CATIE, IICA, and allies advance in creating a platform to strengthen tropical agriculture

• The platform will be launched in July and will contribute to the economic and social development of the region’s producers.

With the aim of improving the productivity, sustainability, and resilience of tropical agriculture, CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), together with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and other leading institutions in the sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, are developing a new tropical agriculture platform.

This initiative seeks to benefit producers and indigenous communities through the implementation of innovative technologies and sustainable production systems.

Currently, the platform is in the development phase, with workshops in which actors such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), and the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD, by its French acronym) are participating to define priorities and strategies.

Dr. Luis Ernesto Pocasangre, Director General of CATIE, highlighted the importance of this consortium led by IICA. “Our objective is to build a solid platform that enables financing management and promotes technologies that benefit producers and indigenous communities. We prioritize megadiversity, genetic improvement, and resilient production systems in the face of climate change, in addition to strengthening entrepreneurship among farmers,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, Director of Technical Cooperation at IICA, emphasized that the official launch is expected to take place in July this year and will mark a milestone in CATIE's collaboration for the region, providing tools to address the challenges of tropical agriculture. "We are promoting the strengthening and transformation of food systems to improve nutritional security," he added.

From CIAT, Maya Rajasekharan stressed the relevance of collaboration, noting that the workshop brought together key actors who share similar challenges. "Coordinated action is a great step forward, allowing us to develop innovations based on biodiversity, germplasm banks, and climate resilience," she detailed.

Finally, in the same vein, Marcelo Morandi, from EMBRAPA, highlighted the role of science and technology in improving the production chain: "the development of digital applications and the support of the public and private sectors will be fundamental in enhancing tropical agriculture," he indicated.