Experts urge free international trade and support for small farmers

Experts gathered in Costa Rica They highlighted the need to promote freer and more transparent international trade, as well as supporting small farmers as ways to ensure food safetyreported the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Experts, ministers and academics gathered at a session of the IICA Executive Committee, stressed that International trade must be free, transparent and based on rules and science to ensure global food security and to mitigate imbalances between natural resources.

The Americas’ share of global agri-food exports was 30% between 2021 and 2023, while that of Latin America and the Caribbean reached 17%. However, intraregional trade in Latin America is only 14%, IICA said in a statement.

“The main challenges we face are the increase in protectionist measures, a product of the different crises that we have been experiencing, also the loss of competitiveness of the value chains due to the increase in production and transportation costs and the complex situation of the global trade system,” acknowledged the IICA International Trade Advisor, Gloria Abraham.

The Secretary of Trade and International Relations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, Roberto Perosa, He mentioned as priorities to combat hunger and poverty in the world “the sustainability of agri-food systems, the expansion of international trade to strengthen food security and the recognition of the role of family farmers, indigenous people and communities.”

Another point highlighted by the participants was that of Latin American cooperation to advance the transformation of the countryside, in a region that is considered a power in facing the climate crisis.

“We need to support regional trade relations, global trade. That what small farmers, peasant communities, indigenous peoples and black communities produce has a value in the market, can circulate, transform and generate wealth for these families,” said the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia, Martha Carvajalino.

The forum participants also stressed that in order to ensure the role of agriculture As part of the solution to the challenges facing humanity, it is essential to strengthen small farmers, promote cooperation between different actors and improve access to technologies and the quality of life of rural communities.

They also agreed that the Science, technology and innovation are key to increasing productivity and also equalityand that preventive actions are essential to stop the spread of animal diseases that can affect food security in the region.

Experts said consideration needs to be given to climate change adaptation and how to help producers overcome the risks of extreme weather events.

IICA announced that in the coming months it will continue to organize discussion forums to analyze the future of agriculture and promote a new generation of public policies.