CATIE Presents Triple-Impact Model to Strengthen Sustainable Agribusinesses at the 4th Social Outreach Symposium on Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness in Costa Rica

• The experience highlighted how capacity building, business support, innovation, and multi-stakeholder collaboration can generate economic, social, and environmental impacts across rural territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Strengthening the links between academia, local territories, and development actors is essential for driving sustainable transformations that improve the quality of life of rural communities. With this premise in mind, professionals from CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) participated in the 4th Social Outreach Symposium on Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, held on May 28 at the Main Auditorium of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and organized by the School of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness.

The event brought together academics, students, professionals, and institutions involved in rural development to reflect on the role of social outreach in generating positive impacts within territories, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing the agri-food sector in Latin America.

Representing CATIE, Adriana Escobedo Aguilar and Anthony Gamboa Chavarría, both members of the Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness Unit (UEAAS/EfD), delivered the presentation “A Triple-Impact Model to Strengthen Sustainable Agribusinesses and Local Value Chains Through Social Outreach.” During their presentation, they shared CATIE’s experience across several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, promoting territorial transformation processes through an approach that integrates economic, social, and environmental impacts. The initiative is built upon four strategic pillars: capacity building, business support, technological innovation, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Together, these components seek to foster the development of individuals and organizations, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises, and strengthen collaboration among public, private, academic, and development cooperation actors to create greater opportunities within rural territories.

During her presentation, Escobedo emphasized that this approach is the result of more than two decades of institutional work focused on the sustainable development of rural territories. She explained that its origins date back to the early 2000s with pioneering initiatives such as the Center for Eco-Enterprise Competitiveness (CeCoEco), an experience that later evolved into the Agribusiness Development Unit and is now consolidated within CATIE’s Sustainable Agribusiness area. She also highlighted that this trajectory has enabled the development of high-impact regional initiatives, including the AGROMIRA platform, conceived as a space for collaboration, innovation, and capacity building for sustainable agribusinesses throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

This process of institutional evolution has continuously adapted and strengthened the working model to respond to the changing challenges faced by producers, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, and rural associations, facilitating their access to increasingly sustainable, inclusive, and competitive markets and value chains.

“The evolution of this model reflects CATIE’s ability to adapt to the changing challenges of rural territories while always keeping the strengthening of people and their organizations at its core,” ”Escobedo noted.

For his part, Gamboa emphasized that the model’s central purpose is to ensure that people move beyond being project beneficiaries and become agents of change within their territories. According to him, “capacity development, organizational strengthening, and the creation of opportunities enable communities to build more resilient and sustainable development processes over time.”

The presentation also highlighted the complex challenges currently facing rural territories, including climate change, increasingly demanding markets, limited access to financing, digital divides, and organizational weaknesses. In response, the triple-impact model seeks to strengthen the response capacity of rural organizations and promote comprehensive transformation grounded in sustainability.

As part of CATIE’s participation in the symposium, Susana Acuña Torres, from UEAAS/EfD, presented the poster “Strengthening the Capacities of Women Entrepreneurs Linked to the Green and Blue Economy in Costa Rica.” This initiative was implemented between 2024 and 2025 through a partnership among CATIE, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and the National Institute for Women (INAMU).

La exposición mostró los principales resultados del proyecto, el cual benefició a 80 mujeres emprendedoras rurales y costeras de las regiones Chorotega, Huetar Caribe, Pacífico Central y Brunca mediante una escuela de formación gerencial híbrida basada en talleres presenciales, cápsulas virtuales y mentorías personalizadas. El proceso fortaleció capacidades en gestión empresarial, educación financiera, mercadeo, liderazgo femenino y climate resilience.

The project also organized four regional networking events known as “Green and Blue Connection,” which brought together more than 30 public and private institutions with participating entrepreneurs. Key achievements included the graduation of all 80 beneficiaries, the development of a gender seal, and support for entrepreneurs advancing toward access to seed capital through competitive funding mechanisms.

The experiences presented during the symposium demonstrated that combining technical knowledge, innovation, organizational strengthening, and stakeholder collaboration can become a powerful driver for building more competitive, inclusive, and sustainable territories. They also underscored the important role that universities, research centers, and development organizations can play in creating solutions that address the economic, social, and environmental challenges faced by rural communities across the region.