During a seminar titled “FONTAGRO: a strategic co-financing fund to promote science, development, and innovation in agriculture and food,” held at the headquarters of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington, D.C., the functioning, activities, and synergy opportunities offered by FONTAGRO were discussed, along with its strategic and technical impact on the agri-food sector.
Dr. Eugenia Saini, Executive Secretary of FONTAGRO, took part in this event, which was led by the IDB and moderated by Dr. Pedro Martel, Head of the IDB’s Environment, Rural Development, and Risk Management Division. The seminar aimed to introduce FONTAGRO to IDB experts as a unique global mechanism for co-financing regional agricultural innovation ecosystems in Latin America and the Caribbean.
FONTAGRO operates under the legal representation of the IDB and is guided by a Board of Directors composed of leaders from the national research centers of its 15 member countries, with strategic support from IICA. Since its founding in 1998, FONTAGRO has promoted co-investment and mobilization of key resources for research, development, and innovation in the agri-food sector. It has also facilitated the creation of public-private institutional partnerships through regional platforms involving more than two member countries.
During her presentation, Dr. Saini underscored FONTAGRO’s role as a robust platform for driving innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in the agri-food sector:
“Thanks to the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) of the Government of New Zealand as part of its contribution to the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA), and the Global Methane Hub, among others, we have contributed to the implementation of 204 innovation projects with an investment of over 150 million dollars. Currently, we are executing 59 projects that connect the efforts of 1,500 researchers across diverse fields such as crops, livestock, food and markets, natural resources, forestry, and aquaculture.”
To learn more about FONTAGRO and its impact, visit: https://digital.fontagro.org/en/who-we-are/
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About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO was created 1998 with the purpose of promoting the increase of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the reduction of poverty in the region. The objective of FONTAGRO is to establish itself as a sustainable financing mechanism for the development of agricultural technology and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean and Spain, and to establish a forum for the discussion of priority topics of technological innovation. The member countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In the last 21 years 167 regional agricultural innovation platforms have been co-financed for an amount of US $ 124 million, which has reached 452 institutions and 33 countries worldwide.