IICA Director General begins working visit to Brazil

…to also meet with Caribbean, Central American Ministers

The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Muhammad Ibrahim, begins a four-day working visit to Brasilia this week, where he will meet with Brazilian Ministers and other senior Government officials with a view to further strengthening the work of the specialised agency for agricultural and rural development in the South American country. Ibrahim, a prestigious Guyanese agronomist who assumed the position of Director General of IICA in January, will also take part in forums in the Brazilian capital with Ministers from other countries in the Americas and hear directly from local farmers, cooperatives and private sector stakeholders regarding their situation and needs.
According to IICA, during his visit to Brazil, whose Minister, Carlos Fávaro, serves as the chair of IICA’s highest governing body, the Inter-American Board of Agriculture (IABA), Ibrahim will also participate in a meeting of the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS). This is the Ministerial forum for consultation and the coordination of regional actions, comprised of the Ministers of agriculture of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. With IICA managing its technical and administrative secretariat over the last 20 years, the CAS has achieved consensus on major issues.
Muhammad Ibrahim will inform the CAS Ministers of the progress being made with IICA’s Medium-Term Plan (MTP). This is the organisation’s institutional roadmap for the period 2026-2030, drafted with input from stakeholders and consultations with the Member States, in order to tailor the technical cooperation offered to the countries’ needs. Ibrahim will also hold bilateral meetings with Uruguay’s Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti, and Paraguay’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Giménez.
During his stay in the Brazilian capital, IICA’s Director General will be attending the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where IICA will moderate a panel discussion on the challenges facing the region’s agri-food systems.
Caribbean and Central American
The IICA on Tuesday stated that it will also meet with Caribbean and Central American Ministers, Brazil’s deputy foreign Minister, Maria Laura da Rocha, and the President of the Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF) state-owned bank, Carlos Antonio Vieira Fernandes. Another important activity will be a meeting with Silvia Massruhá, President of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), with whom he will discuss a project aimed at creating an innovation hub for the Caribbean and Central America.
A Brazilian public entity, EMBRAPA is a regional and global leader in the field of science and technology applied to agriculture. In addition, the IICA Director General will meet with Brazil’s Minister of Social Development, Wellington Dias, and senior Ministry of Planning officials. He will also hold meetings with Senator Tereza Cristina, a former Minister of agriculture, and with the heads of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil (CNA), the Organisation of Brazilian Cooperatives (OCB) and the Corteva Agriscience and Toyota corporations.