The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have agreed to consolidate joint work in Latin America and the Caribbean on such topics as food safety, climate change, response to climatic events, food security, access to genetic resources and poverty alleviation.
30 March 2012: The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), a specialized agency of the Organization of American States (OAS), has signed a letter of understanding with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to consolidate their joint efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The letter was signed by IICA Director General Victor Villalobos and FAO Director General Jose Graziano Da Silva, on 30 March 2012, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, during the FAO Regional Conference.
According to IICA, the two organizations agreed, inter alia, to work together to strengthen agricultural health and food safety capacities in LAC, and facilitate access to and application of the genetic resources of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). They also agreed to work together over the next four years on food security, climate change, responses to climatic and natural disasters, natural resource management, and rural development and poverty alleviation. A biennial work programme is being developed to implement the agreement.
In 2011 the two organizations carried out joint actions in at least 12 LAC countries. [IICA Press Release]