The Regular Meeting of IICA’s Executive Committee, which took place 22-24 July, was quite different from those held in previous years, for two key reasons - the global crisis sparked by rising food prices and the fact that the Committee held a session in Turrialba, 70 kilometers east of Costa Rica’s capital, to mark the strengthening of ties between IICA and CATIE.

Delegations from 17 countries took part in the 28th Regular Meeting of this governing body of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

On the first two days, the Committee met at the Institute’s Headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica. Then, on day three, the delegations traveled to the headquarters of the Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE).

Delegations from 14 Member States took part, namely: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Chile, Dominica, Ecuador, the United States of America, Honduras, Saint Lucia, Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Haiti, Mexico, and Panama. Israel and Germany participated in an observer capacity, and Spain as an associate member country.

Four ministers headed their country’s delegation: the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Marine Resources and Agribusiness of Antigua and Barbuda, Joanne Massiah; the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources of Bahamas, Lawrence Cartwright; the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment of Dominica, Matthew Walter; and the Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries of Saint Lucia, Ezequiel Joseph, who chaired the meeting.

During the meeting, the Executive Committee approved the proposed 2008-2009 Special Program Budget, which will be used to beef up the Institute’s actions in strategic areas such as agrotourism, horizontal cooperation, agricultural insurance, training for leaders, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and the modernization of IICA’s infrastructure.

The Committee also discussed IICA’s financial statements for 2007 and the report of the external auditors. For the fifth consecutive year, the external auditors gave IICA’s financial statements their unqualified approval.

IICA’s Director General said this was a major endorsement of the transparency, prudence and accountability with which the Institute manages its funds. “The financial situation is better than at any time since 1986. The fact that all the Member States are paying their annual quotas can only be interpreted as a reflection of their satisfaction with our work,” he commented.

During the meeting, the participants also discussed the status of the recommendations for strengthening the Institute’s technical expertise, to provide the new types of cooperation that its Member States need.

IICA officials gave presentations on the status of the 2006-2010 Medium Term Plan and the preparatory process for the Fifth Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life within the framework of the Summit of the Americas process, scheduled to be held in Jamaica next year.

Other matters on the agenda included the progress of IICA’s work with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Institute’s activities with CATIE.

The discussions also focused on the need to strengthen the institutional framework of the Network of Competent Authorities for Organic Agriculture, the report on the activities of the new Center for Leadership in Agriculture and how the Institute is supporting capacity building among the hemisphere’s agricultural leaders.

Moreover, the Executive Committee granted the title of Emeritus to six former Institute officials (Arlington Chesney, Lizardo de las Casas, Ernani Fiori, Guillermo Grajales, Victor Tunarosa and Suzanne Dancourt). This honor is conferred upon senior officials who have made outstanding contributions to the Institute.

During the activity, an interesting discussion took place on food security - the reasons why it is a problem for many countries and potential solutions. The countries acknowledged that IICA was well placed to support and collaborate with the governments, civil society and agricultural producers in developing and implementing effective and consistent short, medium and long-term policies tailored to the specific conditions in each region, nation and territory.

Specifically, the member countries instructed the Institute to monitor developments in the food security situation; provide support and advice on the subject; review and, if required, adjust the hemispheric, regional and national technical cooperation agendas; and collaborate with the Organization of American States (OAS) and other strategic institutions in support of the governments, civil society and the private services sector, with a view to improving access to financial resources.

At the end of the meeting, the Director General of IICA said, “Our work does not conclude with the close of this meeting. In fact, the meeting has inspired us to continue our long and challenging mission of placing agriculture and rural development at the center of our countries’ agendas. Only then will we be able to help reduce poverty.”