Agriculture is considered strategic for post-pandemic economic recovery

The head of the Argentine Cabinet of Ministers, Juan Manzur, and the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, said that agriculture is a strategic axis for economic recovery in the post-Covid pandemic. 19 and for the continental projection of the South American country, recognized for the importance of its food production.

In this sense, they advanced in exploring ways to deepen technical assistance and the transfer of technologies and knowledge from Argentina, with IICA as a bridge for the benefit of other sub-regions of the continent that suffer from worrying levels of food insecurity.

“We discussed the development of agriculture as a strategic axis for economic recovery”, informed Manzur, who hosted the meeting at Casa Rosada together with the Deputy Chief of Staff, Jorge Neme.

“We also analyze financing options to enhance this sector”, added the senior Argentine official.

In Buenos Aires, the Director General of IICA also met with the Argentine Chancellor, Santiago Cafiero, with whom he agreed that decisions adopted to transform agri-food systems must be based on science.

One of the central themes in the meeting with Manzur, Neme and Cafiero was the importance of the issue of financing for agricultural development and the need to create a pre-investment unit. There was also talk about the essential role played in rural areas by agrotechnical schools as spaces for developing skills for young people, and it was discussed how ministries can be involved in a project to enhance them. 

Otero emphasized the level of excellence in agricultural scientific research in Argentina.

“The country is at a very advanced stage in terms of biotechnology applied to agriculture, thanks to all the technological developments and the commitment it employs in biosafety issues. Due to the advances that are being made, not only in transgenics, but also in new questions about gene editing, Argentina is a leading country at the continental level, which can and should share this knowledge with other countries on our continent”, he said.

During this year, IICA led an extensive discussion process after which the 34 countries of the Americas reached a consensus ahead of the United Nations Food Systems Summit. Thus, the continent was the only one that brought a convergent message to the global meeting last September, which highlighted that agriculture is part of the solution to the challenges of the moment, that the policies adopted must be based on science and that agricultural producers must be part of the discussion on the transformation of agri-food systems.

Along these lines, the General Director of IICA explained upon leaving the meeting at Casa Rosada that “there is awareness about the importance of agriculture, and we must defend it. Problems are solved with more science and innovation, defending the viability of family farmers and creating the conditions for more sustainable and inclusive agriculture.”

“Also generating food that is not only more abundant, but nutritionally better prepared. This will certainly be the agenda for the next 15 or 20 years, and Argentina is prepared.”

Along with Otero, the Special Advisor to the General Management, Jorge Werthein, participated in the meeting; the IICA Representative in Argentina and Coordinator of the Southern Region, Caio Rocha; the IICA Representative in Brazil, Gabriel Delgado; and IICA's Institutional Relations Advisor in Argentina, Ignacio Hernaiz.