IICA and CATIE reaffirm their historic cooperation alliance in sustainable tropical agriculture

• During the XXIII Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture in Brasília, both institutions highlighted 83 years of joint work in science, innovation, and rural development

Within the framework of the XXIII Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), held in Brasília, Brazil, CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) reaffirmed their cooperation commitment to continue promoting sustainable tropical agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean.

During the official session, Dr. Luis Pocasangre, Director General of CATIE, read the Ratification of the IICA–CATIE Alliance, highlighting the achievements reached over more than eight decades of collaboration.

Among the main milestones emphasized are:

1. The IICA–CATIE Program has 83 years of history, surpassing the United Nations system (FAO), which has 80 years of support to agriculture.
2. IICA–CATIE has offices and research and development projects in 34 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
3. CATIE has the oldest Graduate School in Tropical Agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean.
4. CATIE’s Graduate School has trained dozens of Ministers of Agriculture and Environment throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
5. In 2025, CATIE graduated the 3,000th Master of Science student from its Master’s Program in Tropical Forests and Biodiversity.
6. CATIE is the alma mater of the current Director General of IICA, Dr. Manuel Otero, and the current Director General of CATIE, Dr. Luis Pocasangre. Likewise, it is the alma mater of the Director General-elect of IICA, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, who will assume office on January 15, 2026.
7. Under the leadership of Dr. Manuel Otero, IICA has positioned tropical agriculture at an intercontinental level and has built bridges of cooperation with international research institutes of the CGIAR—such as CIMMYT, CIAT, Bioversity, and IITA—as well as with universities in the United States, Europe, and Latin America.
   

Finally, Dr. Pocasangre expressed his gratitude to IICA’s Director General, Dr. Manuel Otero, for all his support during his eight years of administration and reaffirmed his commitment to continue working with the Director General-elect, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, to sustain this fruitful and essential cooperation in tropical agriculture between IICA and CATIE, for the benefit of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.