The Northern Region strategic priorities have been updated to reflect the agricultural production, trade and related issues that are priority for the three member countries. As such, IICA has defined its priorities for the Northern Region during 2009-2010 as:
- Strengthen and Support Regional Strategies and Mechanisms.
- Establish Mechanism to Share Information on the State of Agriculture and Rural Life in the Region.
- Strengthen Regional Agricultural Trade Emphasizing SPS and Food Safety and Biotechnology/Biosafety, among other
themes.
- Strengthen the Capacity of Agricultural SME to Access Markets and Promote Trade.
- Support Hemispheric Initiatives at the Regional Level.
Ministries of Agriculture:
Canada: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales y Agropecuarias (INIFAP)
United States of America: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
- Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
PROCINORTE
IICA Northern Region strongly supports the regional technical cooperation mechanism called PROCINORTE. PROCINORTE is a Cooperative Program in Agricultural Research and Technology that facilitates cooperative actions of mutual interest to the three countries of IICA’s Northern Region (Canada, Mexico, and U.S.).
The objectives of PROCINORTE are to:
§ Promote Dialogue to Identify Priority Research issues common to the three countries and to
influence the Regional, Hemispheric and Global Agendas.
§ Facilitate the Exchange of Experiences, Information and Training through the building of
linkages among Public and Private country institutions of the Northern region and between the
major research and Technology Transfer actors in the Region, the Hemisphere and the World.
§ Facilitate the collaboration among the countries to solve problems of mutual interest.
PROCINORTE is a member of the Regional Cooperation System on Agricultural Research of IICA under the coordination of the Direction of Technology and Innovation and it is technically supported through the Northern Region Technical Coordination, based in the IICA Washington, DC Office. Beginning the year 2009, IICA has assumed a more significant role in PROCINORTE, moving from a technical assistance provider to become its executive secretariat.
Contact Person: Priscila Henríquez -phenriquez@iicawash.org
PROCINORTE NEWS
v 11th Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of PROCINORTE - November 19th & 20th, 2009
FONTAGRO
The Northern Region of IICA also provides technical support to a hemispheric initiative called FONTAGRO, an alliance of Latin American and Caribbean countries created to support research and innovation in the agricultural sector. The Fund contributes to the reduction of poverty, promotes competitiveness of agri-food chains and encourages the sustainable management of natural resources. The Fund has 15 member countries and it is managed by a Board and a Technical Administrative Secretariat (TAS) of which IICA is a member. The supporting institutions are the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
For More information about FONTAGRO please visit the website: www.fontagro.org
Contact Person: Hugo Li Pun- hlipun@iicawash.org
Press Release:
FONTAGRO Extends Agreement with IDB