Developing countries to share experience on agriculture
Latin American countries have a lot in common, including the leading role agriculture and livestock farming play in their economies. In Brazil, for example, last year's good crop was one of the key factors leading the country to end the year with the inflation below the target established by the Central Bank. In the view of the new director general at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, the sharing of experience among countries can contribute to the development of the Latin American block as a whole.
Speaking exclusively to Agência Brasil, Otero said his administration will encourage exchange and joint country projects. The Argentinian veterinarian took office this Monday (Jan. 15). He has been working on IICA for 25 years and during this time was once the representative of Brazil, from 2010 to 2015. The IICA is linked to the Organization of American States (OAS) and seeks to strenghten technical cooperation in projects with federal and state governments. Currently, 22 of these projects are being developed in Brazil.
Agência Brasil: How do you see Brazil's economic situation and its impacts, especially for small farmers?
Manuel Otero: I really liked that slogan by the [Brazilian] Ministry of Agrarian Development [now the Special Secretariat for Family Agriculture and Agrarian Development]. It said family agriculture was part of the solution, not part of the problem. It's an optimistic way of trying to create opportunities for the future of family-based farming. This is a complex theme and a universal problem. Agriculture seeks, at a global level, to generate scaled advancements, and many times forgets family farmers. They should be tought of as producers of a niche agriculture, very specialized. In European Union we have good experiences, as in France, for example, with designation of origin and certified production, which gives the products an identity the market pays for.
Agência Brasil: When it comes to vulnerable populations, how do you see the matter of women and young people in the countryside?
Manuel Otero: It is fundamental to understand that women and young people have a key role. They are the first ones to leave the countryside. Women because they are better qualified than men and young people because internet access, entertainment options are not available. It is fundamental to create opportunities so that these young people do not leave the countryside and also to attract the new generation. When you think of tractors, precision agriculture, drones, we need a new profile for this agriculture revolution. We need these young people to be better qualified.
Agência Brasil: How can an international body gathering Latin American countries such as IICA promote a bigger cooperation among them? Can the models be exchanged?
Manuel Otero: Nowadays all subjects are of a shared nature. When we think of agriculture and livestock farming defense, when we analyse the pest and disease map, normally this is shared among countries. So, it is much better to have a great supranational project, with national components [adapted to each country's situation] than many [individual] national projects. One thing I would like to emphasize is the South-South cooperation. Each country has good practices and successful experiences, no matter its development level. IICA could be a part of all of those good practices and make them available for other countries. This could accelerate the development of agriculture and livestock farming.
* The reporter traveled invited by IICA.
Translated by Mariana Branco
