“There is an urgent call for the region to build capacity in the agricultural sector as an important first step to enhancing production and productivity in order to increase food security and incomes in the rural areas,” said OAS Ambassador to the United States of America and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), Ambassador Anthony Johnson. He continued, “Increased investment in the sector must happen now in order for us to achieve these goals.”

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Organization of American States (OAS) are organizing a high level Food Security Conference scheduled for October 1, 2009 in Washington D.C. The theme of the conference is entitled ‘Agriculture for Development and Food Security in the Americas.’

The conference aims to:

1. Create a leadership platform for IICA and the OAS to bring attention to the needs and opportunities to invest in agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean;
2. Position the topic of Food Security at the Fifth Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life in the context of the Summit of the Americas Process, and the Fifteenth Regular Meeting of the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) to be held in Montego Bay, Jamaica later this year in October and;
3. Raise the visibility of the importance of food security and agriculture for the region and to seek agreement to hold hemispheric workshops throughout 2010, thus leading to the creation of National Food Security Plans in the Member States.

Of the two panels to be chaired, Ambassador Johnson will moderate the panel 1 entitled, ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for Investment in Agriculture.’ Participants will include representatives from the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); the Latin American Agribusiness Development Corporation (LAAD); and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Food security has long been considered a primary goal of sustainable agricultural development and is one of the most urgent issues of our times. Earlier this year, the global community increased its commitment to ending food insecurity. At the G-8 Summit, leaders of the eight largest countries agreed that food security is an international problem and they are committed to increase international assistance for agricultural development to $20 billion over the next three years. Furthermore, President Obama recently asked Congress to double its commitment to global agricultural production in 2010.

Other confirmed participating organizations include, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture; The World Food Program (WFP); the International Markets Bureau-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO); the University of California-Davis and Texas A&M University.