. 86 iii iv Foreword Two thousand ten was a very important year for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). It was the first of a new administration, which I am honored to head, and the year in which our governing bodies approved two documents of the utmost importance for our work in support of agriculture throughout the hemisphere: the 2010-2020 Strategic Plan and the 2010-2014 Medium-Term Plan. The first provides a frame of reference for the actions IICA takes to achieve its purposes, as defined in its Convention: “to encourage, promote, and support the efforts of the Member States to achieve their agricultural development and rural welfare.” The Medium-Term Plan is an essential tool used in programming the work of this administration. It sets out in greater detail than the Strategic Plan what is to be done and how, and states clearly the role and responsibilities of each of our six technical cooperation programs. We must have a clear understanding of the current state of agriculture in the Americas and of its probable evolution, on the basis of sound analyses, if we expect to be able to foresee the changes that must be made to face old and new challenges: to increase productivity through innovation, reduce poverty in rural territories, protect natural resources, live with the effects of climate change and guarantee the availability of food for a growing population. According to recent studies, the coming years will be characterized by growing instability on international markets for raw materials, especially agricultural products. To help minimize the immediate risks for agriculture in the hemisphere and create the conditions needed to reinforce its structure, we must work together. That is exactly what we did in 2010, while both plans were being considered by our member countries. As a member of the Inter-American System, IICA is required to report to its member countries on an annual basis. This, the 2010 Annual Report, rather than simply presenting a list of individual or isolated actions, is in the form of a structured text on all the work we performed at the national, regional and hemispheric levels in fulfillment of the mandates we issued in the documents mentioned above. 1 To make agriculture competitive and sustainable and, in this way, help reduce poverty and guarantee food security is a goal that must be on the agendas of the governments of all the member countries of the OAS. We have worked tirelessly to that end, as the results described in this report attest. Thank you very much Victor M. Villalobos Director General 2 Executive summary The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) is the agency of the Inter-American System specializing in agriculture and rural well-being. Since it was founded in 1942, it has accumulated extensive experience in providing technical cooperation in the areas of technological innovation, agricultural health, agribusiness and rural development. Under the leadership of its new Director General, Dr. Victor M. Villalobos, IICA devoted considerable efforts to the development of a strategic plan for the period 2010-2020 designed not only to reposition the Institute in the short term, but also to imbue it with a long-term vision that will allow it to continue adding value to the agricultural development agendas of the member countries. As stipulated in the new Medium-Term Plan (MTP) approved by IICA‟s governing bodies for the period 2010-2014, the Institute‟s mission is to provide technical cooperation, innovation and specialized knowledge for the competitive and sustainable development of agriculture in the Americas, and to improve the lives of rural dwellers in the member countries. It is evident that there is a proliferation of initiatives in the field of international cooperation on agriculture, leading to the fragmentation of efforts and making it essential that institutions have effective accountability and impact assessment mechanisms. Therefore, IICA has focused its efforts on the efficient use of its resources and capabilities, increased its alliances with strategic partners in order to develop complementary agendas, and concentrated its work on providing technical cooperation in support of policies and institutions, networks and organizations that, together with the Institute, generate a multiplier effect. To that end, IICA in the member countries have been reorganized in a proactive way around the formulation and operation of IICA country strategies, which are agreements on the principal areas on which our cooperation will focus through 2014. Mindful of the urgent need to find solutions to the growing demand for food, mitigate and adapt to climate change and create opportunities and jobs for rural producers, IICA has based its work plan on a new paradigm designed to achieve the following four strategic objectives: 1. To improve the productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector. 2. To strengthen agriculture‟s contribution to the development of territories and to rural well-being. 3. To improve agriculture‟s capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change and make better use of natural resources. 4. To improve agriculture‟s contribution to food security. 3 In 2010, the Institute endeavored to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector by strengthening regional innovation systems, such as the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and the cooperative programs for research and technology transfer. Furthermore, as a result of our direct technical cooperation, the national innovation systems and institutes of Panama, Guatemala, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Bolivia succeeded in strengthening their capacities or redefined their actions. IICA provided support for the modernization of veterinary, plant health and food safety services in 26 countries, enabling them to enhance their capacity to manage animal and plant health measures and identify common areas for resolving sanitary problems. Furthermore, with cooperation from IICA and financial assistance from the World Trade Organization (WTO) Standards and Trade Development Facility, 24 countries were able to propose and secure approval of standards for the benefit of their trade in multilateral bodies such as the Codex Alimentarius committees and the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) of the WTO. IICA also developed methodological handbooks for the notification of sanitary measures, information systems and plant health risk profiles, which are of great use of the Member States‟ efforts as they continue to strengthen their capacity to implement trade agreements. In close collaboration with universities in the United States and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), IICA helped at least 20 countries enhance their capabilities for formulating food safety policies and programs, designing risk analysis systems, strengthening their critical control points and implementing good manufacturing practices. The countries also improved their institutional capacity to take advantage of the free trade agreements in force in the region. Working with its global partners, IICA offered Latin American countries the opportunity to improve their regulatory frameworks in biosafety and implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety by means of regional meetings supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). With regard to agribusiness, IICA supported the efforts of the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Argentina, Jamaica and Belize