IICA and the FAO to pool resources in the Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, April 2013 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are to coordinate their efforts in relation to a number of initiatives designed to benefit the Dominican Republic’s agrifood sector.

IICA’s Representative in the Dominican Republic, Manuel Sánchez, and his FAO counterpart, Gero Vaagt, met to discuss the projects that their offices are implementing in the country, and to examine ways of addressing issues of mutual interest going forward.

The IICA and FAO Offices in the Dominican Republic have worked together previously in areas such as food security and agricultural development, and under binational development projects in Haiti.

At the meeting, IICA presented its projects related to rural area-based development, organic agriculture, the strengthening of international quarantine standards, and the bolstering of the milk chain, among others.

The FAO provided details of its initiatives in food security, agricultural extension, the forestry industry, Telefood projects, and the strengthening of the banana value chain, as well as in the implementation of the National Agricultural Census. The meeting of the two agencies took place at FAO’s offices.

The organizations agreed to support each other’s efforts with regard to the bolstering of the milk chain, the implementation of the census, the project to strengthen the banana market and the forestry industry, and pest control programs.

They also pledged to work together on technical dissemination events, and to share the database of consultants and suppliers. IICA and the FAO chose focal points in the technical, administrative and communication areas of each organization.

In addition to the Representatives, the participants in the meeting included IICA specialists Dilecio Vanderlinder, Fior D`Aliza García, Alejandro Martínez, Pedro Jorge, Juan Arthur, and Virgilio Mayol, as well as Héctor Mata, Zamira Tactuck, Andrés Cedano, Daniel Jean, Orlando Casado, and Rosa Borg of the FAO.

Sánchez and Vaagt agreed to hold a second meeting at IICA’s offices in order to continue the dialogue and provide follow-up to the points upon which agreement was reached.

The meeting came about as a result of the letter of understanding signed by the Directors General of IICA and the FAO in 2012, in Argentina, aimed at consolidating joint activities in order to enhance the use of resources and capabilities, and achieve common objectives.

The priorities established in the letter of understanding include areas such as food security, agricultural health, food safety, rural development, poverty alleviation, climate change, and natural resource management, as well as competitiveness, research, innovation, and agricultural extension.

For more information, contact: 
manuel.sanchez@iica.int