G/AG/GEN/121  
3 November 2014  
(14-6374)  Page: 1/5  
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 31 October 2014, 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 inform member countries of the World Trade 
Organization (WTO) about the technical cooperation activities carried out by IICA in 2014 to provide support for Latin American and Caribbean countries in the area of food and 
nutrition security. 
 There has been a general tendency in recent years for countries to seek ways of consolidating and 
enhancing their food security and of implementing  actions to that end. One of the objectives 
of IICA's 2010-2014 Medium-Term Plan is to raise agriculture's contribution to food security. 
The Institute accordingly supports its member States in developing policies, strategies and institutional frameworks to increase the contribution of agriculture, and especially small-scale 
farming, to their food security, in terms of both national strategy and access for small-scale 
producers to income that enables them to buy food and produce staple foods.  
IICA recently launched four flag projects for the period 2014-2018, which are geared towards 
competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural chains for food security and economic development; inclusion in agriculture and rural areas; resilience and comprehensive risk 
management in agriculture; and productivity and su stainability of family farming for food security 
and the rural economy. These flag projects addr ess food security as a cross-cutting issue. 
 1  IICA ACTIONS 
1.1.  IICA, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Spanish 
International Cooperation Agency for Developmen t (AECID) organized a blended course entitled 
"Communication and knowledge for food and nutriti on security decision-making in Latin America". 
The key objective was to build up the capacities and communication skills of government officials 
in order to improve food and nutrition security  (SAN) decision-making processes and knowledge 
management in Latin America. The following countries took part: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, 
Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The course consisted of seven weeks of e-learning and one face-to-face se ssion held in Antigua, Guatemala, in October. 
More than 30 professionals from Ministries of Health, Agriculture, Rural Development and the 
Economy, and Secretariats for Food and Nutrition Security or Social Development participated in 
the course. One of the most noteworthy outcomes was the participants' undertaking to establish a coordinated network of interested persons G/AG/GEN/121 
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  1.2.  The Food Security Observatory for the Americas was in operation throughout the year. This is 
a bilingual tool, available free of charge for monitoring and consulting the food security policies and instruments of the countries of the Americas. It provides news, indicators and information relevant to food security stakeholders in the Americas, and publishes a monthly newsletter. 
For further information please visit: http://www.infoagro.net/program as/Seguridad/Default.aspx . 
1.3.  IICA collaborated with the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition 
of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in identifying the most critical current and 
emerging issues in the area of food security and nutrition for Latin America and the Caribbean. 
As a result, the HLPE published a note on the subject, which is available at: http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe/c ritical-and-emer ging-issues/en . 
1.4.  IICA, the FAO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) 
jointly produced a report entitled The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the 
Americas: A Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean , which focuses on family farming in 
Latin America and the Caribbean and its bearing on f ood security as the main provider of food for 
countries of the region. For further information please visit: 
http://www.iica.int/Esp/Programas/AnalisisEstrat egico/Publicaciones%20 de%20Modernizacin%20I
nstitucional/b3249e.pdf . 
1.5.  Together with the Regional Cooperative Program for the Technological Development and 
Modernization of Coffee Production (PROMECAFÉ) and Latin American national institutions, IICA continued to implement the regional progra mme for the integrated management of coffee 
rust. Coffee rust has had a serious impact in Centra l America, jeopardizing food security for small 
coffee growers and pickers. 
1.6.  IICA, the Argentine Agrifood Promotion of Ex ports Project of Argentina's Ministry of 
Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (PROARGEX) an d the Faculty of Agronomy of the University of 
Buenos Aires (FAUBA) have been working on a regional agribusiness platform for the Southern 
Cone countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay), which is designed to become a network bringing together public, priv ate and academic institutions engaged in the 
promotion of agribusiness. Its objective is to contribute information and knowledge to the 
development of the agrifood sector in the Southe rn Cone countries by encouraging the growth of 
agribusiness and the expansion and diversification of trade with emerging markets. 
1.7.  There are four recognized dimensions of food security
1, and one of them is access to food.2 
IICA has played a very active role in its capacity as Executive Secretariat of the Market 
Information Organization of the Americas (MIOA), providing support for the dissemination of relevant and transparent information on markets and agricultural products in the Latin American 
and Caribbean countries. 
1.8.  IICA is currently running a 12-week online course  on value-adding policies, followed by some 
50 officials from Ministries of Agriculture, technical professionals from public and private 
organizations, civil society and international cooperation agencies, consultants, teachers, and so 
on. The overall objective of the course is to build up the capacities of public and private 
stakeholders in countries of the Americas, with  a view to designing an d implementing public 
policies in support of value-adding for agricultural products. 
1.9.  Another dimension of food security is the organic utilization of food.
3 IICA has strengthened 
its ties with the International Plant Protection  Convention (IPPC), the World Organisation for 
Animal Health (OIE) and the Codex Alimentarius, sponsoring IICA member countries this year to 
attend meetings, forums and committees to discuss  and approve plant and animal health and food 
safety standards. 
                                               
1 Food availability, accessibility, utilization and stability. 
2 Defined by the FAO as access by individuals to  adequate resources (entitlements) for acquiring 
appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Entitlements are defined as the set of all commodity bundles over which 
a person can establish command given the legal, politica l, economic and social arra ngements of the community 
in which they live (including traditional rights such as access to common resources). 
3 Defined by the FAO as the biological utilization of food through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation 
and health care to reach a state of nutritional well-being where all physiological needs are met. This brings out the importance of non-food inputs to food security. G/AG/GEN/121 
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  2  ACTIONS IN COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 
2.1.  Based on the four dimensions of food security , IICA carried out the specific actions described 
below in several member countries. 
2.2.  As regards food availability4, IICA implemented the following activities: 
a. El Salvador: Jointly with the country's Minist ry of Agriculture, IICA helped to empower 
more than 16,000 agricultural producers in eight priority production chains, providing technical support for technological innovation and high quality agricultural 
extension services. 
b. Nicaragua: IICA helped 66 organizations of small-scale staple grain seed producers to 
strengthen their capacities and mutual ties. 
c. Guatemala: 1,815 maize and bean producers, including 904 women, were trained in 
technological innovation so as to improve production. 
d. Colombia: IICA contributed to consolidating the agricultural production plan for the 
Tolima Triangle irrigation area in Colombia. 
e. Belize: IICA provided support to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Agriculture 
(MNRA) in developing a strategy to disseminate improved technologies for maize and bean production, which will directly be nefit 2,500 small farmers and 20 communities 
essentially made up of indigenous groups in the south of Belize. IICA also provided 
technical assistance to the MNRA in developing a national agriculture and food policy framework, with strategic objectives revolving around food security and nutrition, competitiveness of the agricultural sector, conservation of natural resources and 
biodiversity, climate change adaptation  and mitigation, and rural prosperity. 
f. Dominican Republic: IICA consolidated efforts to promote the use of technologies for 
improving people's diet and increasing household agricultural incomes under 
an integrated farming strategy; this included training, which covered dairy goats, 
free-range chickens, guinea pigs, sheltered vegetable gardens, and ponds. 
g. Bolivia and Ecuador: with IICA's support Bolivia obtained OIE certification as a country 
free from foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease with vaccination. Likewise, IICA is helping 
Ecuador to implement its National FMD Eradication Programme. 
2.3.  As regards the food security dimension relating to the biological utilization of food , 
IICA implemented the following activities: 
a. Ecuador: IICA contributed to strengthening Ecuador's national agricultural health and 
food safety (AHFS) system through various measures, including a proposal to establish a national contaminants control programme (mycotoxins and pesticides); various technical 
and regulatory proposals for the issuing of sanitary registration and post-registration 
control; updating of the existing regulatory framework (regulations, standards and procedures); and strengthening of the Codex Committees and sanitary and 
phytosanitary (SPS) measures. 
b. Peru: IICA helped the country's Standing Multisectoral Commission on Food Safety 
(COMPIAL) to draw up a draft food safety policy and related instruments. 
c. Venezuela: IICA provided support in strengthening the national agricultural health and 
food safety (AHFS) system, using tools aimed at facilitating the Food Hygiene 
Directorate's strategic planning process and capacity building for the officials concerned. Networks, associations, cooperatives, communities, producers' associations and public 
institutions have a work plan for implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), 
                                               
4 Defined by the FAO as sufficient quantities of food  of appropriate quality, supplied throug h domestic 
production or imports (including food aid). G/AG/GEN/121 
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  Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) 
and ensuring food hygiene in production chains with a lower environmental impact, thus contributing to public health and food security. 
d. Antigua and Barbuda: thanks to IICA's cooperation, government agencies, producers 
and exporters have accurate and up-to-date information on food safety processes and 
procedures, with particular reference to food processing and handling. This information will serve to establish SPS protocols which are essential to expanding Antigua and 
Barbuda's access to markets for food products. 
e. Suriname: National food safety capabilities  were enhanced through training in GPMs, 
GAPs, crop control and how to enhance participation in Codex Alimentarius and WTO  
forums. Training was also provided to fa rmers, food handlers, agribusinesses and 
extension personnel in the districts of Marowijne, Para and Wanica to improve their 
knowledge and build capacity in food hygien e, value-adding (pineapple and cassava) and 
good manufacturing practices. 
f. St. Kitts and Nevis: Farmers adopted good management principles for the production of 
safe and wholesome foods for human consumption. In addition, agro-processors were able to identify critical safety points in the handling, preparation and serving of food and 
concentrate their resources on activities that are critical to ensuring food safety. IICA 
also helped to increase youth engagement in agriculture. 
g. Saint Lucia: IICA implemented four phas es of the Helping Out Our Primary and 
Secondary Schools (HOOPSS) Project, in pa rtnership with the Saint Lucia Agriculture 
Forum for Youth (SLAFY) and Consolidated F oods Limited (CLF), in response to the 
dwindling involvement of youth in agriculture and the need to address the nutritional concerns of school feeding programmes by promoting the production and consumption of 
fresh, wholesome foods. 
2.4.  As regards the food security dimension relating to market access , IICA implemented the 
following activities: 
a. Costa Rica: IICA contributed to the development of an integration methodology and 
strategy under the National Production Council's Integrated Agricultural and Livestock Marketing Programme, with a view to link ing small and medium-sized producers to 
local markets. 
b. Peru and Ecuador: IICA helped to ensure that officials from government agencies in both 
countries had reliable tools for the formulatio n and/or implementation of policies aimed 
at improving market links for small and medium-sized agricultural producers. 
c. Ecuador: IICA helped to ensure that the country's autonomous governments had 
harmonized and validated documents providing methods and tools for decentralized management of production, agricultural and ir rigation capabilities. They also have an 
employment- and income-generating strategy for young people in rural areas in line with 
the business projects being implemented. El Oro province has a food security promotion and management strategy at provincial level. 
d. Bahamas: IICA collaborated with the Ministry of Agriculture to support the Bahamas 
Agribusiness Cooperative (BABCO) backyard gardening project. This included negotiating 
for local farmers to supply large hotel developments with local fresh produce. Two hundred farmers, processors and their organizations benefited from a 
comprehensive training programme covering, inter alia , agribusiness and trade, project 
management, entrepreneurship, food safety, f ood processing, livestock, animal nutrition 
and sourcing planting material. 
e. Barbados: The Ministry of Agriculture has given priority to the development of an 
Agricultural Market Intelligence Service. IICA was a key partner in the process, providing support for the design of the system and a direct link to the Market Information 
Organization of the Americas. G/AG/GEN/121 
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  f. Paraguay: IICA held a capacity-building work shop for technicians and officials of the 
Ministry of Agriculture's Planning and Market ing Directorate. One of the most noteworthy 
outcomes was the establishment of five project profiles for strengthening small 
producers' organizations and validation of the IICA tool on strategic elements of 
association management. This tool was shared with other countries such as Argentina, 
Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. 
2.5.  Lastly, IICA implemented the following activities in support of food stability : IICA and the 
Central American Integration System of Agricultural Technology (SICTA) have jointly presented 
the Central American countries and the Dominican Republic with a project entitled " Estrategia 
regional para la investigación y adaptación de f r i j o l  y  m a í z  d e n t r o  d e  e s c e n a r i o s  d e  c a m b i o  
climático (2013-2020)  (Regional strategy for research and adaptation of maize and beans under 
climate change scenarios (2013-2020))", which prom otes research and innovation with a view to 
adapting small- and medium-scale production systems to climate variation. For additional information please visit: http://www.iica.int/Esp/Programas/Innovacion/Publicaciones_TeI/b3338e.
pdf. 
2.6.  For further details on IICA activities in this area, please contact: 
James French 
Manager of the IICA Agribusiness and Marketing Program 
Email: james.french@iica.int  
Tel: (+506) 2216-0218 
 
Adriana Campos Azofeifa 
IICA Trade Policy and Negotiations Specialist and Coordinator of the IICA-WTO Reference Center 
Email: 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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