High-level officials from IICA and the USDA met in the context of the Global Agricultural Attachés Conference, where they discussed joint contributions to agriculture in the hemisphere
Washington, 11 July 2018 (IICA) -- The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), represented by Deputy Director General, Lloyd Day, attended meetings with high-level officials from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, where they discussed joint actions to benefit agriculture in the hemisphere.
The meetings were held at the Global Agricultural Attachés Conference, (GAAC), which is an event at which FAS USDA representatives plan their annual strategy.
Day participated in a discussion session on the Western Hemisphere, along with IICA Representative to the United States, Miguel García-Winder.
The FAS is the primary point of contact between IICA and the USDA, supporting projects such as the provision of training in compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act; support to Latin America and the Caribbean’s participation in Codex Alimentarius; the strengthening of market information systems; standards and organic equivalency in the region; evidence-based sanitary and phytosanitary regulations and trade for members of the Central American Customs Union; the implementation of and participation in the Cartagena Protocol on biosecurity and the Greater Caribbean Safeguarding Initiative.
The Deputy Director General of the Institute remarked that “meeting with our partners at GAAC provides us with an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the capacity development that IICA and USDA have achieved over the last 75 years. IICA is a strategic partner of the USDA for agricultural development throughout the entire hemisphere. We appreciate the decades of support and association”.
The regional offices of FAS USDA also support capacity development initiatives, undertaken through IICA, such as the project on the Strengthening of Institutional Research Capacity in 18 production chains in Guatemala, the Alliance for Progress in Honduras and training in biotechnology and food security throughout the hemisphere.
The USDA Representative to Guatemala, Todd Drennan, added that this Department “is working in association with IICA throughout the Americas and the Caribbean to assist in realizing its objectives of increased agricultural trade and world food security”.
About IICA
IICA is the specialized agency for agriculture in the Inter-American system, with a mission to encourage, promote and support its 34 Member States in their efforts to achieve agricultural development and rural well-being through international technical cooperation of excellence.
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