Ottawa-The government will closely examine a proposal by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to create a Hemispheric Fund for Agricultural Resilience and Sustainability in the Americas, Agriculture Canada says.

The proposed fund intends to provide financial and technical support to countries in the region to develop and implement strategies that strengthen the resilience and sustainability of their agricultural systems, which are increasingly affected by extreme climate-related events, IICA said.

Agriculture Canada said the government supports the Fund in principle as it shares IICA’s work in several areas of mutual interest, including climate change, inclusivity, rural development and research and innovation and agrees with its view that agriculture can play a vital role in fighting climate change. “Canada will carefully examine and evaluate the new fund before committing additional resources.”

The fund is intended to facilitate the participation of smaller countries with less economic clout in collective actions to foster resilience and sustainability in agricultural systems in the short-term.

It will be operated by IICA to mobilize, manage and execute new economic resources to improve the institutional, technical and administrative capacities necessary to execute programs and projects that strengthen the resilience and adaptive capacity of agricultural systems in the Americas. It will also serve as a bridge to urgently address high-impact phenomena such as health and environmental emergencies.

Manuel Otero, IICA Director General, said “Only with resources, political will, and an adequate strategy will we be able to catalyze change, emerge stronger and address the climate vulnerability faced by our countries with improved capacity and new high-impact cooperation initiatives. This fund is a promise of a better future for agriculture in the Americas, with investment in resilience and sustainability.”

The fund’s creation has received strong support from the agriculture ministers of the Americas. It also responds to an express mandate from the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA) of IICA, the Institute's highest governing body, which last October also supported the proposal to build the Hemispheric Partnership for Food Security and Sustainable Development, within which the fund initiative is framed.

Donald Willar, USDA Trade Policy Advisor for Multilateral Affairs, said “We must thank IICA for the leadership in resilience and sustainable agricultural practices for the transformation of food systems and the fund's objective to improve resilience and support innovations focused on climate resilience. We hope to continue supporting the fund in the present and future to make a contribution to biotechnology, trade, climate, and food insecurity in the region. We must support our brother countries.”

The Fund will be supported by multiple financial sources, thus ensuring a solid and diversified base for its activities, IICA said. These funding sources include voluntary contributions from member states, associates, and permanent observers, as well as other international organizations, global, regional, and national funds, investments, donations and the Institute's matching funds.

This news item prepared for National Newswatch