| San Jose, 29 January 2021 (IICA) – Strengthening the supply chain and contributing to greater efficiency, transparency and equity in agricultural trade in the Americas. These are the main objectives of a technical cooperation agreement signed between the organization, Producers Market, and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which will make a decisive contribution to digitalizing trade. According to a joint announcement by IICA Director General, Manuel Otero, and Keith Agoada, co-founder and CEO of Producers Market, the partnership will focus on facilitating trade and farmers’ access to different markets and consumers at the national, regional and global levels, as well as developing tools to foster fair trade and value addition. Another important objective will be infrastructural development to facilitate fluid interaction within chains. “If we can connect markets with value chains to these producers, we can build an equitable model and improve the standard of living of many farmers who are currently experiencing poverty”, said Agoada. “We are adding value to producers to bolster their competitiveness and providing a platform through which they can share their reality and highlight those factors that will give them a competitive advantage”, he added. On the other hand, Otero remarked that, “IICA is an institution that is committed to building a better future and we firmly believe that this task hinges on action and a thrust towards a digital revolution in agriculture. We are working together to serve rural inhabitants and urban consumers”. |
IICA Director General, Manuel Otero
| IICA’s Deputy Director General, Lloyd Day, also participated in the virtual ceremony for the signing of the agreement, emphasizing that these types of efforts improve the communication capacity of various actors in the agrifood chain, while enhancing traceability and the quality of life of the producers of our food.“Let us look ahead”, urged Day, “and aim to achieve great things to benefit agriculture. |
| About IICAIICA 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. |
