Experts ask to support small agricultural production in America by COVID-19

The Advisory Council for Food Security of the Americas, coordinated by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), recommended this Wednesday to give high attention to the role of small agricultural production in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Expert Advisory Council urged Latin American countries to support small producers by strengthening credit, rural insurance, short marketing circuits, especially for perishable products, as well as support for cooperatives.

These conclusions arose from the first videoconference meeting of the Advisory Council formed by IICA in the face of the health emergency by COVID-19 and made up of nine renowned agricultural specialists in America.

The advisory group will prepare a document that formulates proposals, future scenarios and short-term measures that help the countries of the continent to strengthen food security.

Examples such as the Food Bank of Mexico and the Argentine program Let's See One were discussed in the videoconference.

"The Advisory Council, in the next calls, will focus on issues of family farming, international trade, and based on these specializations, short documents will be prepared that will be uploaded to the blog, recently launched by IICA, to strengthen the exchange of useful information for decision-making, ”said the director of the institute, Manuel Otero, in a statement.

The blog "Sowing the agriculture of the future today" is available on the IICA website, as well as a monitor of the agricultural sector in the framework of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, in order to monitor the situation and collaborate with countries.

The Advisory Council for Food Security for the Americas is made up of 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).

According to Otero, at the Council meeting there was full support for the closed application that IICA is preparing for ministers in the various regions of the hemisphere, through which the productive offers in real time of the countries will be known, to promote the intraregional trade.

A manual of good hygiene practices for rural workers is also under construction, IICA said.