1 June 2012: The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has submitted a report on food security with strategy recommendations as an input to the 42nd OAS General Assembly. The report was developed by IICA at the request of its parent body, the Organization of American States (OAS).

The IICA report, titled “The Food Security Situation in the Americas,” will be discussed by the OAS General Assembly, scheduled to take place from 3-5 June 2012, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, under the theme “Food Security with Sovereignty.”

The IICA report outlines food production and trade in the Americas, as well as the challenges faced by OAS member States in ensuring food security. The OAS includes member States across a broad spectrum of size, including small island developing States (SIDS), and level of development, with some countries net food importers, while others are agricultural powerhouses and net exporters.

The report suggests the adoption of comprehensive food security policies focused on achieving seven specific objectives: increasing investment in agriculture to develop scientific, research, innovation and extension capabilities; developing efficient and transparent agricultural markets; adopting policies and institutional arrangements to promote the integration of small- and medium-scaled agriculture into markets; promoting free trade in food; providing access to food for vulnerable populations; adapting agriculture to climate change and climate variability; and reducing and mitigating agriculture’s impacts on the environment while promoting a food and nutritional security education programme. [IICA Press Release] [Publication: The Food Security Situation in the Americas]