Press Release

  IICA strengthens relationship with US Government

“If we want to improve access to food, we must promote agribusiness and small producers while at the same time, ensuring that agricultural trade is not only open, but also fair and orderly”, said Victor Villalobos, Director General of IICA, in a meeting with US government agencies.

Washington, DC, May, 2012 - Victor Villalobos, Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), met with high level officials of various US government agencies and Capitol Hill in continued efforts to elevate and share the Institute’s activities in agriculture development throughout its 34 Member Countries.

“In order to meet demands of our member countries, IICA must continue to build upon our technical capacity,” expressed Villalobos. “Sharing best practices and exploring joint opportunities are critical functions in supporting and investing in sustainable agriculture development in the Americas”, he added.

Within the context of presenting the Institute’s 2011 Annual Report before the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), Villalobos met with key US agencies and Congressional Members including the US Department of State; the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Congressman Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), among others, to highlight the IICA’s leadership activities in reducing hunger and poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

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