Forum of the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technology Development

 

What is FORAGRO?

The Forum of the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technological Development (FORAGRO) is a discussion platform created in 1997 by the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas. Its mission is to promote dialogue, discuss needs and opportunities, generate analysis and proposals, and strengthen partnerships that enhance science, technology, and innovation (STI) systems for the sustainable development of agriculture in the Americas.

FORAGRO is a unique space that brings together more than 70 institutions from 22 countries across the hemisphere, including coordination mechanisms, national and international agricultural research institutes, civil society organizations, private sector representatives, and multilateral organizations.

 

Background of FORAGRO

In 1997, in response to the absence of a discussion platform to support the definition of a joint agricultural research agenda, the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (JIA) established the Forum of the Americas for Agricultural Research and Technological Development (FORAGRO) as a mechanism for interaction and representation of its members, where common agendas are debated and prioritized. The JIA also urged Member States to strengthen their participation and mandated the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to serve as its Technical Secretariat.

Some of FORAGRO’s achievements over more than 20 years include:

  • Representing the Americas in global spaces and forums such as the Global Forum on Agricultural Research and Innovation (GFAR), the CGIAR Fund Council, and the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD).
  • Organizing eight hemispheric meetings on Agricultural Research and Innovation for Development.
  • Launching a Technological Information Platform on Agricultural STI for the region, known as INFOTEC, used by more than 22,000 users.
  • Establishing cooperation agreements with regional organizations such as the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (PARLATINO).
  • Publishing technical documents on technological foresight in agriculture.

 

A New Call for Collective Action in STI for Agrifood Systems in the Americas

At the 2023 JIA meeting, the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas reinforced the call to strengthen collaborative mechanisms in science, technology, and innovation for the region’s agrifood systems. The authorities recognized that the challenges of the current global context require the leading STI institutions of the countries, the private sector, academia, and cooperation organizations to work through collective actions that maximize synergies.

In response, IICA, CGIAR, and the World Bank organized in May 2023 the “Regional Dialogue on Innovation, Science, and Technology in Agrifood Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.” The meeting included high-level representatives from organizations such as the Alliance of Bioversity International & CIAT, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), CATIE, ECLAC, CGIAR-LAC, CIMMYT, CIP, the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC-SICA), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FONTAGRO, the World Economic Forum, IFPRI, IICA, National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), PROCINORTE, PROCISUR, PROMECAFE, Red Innovagro, YPARD, among others.

The main conclusions and recommendations from this high-level regional dialogue included:

  • Defining the needs of the regional agenda, identifying priority technological public goods, and building strategic R&D agendas necessary to develop them.
  • Reviewing hemispheric coordination mechanisms.
  • Strengthening STI institutional frameworks and their project design capacities, as well as promoting the exchange of experiences among national and international agricultural innovation systems (IICA, 2023).

 

FORAGRO Lines of Action

Considering FORAGRO’s background and the conclusions from the 2023 dialogue spaces, it was proposed to reconceptualize the Forum as the regional platform to:

  • Lead the formulation of a forward-looking regional agenda for Research, Technological Development, and Innovation to identify and prioritize the generation of key technological public goods for agrifood systems in the Americas.
  • Promote horizontal and South-South collaboration to strengthen institutional capacities among actors within agricultural innovation systems.
  • Serve as a bridge between global and regional forums and international platforms in Research, Technological Development, and Innovation in agrifood systems, fostering global information exchange and collaboration.
  • Submit to the Inter-American Board of Agriculture, composed of the 34 Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, proposals for action to advance science, technology, and innovation for agriculture and agrifood systems in the hemisphere.