Agriculture plays a fundamental role in the countries of America

The new scenarios of science and technology represent a strategic opportunity to move towards a more productive and sustainable agriculture.

This Wednesday the Inter -American Institute for Agriculture Cooperation (IICA) highlighted the union of the countries of America to launch a message on the irreplaceable role of agriculture to the United Nations Food System Summit.

The IICA, in a press release, indicated that the unit for action was approved in the recent session of the Executive Committee of the entity in which 31 countries participated, who agreed to a resolution to highlight the value that agricultural producers and their central work for food.

The unified position of the countries was consolidated in a joint document called “main messages on the way to the UN Summit on food systems, from the perspective of the agriculture of the Americas”, which contains 16 key themes and will begin to be captured in the event that will be held in Rome.

The key ads were grouped into four categories: transformation of agri -food systems, the demand for consumers and nutritional aspects, production strategies and environmental issues and the role of the Americas.

Among the key messages, they emphasize that future transformations of food systems must start from demonstrated strengths and contributions already made. In addition, that agricultural producers and workers' workers are an essential and central link.

Countries also indicated that the transformation of global food systems should be balanced and take into account the ability to increase the production and variety of food, health and safety, diversity and nutritional quality, as well as environmental, economic and social sustainability.

On the issue of demand for consumers and nutritional aspects, the call is that decisions about what to consume should be left to the consumer, while states must educate and inform about healthy diets, as well as develop prevention campaigns in public health protection, based on updated information and scientific evidence.

In addition, a useful strategy to develop agri -food systems that optimize health results would be to implement sustainable productions within schemes that add public health benefits throughout the entire value chain.

In the case of production strategies and environmental issues, messages focus on the new scenarios of science and technology represent a strategic opportunity to move towards a more productive and sustainable agriculture.

At the same time, they emphasize that new technologies contribute to the harmonization of agricultural production with the health of the environment and ecosystems and that states must invest in basic infrastructure and public goods, for which cooperation and international financing will be necessary.

The last consensual messages, deal with the role of the Americas, in which it is said that it plays a fundamental role in environmental sustainability and in the mitigation of the effects of climate change worldwide, as well as the essentials that it is to include farmers in the debate and design of the differentiated strategies to be implemented.

Another point, highlights that the Caribbean requires a particular look, when dependent on food imports and frequently affected by natural disasters and climate change.

While they also pointed out the special attention to be given to the situation of food insecurity with social, economic and environmental implications that affect the Central American northern triangle.