Manuel Otero has been Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA) since 2018.
At the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, the general manager of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA)called the Argentine Manuel Otero form a continental alliance to address the growing food crisis.
The invitation was made to the forum “The global food crisis and the Americas”, where the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, announced humanitarian aid of 331 million dollars in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, the most affected Central American countries rising food prices which caused the pandemic and war in Ukraine, rural migration and climate change.
“The situation is, due to many factors, worrying. We are facing a very deep crisis in which the main pillars of food security are under enormous pressure“, explained Otero to the EFE agency.
The Argentine director participated in this meeting of the leaders of the region with the aim of promoting a continental alliance that guarantees food security on the American continent.
Access to food is not uniform across countries. Some are particularly affected, such as Haiti, which is experiencing a “multidimensional” crisis, or Colombia, where inflation has a major impact on basic necessities.
“There are regions that are very vulnerable and are exposed to extreme weather events. The case of El Salvador is the most significant statistic because they import 80% of the food “, added the director of the IICA.
Despite the “enormous pressures” of the international context, Otero is convinced of it a reorganization of the agricultural production system can reverse the situation and make the American continent an exemplary model for the rest of the world.
“We hope that at the Summit there is a renewed political will to act and making food security an opportunity to improve the macroeconomy“he stressed.
Among the priorities of this organization, which includes 34 countries and the World Farmers Organization (WOM), is the increase of interregional trade, currently below 15% in America compared to regions such as Europe, where it exceeds 60%.
Such joint action would be based on four aces that IICA will bring leaders closer: strengthening agri-food systems, exploiting the opportunities of the geopolitical context, relying on technology and promoting the economic inclusion of agricultural workers.
“It is important that agricultural workers they stay in rural areas and are well paidOtero stressed.
To this end, IICA encourages governments to ensure the supply of fertilizers, the price of which has skyrocketed by up to 70%, and to coordinate funding to meet production costs.
Otero is a veterinarian and since 2018 he leads this international organization which is headquartered in San José, Costa Rica and has representations across the continent. Supported by the Argentine Foreign Ministry in September last year was re-elected CEO until 2026.
a key role
Among its main allies, IICA has US USAID, led by Samantha Power, which on Wednesday pledged to lead a hotline to ensure food security in the most vulnerable countries.
To complement the aid, he proposed Otero bringing technological innovation closer to rural producersmany of which cannot compete with other more sophisticated systems and migrate to cities.
“Our expectation is that Latin America is the great cradle of these agro-entrepreneurs“, he advanced.
The reform, he summarized, passes through agricultural producers, researchers and entrepreneurs.
“We have to take care of these three actors within an appropriate policy framework,” he concluded.
Source: Clarin
