CATIE promotes intercontinental cooperation in tropical agriculture during the Rectors' Summit

• Launch of Inter-American Chair and strategic alliances mark the agenda in agricultural education

With a strong intercontinental presence, the Rectors’ Summit of Agricultural Universities from Europe and Latin America became a key space for dialogue and cooperation around tropical agriculture. CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), as an active participant in the event, strengthened strategic alliances, presented new academic initiatives, and reaffirmed its leadership in training human talent to address global challenges in food security and sustainability.

The CATIE delegation, led by Director General Dr. Luis Pocasangre, aimed to highlight the importance of tropical agriculture in global food security, present the launch of the Inter-American Chair of Tropical Agriculture, strengthen partnerships with regional universities, and explore the incorporation of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in educational programs.

During the event, the strategic role of the tropical agriculture platform and hub, made up of CATIE, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Bioversity-CIAT, Embrapa, and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), was emphasized.

Dr. Pocasangre highlighted the official launch of CATIE’s Inter-American Chair of Tropical Agriculture, which includes the hiring of a permanent professor for the institution’s Graduate School. Likewise, Dr. Manuel Otero, Director General of IICA, expressed his pride in receiving this honor and affirmed that he would work to mobilize resources for the chair.

The discussions also underscored the urgent need to update academic programs to meet the new demands of students and the job market, as well as to strengthen virtual education through hybrid, modular, and flexible programs. Additionally, the need to establish diploma programs and specializations in tropical agriculture was highlighted, promoting partnerships with the private sector and research systems.

As part of the agenda, the rectors visited the Los Diamantes Experimental Station of Costa Rica’s National Institute of Innovation and Transfer in Agricultural Technology (INTA), where cooperation agreements in coffee and cacao were consolidated, and it was announced that six INTA researchers will join CATIE’s 2025–2026 master’s program cohort.

Among CATIE’s commitments are: follow-up on the integration of artificial intelligence in postgraduate programs, mobilization of educational resources, and activation of specific agreements with INTA and the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro of Mexico.

This summit marks a firm step toward a more modern, collaborative, and globally aligned agricultural education in response to sustainable development challenges.