G/AG/GEN/111  
29 August 2013  
(13-4590)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Agriculture  Original: Spanish  
 
  THE MARRAKESH DECISION AND FOOD SECURITY: CONTRIBUTION OF THE 
INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR COOP ERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA) 
IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 
SUBMISSION BY IICA 
The following submission, dated 21 August 201 3, is being circulated at the request of 
the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 
 
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The purpose of this document is to share information on some of IICA's ongoing activities relating 
to agriculture and food security, and other activities being implemented in Latin American and Caribbean countries in the form of investment  projects and direct technical cooperation. 
 
1  IICA ACTIONS 
1.1.  IICA is committed to the food security of th e Americas. One of its strategic objectives 
is "to improve agriculture's contribution to food security ". To this end, the Institute has established 
the "Agriculture and Food Security" programme, defined as a cross-sectoral coordination programme to ensure that IICA's cooperation activities support the member countries in achieving their food security and development objectives, and help ministers of agriculture adopt 
the measures needed for agriculture to contribu te to their respective countries' prosperity. 
1.2.  IICA is accordingly implementing a food security cooperation strategy targeted at small 
family farmers, along the following three lines of action: policies and information; innovation 
to enhance the competitiveness of small-scale farming, and market access facilitation for 
small-scale agriculture. 
1.3.  Under the first line of action relating to policies and information, IICA recently put into 
operation a Food Security Observatory for the Americas so that countries can enhance their 
knowledge in this field and formulate better food security policies. This tool is available to the public free of charge and provides information relevant to food security in the Americas and worldwide. The Observatory's website and the information it contains can be viewed at: 
http://www.infoagro.net/program as/Seguridad/Default.aspx . 
1.4.  Under the second line of action concerning innovation to enhance the competitiveness 
of small-scale farming, IICA support has been  provided through cooperation projects in 
the countries and subregions, using the agricultural technology cooperation mechanisms promoted 
by IICA. In the framework of the Cooperative Pr ogram for Technological Development of Agrifood 
and Agro-industries in the Southern Cone (PROCI SUR); the Cooperative Program on Agricultural 
Research, Development, and Innovation for the South American Tropics (PROCITROPICOS); 
the Regional Cooperative Program for Technological Development and Modernization of Coffee Growing in Central America, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica (PROMECAFE); the Cooperative Program of Research and Technology for the Northern Region (PROCINORTE), and 
the Central American Integration System of Agricultural Technology (SITCA), for which IICA 
functions as the Executive Secretariat, 40 projects were undertaken which produced at least 47 new technologies (many of them low-cost) and also enhanced agricultural production, 
particularly on family farms. G/AG/GEN/111 
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  1.5.  Under the third line of action relating to market access facilitation for small-scale agriculture, 
IICA has encouraged the association of small farmers in using marketing mechanisms to gain access to larger markets. One concrete example is the technical cooperation agreement between 
IICA and Argentina's Ministry of Agriculture, Li vestock and Fisheries to promote low-development 
food production and further the development of production and marketing alternatives 
for agro-industry. IICA has also encouraged the adoption of risk-management mechanisms enabling small-scale agriculture to cope with problems arising from climate variability and price 
volatility. A specific example in this regard is a project in Haiti, initiated in 2011 and due to be 
completed in 2018, for an agricultural insurance financing system providing for the establishment 
of an agricultural credit and insurance scheme, and aimed at the overall structuring of financial 
services for agricultural businesses in order to improve the agricultural and rural economy and 
create better food security opportunities in Haiti. 
1.6.  Another IICA initiative has been to encourage inclusion of the nutrition issue in national 
agricultural agendas. Action has been taken together with the World Bank to introduce, 
in the Latin American and Caribbean region, a nutrition-oriented agricultural agenda that 
addresses food security- and nutrition-related ch allenges. To that end, IICA participated in 
an international seminar aimed at sharing different points of view, experiences, challenges and 
opportunities to improve nutrition in food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. 
One important aspect worthy of mention is that a guide for the region's project leaders is being edited for publication under the title "Agriculture for Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean: From Quantity to Quality". 
1.7.  Another recent IICA activity in the field of food  security is the ongoing creation of a model 
formally establishing the causal linkages and ch annels of impact between agriculture, trade, 
natural resources and climate change, with the overall objective of achieving food and 
nutritional security. The final product should consist of a series of food security and 
nutritional indicators, available on line, with which to identify the main sources of risk and vulnerability in each country of the Americas and thus make it possible to formulate more effective 
and appropriate government policies. 
1.8.  The creation of the model and calculation of the indicators is a process involving the 
following steps: 
a. Drafting concept notes for the main componen ts of the model (production, consumption, 
trade, agriculture and natural resources, agriculture and climate change); 
b. designing the model in a format that is bo th user friendly and easy to disseminate; 
c. feeding the model with real data, in c ooperation with the IICA offices in the 
Latin American and Caribbean countries; 
d. running basic simulations and calculating the indicators showing food security and 
nutritional status, trends and prospects, while identifying the main sources of risk 
and vulnerability; 
e. identifying critical country-specific food security and nutritional issues relating to 
agriculture, the food trade, natural resources and climate change. 
1.9.  The model under construction in IICA features a systems-based approach; follows a stocks 
and flows rationale; adopts a dynamic approach; is based on relationships between cause and 
effect; and makes it possible to identify channels of impact, in order to achieve food and nutritional security. This model will be a high-potential tool applicable at micro/territorial level 
in the Latin American and Caribbean countries. 
2  ACTIONS IN COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 
2.1.  IICA is currently supporting a food security and nutrition project in the Carquín, Huaura and 
Vegueta districts of Peru. The chief purpose of this project is to increase the food and 
nutritional security of rural communities in these districts by promoting healthy eating and nutritional practices to prevent child malnutrition and anaemia. It is hoped that families in these G/AG/GEN/111 
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  districts will be able to identify, evaluate, and use appropriate and varied food sources to improve 
the quality of their diets. In addition to IICA, other participating organizations are the Ajinomoto Foundation (a Peruvian NGO) and the World Food Programme. 
2.2.  In Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, 
IICA is implementing a Regional Program for Research and Innovation for Agricultural Value Chains 
(PRIICA), the purpose of which is to increase the availability of and access to food, using agricultural research as a tool to combat poverty and hunger. The project focuses on tomatoes, 
avocados, yucca and potatoes. 
2.3.  IICA is also carrying out a project entitled "Agricultural Innovation Network" (Red SICTA) 
in the Central American countries, in order to raise the income of small-scale farmers participating in the maize and bean value chains, and to strengthen national and regional technological 
innovation processes. Other institutions involved in this project are the Swiss Agency for 
Development and Cooperation (COSUDE), national research institutes, local organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the World Food Programme. 
2.4.  In the Caribbean region, IICA is carrying out a project aimed at strengthening the national 
school feeding programme and the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), through a series of initiatives. One of these initiatives is to support local community groups in preparing 
and delivering meals of fruit, vegetables, and fruit juices in local schools. 
2.5.  In addition, IICA has provided support for the formulation of agri-food work plans, strategies 
and policies in the countries of the Americas. In concrete terms, and working together with the 
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Pan-American Health 
Organization (PAHO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Economic Commission for 
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), IICA ha s created and implemented the Plan of Action 
for the "Zero Hunger Challenge Antigua & Barbuda". Through the development of an innovative 
model for local development, IICA also collaborates in the "National Crusade Against Hunger", 
implemented by the Government of Mexico. 
2.6.  For further details on IICA activities in this area, please contact: 
Rafael Trejos Solórzano 
Manager of the IICA Center for Strategic Analysis for Agriculture (CAESPA) 
 E-mail: rafael.trejos@iica.int  
 Tel.: (+506) 2216-0218 
 
Adriana Campos Azofeifa CAESPA Trade Policy and Negotiations Specialist and Coordinator of the IICA-WTO 
Reference Center 
 E-mail: adriana.campos@iica.int  
 Tel.: (+506) 2216-0170 
 
2.7.  For more information, please visit the IICA website at: http://www.iica.int . 
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