In the crucial year preceding significant food systems and climate milestones in each region, including the G20 in South Africa and the COP30 in Brazil, AGRA and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) established a joint work plan to strengthen technical cooperation aimed at fostering inclusive agricultural transformation throughout Africa and the Americas.
The work plan addresses countries’ increasing requests for deeper strategic collaboration in bolstering public and private sector institutions, exchanging technical expertise, and improving food security and agricultural trade while protecting the environment and advancing rural welfare. It builds on nearly four years of South-South collaboration between the regions, with an MOU signed in 2021.
AGRA and IICA bring together complementary strengths, with AGRA focusing on transforming smallholder farming across Africa through partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society, and farmers; and IICA, as a specialised agency in agriculture for the Americas, promoting rural development through international technical cooperation of excellence.
“This south-south partnership between AGRA and IICA is a powerful signal of inter-regional solidarity and shared ambition,” said Ms. Alice Ruhweza, President of AGRA. “At a time when global food systems are under immense strain, collaboration across continents is not just strategic but very essential. African countries have so much to benefit from the experience, approaches, and innovations in Latin America. By uniting our expertise and resources with IICA, we are laying the foundation for more resilient, equitable, and sustainable food systems that benefit smallholder farmers and rural communities across both regions.”
IICA Director General, Dr. Manuel Otero, also hailed the partnership as a critical step in advancing South-South cooperation. “Africa and the Americas share common agricultural challenges and opportunities. This partnership allows us to harness our mutual strengths to accelerate rural transformation, promote sustainable trade, and support vulnerable communities.
For Otero, the partnership with AGRA will help implement regenerative tropical agriculture practices to solve the most pressing challenges facing the African continent and transform it into the world’s new agricultural frontier. Africa is home to 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land and 10% of the world’s renewable water resources. This enormous agricultural and environmental potential offers a unique opportunity to integrate the continent into the global supply chain, positioning it as a key player in food production,” he explained.
The collaboration builds on a series of high-level engagements between the two regions, including: the Africa-Americas Joint Ministerial Summit in Costa Rica in July 2022, the Inter-regional Ministerial Roundtable in Vietnam in 2023 co-organized by AGRA, IICA, FAA, and Grow Asia; and the launch of the Africa Living Soils Initiative in Kenya in 2024 on the eve of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit. These engagements reinforced the urgency and importance of inter-regional cooperation in driving global food systems transformation.
In addition, experts and representatives from AGRA and FARA, ambassadors, and high-ranking officials from the Brazilian government and international organisations were present at the Africa-Brazil Dialogue on Agricultural Research, Development, and Innovation, which was recently held in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. One of the world’s foremost soil experts, Nobel Prize winner, and IICA Goodwill Ambassador Rattan Lal was also present. IICA organised the seminar with the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (BCA) and Embrapa, the country’s state-owned agricultural research organisation.
In honour of the event, the organisers signed a letter of intent to encourage the exchange of 30 researchers from African government agencies, universities, and scientific institutes. The researchers aim to share knowledge on technologies that support regenerative agriculture, food security, and the restoration of degraded areas.
Source: AGRA
Image Credit: Econews
