Soil health and support for family farmers, two challenges for America

Guarantee the health of the soils and work to support the family farmersare two of the great challenges of Latin America and the Caribbean, a fundamental region for the food safety global, said experts gathered in Costa Rica.

“The soil health law should be a priority at the national level, I hope that soil health laws are really incorporated. “Be proactive when you return to your countries, talk to your presidents, that this law has a clause where farmers are paid carbon credits for their ecosystem services, for the conservation practices they employ,” said scientist and 2020 World Food Laureate Rattal Lal.

The scientist, who leads the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center (C-MASC) at Ohio State University (USA), participates in the Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas 2023, which takes place in the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica.

Lal, recognized worldwide for his work focused on the potential of soils to help solve global problems such as climate change, food security and water quality, spoke about the importance of the agricultural sector in the countries of the region achieve progress in what it called “carbon farming”key to “confront climate change and achieve sustainable development goals.”

“With the potential of carbon sequestration, with properly managed soils, we can mitigate climate change and meet the sustainable development goals such as the end of poverty, zero hunger, reduction of inequalities, water and sanitation, goals that we are not meeting.” ”argument.

La highlighted the program ““Living Soils of the Americas”an initiative carried out by C-MASC and IICA and which articulates public and private efforts in the fight against soil degradation in the region.

Support for farmers

The senior officials and leaders of the sector participating in the conference also recognized that family farming is strategic for the continent and has a key tool in cooperativism to improve its performance and take advantage of its opportunities.

“Rural agricultural land must be at the center of the region’s public policies, and that means that in addition to thinking about the financing that the land may have in the fight against climate change, there must be policies aimed at allowing incentives for the conservation”commented the Vice Minister of Rural Development of Colombia, Martha Carvajalino.

The president of the International Cooperative Alliance for the Americas (ACI), Graciela Fernández Quintas, warned that inhabitants of rural areas face a complex scenario, with millions of producers in poverty.

“Without agricultural production there is no food or food security, but there is no business either. “Family farming is strategic and cooperatives are a fundamental tool to increase their negotiating capacity, both to sell their products and to buy inputs and access services.”he pointed out.

The Conference of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas was inaugurated on Tuesday with the presence of the president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, and that of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and the event will conclude this Thursday after debates and presentations by experts, leaders of the sector and senior officials from 34 IICA member countries.