He met with the Minister of Agriculture, Jacobo Regalado (pictured), other senior officials and diplomats after participating in a regional conference on biotechnology and food security.

IICA Director General Víctor M. Villalobos took advantage of his visit to Honduras to take part in a regional conference on biotechnology and food security to meet with senior government officials and explore new possibilities of joint work with other organizations that support Honduras’ agricultural sector.

During his visit, from 28-30 June, Villalobos was received at the Presidential Palace by the Vice President of Honduras, Samuel Reyes, who is also the coordinator of the country’s agricultural sector.

One of main issues discussed with Vice President Reyes was technological innovation and, in particular, the contribution that biotechnology development can make to the efforts to combat hunger and poverty. Villalobos congratulated Honduras on hosting the biotechnology conference, thereby demonstrating its regional vision and leadership on the issue.

Villalobos also had meetings with the Minister of Agriculture, Jacobo Regalado, and the Director General of his ministry.

Minister Regalado expressed satisfaction with IICA’s input and said the organization was attentive to the government’s needs, providing it with useful technical support. Villalobos reiterated the Institute’s commitment to providing cooperation for the national plans aimed at achieving the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture.

During a meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mireya de Corrales, it was agreed that the Institute would implement a training activity on climate change for members of the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Partnership with USDA

The visit to Honduras gave the Director General an opportunity to strengthen the IICA’s strategic partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

He had a working lunch with the Administrator of the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service, John Brewer, for which they were joined by Agricultural Counselor Robert Hoff, Agricultural Specialist Ana Gómez and Economic Officer Ryan Guirlinger. IICA’s Representative in Honduras, Salvador Monge, also took part in the meeting.

The IICA/USDA partnership has permitted productive joint work in areas such as agricultural health, food safety and the promotion of agribusinesses to improve the well-being of rural communities. Work of this kind is enabling farmers to take better advantage of free trade agreements like the one between the United States and Central America and the Dominican Republic.

The IICA Director General and Mr. Brewer visited the community of Jutiapa, 20 km outside the capital of Honduras, which is part of the Tegucigalpa Green Belt project and supports the production of vegetables in neighboring municipal districts.

They saw the operations of a farm that produces carrots, cauliflower, squash, string beans and corn, on which the farmers use good agricultural and soil conservation practices in cultivating their plots.

With support from the Foundation for Development (FUNDER), the farmers have managed to establish links with large supermarkets to market their products.

The producers have access to a trust fund that finances their harvests. This allows them to plan their production based on demand and improve their productivity thanks to the incorporation of technology.

The IICA officials discussed with their FUNDER and USDA counterparts, and the producers themselves, mechanisms for sharing the potential of these production links with other farmers.

For more information, contact
salvador.monge@iica.int