Chiapas Declaration outlines a regional alliance to promote regenerative and resilient tropical agriculture in Mexico and the Americas

• En Tapachula, instituciones públicas, organismos internacionales, centros de investigación y actores del sector coincidieron en la necesidad de fortalecer una agenda compartida para la agricultura tropical, con énfasis en climate resilience, innovación, financiamiento, bioseguridad e inclusión.

The High-Level International Event “Sustainable, Inclusive and Competitive Tropical Agriculture: Critical Pathway for Mexico and the Americas” concluded on April 29 in Tapachula, Mexico, with the presentation of the Chiapas Declaration, a declarative instrument that proposes a strategic agenda for tropical agriculture focused on sustainable development, climate resilience, productive innovation, and hemispheric cooperation.

Convened by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), the Government of the State of Chiapas, and the Secretariat of Agriculture of the State of Chiapas, the event brought together over three days authorities, specialists, producers, and international organizations to discuss the main challenges and opportunities for tropical agriculture in Mexico and the Americas.

A regional alliance from Chiapas for tropical agriculture

The Chiapas Declaration proposes a strategic alliance between Mexico, Latin America, and the Caribbean to strengthen agri-food resilience in a context marked by climate vulnerability, natural resource degradation, and geopolitical, economic, and social pressures on tropical agri-food systems. Its purpose is to serve as an open framework for coordination and cooperation, without generating legal obligations or binding financial commitments for participating institutions.

In this context, the Secretary of Agriculture of the State of Chiapas, Mr. Marco Antonio Barba Arrocha, noted that the meeting resulted in “two days of intensive work, proposals, and above all, the search for a pathway to continue producing food in a sustainable and responsible manner, in balance with our environment.” He added that the state is working to align its programs with projects that strengthen linkages, capacity building, and financing, in order to consolidate a more productive agricultural sector with responsible use of water, soil, and natural resources.

During the working sessions, participants agreed that transforming tropical agriculture requires articulating science, territory, financing, and innovation, as well as strengthening cooperation among governments, international organizations, research centers, the private sector, and producers.

In this context, Dr. Luis Pocasangre, Director General of CATIE, highlighted the institution’s role in strengthening this regional platform. “CATIE has the capacity to contribute to this platform in areas such as watershed management, climate risk management, training, and the development of applied research in the territory. This effort, which began with five institutions, has succeeded in bringing together a growing number of actors, demonstrating that coordinated work has been worthwhile and that the initiative is moving in the right direction.”

Bioseguridad e innovación para la protección de cultivos

As part of the agreement-building process, conferences and panels addressed topics such as sustainable productivity, climate resilience, water, soil health, financing, biosecurity, and inclusion. Among the key areas highlighted were the need to scale effective technologies to the territory, strengthen extension and digitalization mechanisms, promote regenerative models, and improve institutional coordination to translate innovation into productive projects with impact.

In this regard, the Director General of IICA, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim, emphasized that the Institute is committed to strengthening capacities and extension systems so that producers can access advisory services and best practices. He also stated that “at IICA, we see tropical regions as a strategic axis to respond to global food demands.”

Water management and soil health were identified as priorities for a portfolio of projects to be financed by 2030, while discussions on financing, inter-state cooperation, and agricultural health underscored the importance of building coordinated responses to common threats and expanding opportunities for small and medium-sized producers in the tropics.

The Declaration also prioritizes areas such as soil restoration, watershed management, water efficiency, genetic improvement, bioeconomy, traceability, extension, and regional cooperation, with a vision aimed at strengthening sustainability, competitiveness, and multi-stakeholder coordination.

A critical pathway with a medium-term vision

As a preliminary roadmap, the proposal includes a short-term phase in 2026 for establishing governance and inter-institutional coordination mechanisms; a medium-term phase in 2027 and 2028 for territorial diagnostics, pilot design, early implementation, and activation of extension, traceability, financing, and incentive instruments; and a long-term phase in 2029 and 2030 focused on consolidation, impact evaluation, and potential regional scaling from the territories.

Dr. Ibrahim added that the challenge now is to move from discourse to concrete action through programs and projects that generate results in the territories. He also warned that “today, food systems are more complex than before: in addition to climate risk, there are rising costs of fertilizers and inputs, which represent an additional challenge for producers.”

Next steps for a cooperation agenda

Among the next steps are the socialization of the Chiapas Declaration, the presentation of the preliminary critical pathway, and the call for voluntary adherence of public institutions, universities, research centers, and allies from the social and private sectors present in tropical regions, with the aim of forming a technical and political network that promotes coordinated actions in the territories.