The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) formed an Advisory Council on Food Security for the Americas made up of personalities from eight countries in the hemisphere with a history of major contributions to the agri-food sector, both politically and academically.
The Council will monitor the impact of the new coronavirus on food security in the region with the aim of transmitting analyzes and recommendations that may be useful for decision-making at various levels in the public and private sectors.
Council members will also carry out dynamic analysis exercises of the situation and disseminate perspectives for food security on the continent in light of the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, which is challenging the hemispheric agricultural economy.
Furthermore, they will help with IICA's technical cooperation work in terms of its reorientation to meet the new and more urgent demands of the countries linked to the effects of the pandemic, contributing to the elaboration of a new institutional roadmap.
The announcement of the constitution and implementation of the Council was made by the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero.
“The Advisory Council will provide concrete ideas on alternative scenarios in relation to the continent’s food security and the obstacles to be overcome, as well as enriching IICA’s technical cooperation offer to countries”, said Otero when introducing the Council, which will meet virtually .
The Board will initially include: Gloria Abraham (Costa Rica), Chelston Brathwaite (Barbados), Carlos Gustavo Cano (Colombia), Cassio Luiselli (Mexico), Elsa Murano (United States), Martín Piñeiro (Argentina), Álvaro Ramos (Uruguay), Roberto Rodrigues (Brazil) and Eduardo Trigo (Argentina).
He holds a master's degree in sociology and a doctorate in sociology with an emphasis on development economics, from the University of Toulouse, France. She was Costa Rica's Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (2010-2014), the first woman in that position. She worked in several international organizations such as the UNDP, the World Bank and the IICA, where she held roles as Representative, technical specialist in international cooperation, public and agricultural commercial policies. She has an extensive career as a negotiator of international free trade agreements, in their agricultural component. She is the current ambassador and head of the Costa Rica Delegation to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
He has a B.Sc. in Agricultural Sciences, Master of Science and PhD in Plant Pathology from Cornell University, USA. She has an honors degree in Agricultural Development from the University of London, Executive Management courses at INCAE and Leadership for senior executives from Harvard Business School. He was a lecturer in the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of the West Indies (UWI). He held the position of General Director of IICA (2002-2010). He joined the UWI as Acting Director of the Faculty of Food and Agriculture and was Ambassador of Barbados to the People's Republic of China.
Economist and politician, with a postgraduate degree in Economics from Lancaster University; in Government and International Economics from Harvard University and in Senior Business Management. He was Minister of Agriculture of Colombia (2002-2005), where he was in charge of implementing the reforms that led the ministry to merge with other entities, becoming the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. He was manager of the National Federation of Rice Producers (FedeArroz), President of the Colombian Farmers Society and international consultant in Strategic Planning for IICA. He is the current Co-Director of the Board of Directors of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia.
He has a degree in Economics, a Master of Science and PhD studies from the University of Wisconsin, specializing in Agricultural Economics, Rural Development and International Economics. Additionally, he holds a PhD from the University of South Africa, Pretoria. He is Professor Emeritus in the Humanities division of the Instituto Tecnológico e de Estudos Superiores de Monterrey-Mexico City Campus (ITESM). Former Advisor to the President of the Republic on agricultural development (1967-1970). He was Ambassador of Mexico to South Korea, South Africa and Uruguay; Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Mexico to ALADI and Undersecretary of Development and Environmental Standards (Semarnat).
She has a degree in Biological Sciences from Florida International University, a master's degree in Anaerobic Microbiology and a PhD in Food Science and Technology from Virginia Tech. She served as United States Under Secretary of Agriculture and Food Security (2001-04). She has a broad career as a teacher. She served as president of Texas A&M University, was vice provost and dean of Texas A&M University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (2005-07). She also served on the Board of Directors of Hormel Foods.
Agricultural engineer with a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of California, USA. He is currently Director of the Agrarian Affairs Commission of the Argentine Council on International Relations (CARI) and a member of the Support Team of the Group of Southern Producing Countries (GPS), in Argentina, as well as Special Advisor to IICA. He was General Director of IICA (1986-1994); Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and member of the Board of Directors of the International Service for Agricultural Research (ISNAR).
Agricultural engineer at the University of the Republic, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (1990-1993) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1995-1998). He was a senator in his country and a consultant for IICA and other international organizations, as well as a specialist in Institutions and Public Development Policies for the IFAD MERCOSUR regional program.
Agricultural engineer. He was Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (2003-2006) and Secretary of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo (1993-1994). He received the São Paulo Medal for Scientific Merit and the National Order of Scientific Merit for his technical contributions to the development of science in Brazil. In 2004, he was elected Agronomist of the Decade by the Association of Agricultural Engineers of the State of São Paulo (AEASP). Furthermore, he is a rural businessman and special ambassador for cooperatives.
He is a consultant for IICA and the IDB and director of the CEO Group (Economic and Organization Consultants). He was director of the “Argentine Biotechnological Perspective 2030” project of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (2014-2016), advisor to the International Relations Directorate of Argentina's MINCYT (2000-2014), executive director of the ArgenINTA Foundation (1994-1998) and director of Research and Technology Transfer at IICA (1986-1994).
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