Mexico’s Candidate for IICA’s Director General Post

Taking into consideration the challenges and opportunities present in the agriculture sector, the following brief deals with some ideas for improving IICA’s response capacity to attend the needs of all of its members. We shall begin by analyzing the context and nature of these opportunities and challenges; then we will present our proposals to improve IICA’s service capacity.

The Background
Globalization and Recent Events that Lead the Way

In the most recent decades the international arena has become complex due to the globalization of the economic and financial process and rapid technological advances, mainly in telecommunications, biotechnology and informatics. Because of the interdependency between nations, and of the international markets, decisions taken in any part of the world have an immediate impact on all countries. Domestic policies must give due consideration to actions taken in other countries, as these actions transcend political boundaries. Decisions must be made carefully, as they often transcend national boundaries.

Each country decides the role it will play in the world economy. The lack of regulation in international financial organizations and in the national economies of industrialized countries represents a concern for many countries and regions (including Latin America and the Caribbean), as countries in these regions are both dependent and vulnerable to fluctuations in the global economy. This was made evident during 2008, when the global economic, energy, and food crises originated in these countries. Structural problems in developed countries that so far have not been solved caused a meltdown of the world’s economy.

With the global economic crisis, the limits and weaknesses of economic development models that were adopted by Latin America and the Caribbean over 30 years ago have been exposed. It is now imperative to adapt to the new reality and the new problems, and to adopt new development strategies, some of which may not have even yet been conceived. The search for alternatives must start from differentiating the level of development of countries in the Americas, the particular problems from each one of them, and the complementarities of government policies and the actions taken by several continental cooperation organisms.

Learning from Experience

The current global economic crisis has to be faced and a solution needs to be provided. There will be the need to keep and further utilize those positive aspects of the existing economic model as we fight to rescue over 100 million inhabitants in this region from their poverty, and allowed developing in the North of the continent the most modern and productive agriculture in the world. We need to encourage free trade, public financial discipline, macroeconomic stability, competitiveness, increased foreign investment and private savings, greater efficiency of public and private management, and let the market forces in the economy recover.

We have to quickly move away from policies that have obstructed the development and the construction of a more equitable society, such as deregulation at any cost, weak government and wealth and income concentration, all of which have ignored social, ecological and environmental concerns.

It is unquestionable that governments and international organizations need to address the new issues that today dominate the world agenda and that can no longer be ignored, because the dimension of the current world crisis shows that we have reached a point of no return. The issues that we must address must be resolved through a new framework of regulatory international cooperation and by means of new and bold public policies. We must redefine the role of agriculture, viewing it as a means to generate not only raw materials and food, but as a principal source of clean energy, and a means to achieve food security, poverty elimination, environmental sustainability and rural development. These are the issues on which we must focus, and for which solutions must be found.

A Realistic Optimism

Among the American countries, agriculture has played a fundamental role in economic development and has also been the basis for industrialization, urbanization and quick demographic growth. Agriculture has provided the needed raw materials and food for achieving this development, but in most cases, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, rural society is lagging behind urban groups. Although lagging behind, it has been the capacity and willingness of the agricultural population, their strength and commitment, which has given our countries competitive advantages.

In the most recent decades, our region’s farmers have shown that, with the support of their governments, they can successfully participate in the most competitive and demanding world markets. It is most satisfying to find Latin American and/or Caribbean high quality products in the European, Asian, and Middle East markets. It is a source of pride that the North of the continent is the main supplier of grains to the world, and that the production of grains, vegetables and livestock products from that region are still leading the way in international markets, due to their competitiveness and efficiency.

The region’s agriculture sectors have had numerous success stories. All these stories show how development levels can be achieved when farmers’ efforts are supported with the proper public policies and an adequate institutional framework. These successes clearly indicate that we have an opportunity for a better future and that international organizations play a fundamental role in promoting the integral development of our rural societies. This can be done by better and more efficient cooperation mechanisms and special services which support a more competitive and productive regional agriculture sector.

Facing and Overcoming Challenges

Achieving a better future requires us to immediately face those tasks that need to be addressed.

Rural development in many American countries has been unbalanced and has promoted uneven wealth distribution and wealth concentration. Providing economic opportunities and human development has not been achieved for the majority of the rural population in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly those small land owners or subsistence producers with serious agroecological limitations. Rural immigration, especially of young people, to the cities and to the most developed countries within the region, continues. Many of those rural inhabitants that have remained behind are facing increasing poverty and more obstacles to overcome to satisfy their basic needs.

The levels of rural investment and infrastructure below the Bravo River are low, labor is unskilled, and research and technological knowledge is limited. It must be increased quickly and efficiently. Agricultural chains need to be integrated; farmers should increase their participation in the transformation and commercialization of their products; rural markets must operate more efficiently; private production initiatives should be encouraged; rural producers and workers should increase their income and enjoy greater social welfare and a better future.

Ah the same time, developed countries also face new challenges, as they not only have to maintain their leadership and efficiency, but also incorporate sustainability, protection of the environment, generation of clean energies, and fair trade practices, which are beneficial to all countries and comply with international trade regulations.

Looking into the Future
The Essential Market, Current and Future

Population growth, urbanization and increased income present opportunities for the agriculture sectors of the region’s countries. In the next thirty years, the region’s population will double. This large market presents an opportunity, but also a challenge; will the purchasing power of the growing population keep pace? It is necessary to consolidate commercial integration and implement development policies that increase the levels of income of all social sectors and, particularly, those of marginalized rural groups.

Benefiting from the Hemispheric Interaction

The hemispheric countries have increased economic, social and cultural interactions. This integration constitutes an opportunity not only for increased trade in products which are of a higher quality, healthier and which have a higher added-value component, but also for increased cooperation on research and scientific development. It presents an opportunity to increase development of the hemispheric rural society.

Eliminating Domestic Inequality

At the hemispheric level, agriculture has increasingly become complementary, as can be seen through the structure of the agro-food trade exchanges and the consolidation of trade blocks in the continent. Nevertheless, there are wide regional differences and asymmetries among and within the countries of the region contributing to economic and social polarity. Particularly, in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region, there are areas with a modern and highly competitive agriculture sector, where farmers make a good income. On the other hand, there is a huge number of small farmers struggling, with low levels of efficiency and productivity, who are marginal to the market. The main challenge is finding ways to reduce this gap and putting emphasis on strengthening and increasing the level of competitiveness of the small and medium size farmers, allowing them to participate in the greater regional or global market so they can achieve and adequate standard of living. In those more developed countries, even though there is no such polarization, there is inequality between large producers and trade companies which control markets, and small and medium scale producers. Policies and actions are needed to promote equity and equilibrium.

Opportunity for Everyone

In such an environment, the small and medium size agricultural and agro-industry businesses will have multiple opportunities, regardless of their social status. Farmers and indigenous communities could produce attractive products or services for special market niches, based on their agro-ecological and cultural biodiversity and their ancient skills could begin to reap the benefits of a modern economy.

Responsibility is beyond the Agricultural Ministers

In most of the hemispheric countries, public policies have forgotten the agriculture sector. The consequences are deplorable. Given the fact that there is potential for improvement, Latin America and the Caribbean countries should adopt agricultural and rural development policies with a long term vision, multi-annual budgets, and adequate synergies among the government agencies related to agricultural societies, similar to those existing in several countries. It is fundamental for the recovery of agriculture that such policies become a reality by using adequate instruments and sufficient economic resources. At the same time, it is necessary that those more developed countries keep and enrich their successful policies, focusing on the new world agenda, to solve environmental problems, generate clean energies, and promote comprehensive and equitable development among the regions, as well as fair domestic and international trade.

More Public and Private Investment

It is essential that governments allocate more resources to agriculture and establish conditions to attract more private investment. Both governments and the private sector should increase their commitment to the agricultural sector. Diverse financial resources should be made available, including savings of urban families, remittances, resources from other domestic and foreign sectors, and the resources of the farmers and agro-industry sector.

Renew Institutional Public and Private Capacity

Building a better institution for the agro-food systems and the rural sector is fundamental. This task requires a renewed effort by the Ministries and other public entities, by the workers’ organizations and by local governments and organizations. It is part of each state’s responsibility to invest in the development of their institutional capacity and develop public awareness, productive capacity, and participation of economic agents, no matter their size or level of integration.

The Only Good Opportunities are Those Taken

Due to the combination of many factors, the time to achieve agricultural improvement is now. The global economic crisis has produced concerns about a major food crisis. Climate change raises the risk of a food shortage. There is a lack of hard currency in many agricultural exporting countries, as well as an increased dependency of these countries on foreign aid as they cannot meet their own supply needs. At the same time, positive agricultural support programs by several countries, combined with international services and support, provides evidence that a positive change is possible. The fact that agriculture has been the central issue in the 2008 World Bank Report on World Development is proof of this possibility.

IICA Responsibilities
IICA: An Honest Commitment

In the new global economic environment, the role of multilateral cooperative organizations is especially relevant, because they are the most effective tools to promote a new approach to the challenges and opportunities existing in the agriculture sector at the present time. They provide valuable support to government decision-making. The IICA is an institution of the Governments of our continent and should be responsive to their needs. The IICA can assist in generating regional public goods and the development of national capabilities. The IICA should work to achieve these goals, by using its own human resources, those of member countries, and those of interested international organizations.

Such a joint effort, moving forward with speed and effectiveness, should help mitigate the consequences of the current economic crisis and should fortify a commitment to the future. In order to obtain these results, new leadership and a new vision is required for our institutions. The IICA, as a major institution for agriculture in the Americas, must assume its responsibility for this mission.

Created more than 60 years ago to support the development of agriculture in the countries of the American Hemisphere, at the present time IICA requires a renewed vision coupled with new technical capabilities that enable the organization to timely and effectively support its member countries in order for them to be able to respond to today’s challenges and to develop their agriculture sectors for the future.

In order to contribute to the creation of a new future, IICA must achieve the following objectives: a) to focus and fortify the development agenda for agriculture and rural communities; b) to invigorate the engine of farming and rural development, especially the development of human capital; c) to fully understand and obtain the maximum benefit from technology, innovation, free markets, economic integration and the role of international organizations; d) to contribute to designing programs for agricultural development of rural regions; e) to promote reformulations of policies, instruments, and government support for farming and rural development; f) to respond quickly and efficiently to the demands and new challenges of agriculture; g) to contribute to the effort of countries to reduce the effects of “global warming” and destruction of the natural resources, improving sustainability; and h) to promote and coordinate work with other development agencies, specially the multilateral banks, to create synergy, avoid duplication and reduce inefficiencies in the use of resources.

For IICA to attain these objectives, a transformation of the organization is needed, but a transformation which retains institutional experience and knowledge. The governing principles of the IICA should be clear and transparent, and constructed and maintained by the hard work of its personnel. Therefore, we propose to renew the IICA, providing it with a strategic political vision for the hemisphere, and an institutional culture based on a transparency and accountability, with the goal of serving its member countries efficiently, effectively and timely.

We propose an IICA that promotes respect for the diversity of its member countries; that builds based on principles of social and environmental responsibility; that encourages the human development and the collective and individual participation of its personnel; that supports technical cooperation at all organizational levels; that handles transparently and responsibly its resources; and that is positioned to take advantage of opportunities and synergies.

We propose an IICA that becomes an effective facilitator and a bridge that links all countries in the Hemisphere by means of promoting technologies that are well-suited to each country’s reality, and a more effective Inter-American cooperation. IICA must promote cooperation among countries in the region, which will translate into comprehensive rural development and public policies that respond to the challenges faced by agriculture in the new millennium.

Our ideas of how IICA can more effectively serve its member countries, within the framework of its institutional mandate, are summarized below:

More Efficient at Hemispheric Level

IICA will not only play a more technical role, but will also take on a leadership role, with a prospective vision to anticipate events before they occur. It will try to influence individual government decisions in favor of the agriculture sector. It will reconsider its current agenda and present newly prioritized hemispheric, regional and national agendas. IICA will concentrate on actions that will contribute to developing the capabilities of its member countries. IICA will assist member countries define the best measures for high-priority and strategic fields, and will contribute to developing the ability of the national organizations to put these measures in practice. This proposal requires an endorsement of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture.

More Efficient at Sub-Regional Level

IICA will evaluate its present role in each sub-region, recognizing that the needs of each sub-region are different. IICA will focus its task on the most relevant issues for each sub-region and it will make very clear the actions in each sub-region which will be the focus of IICA efforts.

More Efficient at National Level

Recognizing that the national agendas of member countries are important and necessary, they should hold a better balance and alignment with the objectives of rural development and agriculture in the Hemisphere, and those agreements established by the Inter-American Board of Agriculture. IICA will be more efficient in supporting member countries by maintaining open channels of communication and utilizing its capabilities at the hemispheric level. IICA will seek to establish effective instruments of agriculture policy and to develop public and private organizations responsible for its administration.

Better Resources Allocation

IICA will work to see that the distribution of resources derived from “fees” will be more equitable and will start to increase. To achieve this goal, cooperative programs will be established with international financial organizations in order to obtain pre-investment resources that will be mobilized to generate strategic public investment for agricultural projects in each country.

Development of Technical Capabilities

IICA will use its capacity, prestige, and resources --in a fair and balanced way-- to strengthen and utilize the existing technical capabilities in each country.

My commitment as General Director to the IICA is to position it as the most trusted, respected and efficient institution in the Western Hemisphere, so that we can contribute to reducing poverty, preserving and enhancing our resources, and ensuring that women and men who work the land, our land, will have the opportunity to improve their standard of living. The challenges we are facing require new leadership, new goals and new sacrifices. My promise is to offer you new leadership, create with you new goals and to transform the sacrifices into opportunities which will allow us to create a more just society and a more equitable and sustainable world.

Dr. Victor Villalobos
Candidate for Director General of IICA