Washington, DC – “The time has come for the countries of the Americas to review their food security policies and take appropriate steps to make agricultural production a priority,” says President Bill Clinton, as organizers from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Organization of American States (OAS) make final preparations for the upcoming food security conference entitled, ‘Agriculture for Development and Food Security in the Americas.’
The conference will take place at the OAS Main Building in Washington D.C. located at 17th and Constitution Ave, N.W. on Thursday, Oct 1 beginning at 8:30am.
In his remarks to the participants and attendees of the conference, Clinton will stress the critical need for increased investment in agriculture in the Western Hemisphere.
“Support for agricultural development and investment in agricultural technology and innovation have been on the decline in many of the countries in the Americas since the eighties,” warns IICA Associate Deputy Director
General, David C. Hatch, Director of Strategic Partnerships and IICA Representative in the United States.
“While food security needs are acute in Africa and Asia, we also recognize that there are significant issues here in the Americas.” He continued, “This conference is intended to raise the awareness of the need for improving food security in this hemisphere,’ he says.
Given the challenges of development, commitments to join forces and pursue common objectives with other international organizations have been on the rise. Earlier this year, the global community increased its commitment to ending food insecurity. At the G-8 Summit, leaders of the eight largest countries agreed that food security is an international problem and committed to increase international assistance for agricultural
development to $20 billion over the next three years.
Just last week, donors pledged more than $4.75-billion during the opening day of the Clinton Global Initiative, an annual event led by President Bill Clinton to fight global problems. Approximately 1,300 political, corporate, and nonprofit leaders participated in this year’s gathering in New York, which focused on the issues of education, climate change, global health, and poverty.
In the past eight years, the Clinton Foundation has made a substantial impact on the global community and paved the way for successful philanthropic practices. From delivering life-saving medication to children living with HIV/AIDS to creating new economic opportunities in some of America’s most underserved communities,
to impact over 200 million lives across the world.
According to IICA’s Director General Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, the priorities of the Institute have been focused on repositioning agriculture at the national, regional and hemispheric levels. “IICA and the OAS have created a platform to elevate the vital importance of increasing agriculture development in Latin America and the Caribbean.” He added, “To advance this issue, the Institute will continue discussions on this important priority at the upcoming Ministerial Meetings, “Building Capacity for Enhancing Food Security and Rural Life in the Americas,” in Montego Bay, Jamaica in October.
For this week’s conference in DC, senior officials from international organizations such as: the World Food Programme (WFP); the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); the World Bank; the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB); the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; (ECLAC);
the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the OAS; the Food and Agriculture; Organization (FAO); the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture; the International Markets Bureau-Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Pan- American Health Organization (PAHO); the University of California-Davis; and the Latin
American Agribusiness Development Corporation are confirmed to participate in the event.
