14 September 2011: The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Iberoamerican General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Latin American Trade Network (LATN) have agreed to cooperate to analyze the relationship among food security, climate change impacts and trade in the countries of Central America and the Andean Region.

The formation of the research programme was the subject of a workshop recently held at IICA headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica. The objectives of the research programme include to increase interaction among national and regional organizations responsible for agriculture, climate change and trade, and assist Andean and Central American countries in formulating coordinated policies for adapting agriculture to climate change, ensuring food supply for their populations, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture and promoting agri-food trade.

IICA is a specialized affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS) focused on cooperation regarding agriculture and rural development among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. SEGIB is the Madrid-based permanent organ providing institutional and technical support to the Iberoamerican Summit Meeting of Heads of State and Governments and Iberoamerican Conference promoting cooperation between Spain and Portugal and Latin America. LATN is an independent and interdisciplinary research network of some 70 institutions founded with support from Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC). [IICA Press Release] [Latin America and Caribbean Regional Coverage Story on CARICOM and IICA’s Collaboration in Agriculture] [Latin America and Caribbean Regional Coverage Story on the Cooperation Among IICA and Four CGIAR Centers]