Get to know FONTAGRO’s science, technology and innovation ecosystems that were introduced during the Annual Technical Follow-up Workshop as well as those individuals that competed for the 2023 Prize for Excellence.  

Agtech “AhoRa: Application for family farmers of Musa “Prize for Excellence 2023”. 

A free application that provides information about Musa banana management under different rain, humidity, temperature and wind conditions, reaching more that 10,000 farmers across Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic. 

Agtech “HUB SmartFruit-ALC” 

OpenFruit” allows fruit entrepreneurs to improve decision-making for management and productivity, reaching more than 600 farmers in Argentina, Chile and Costa Rica.

Agtech “Digitilization of small-scale agriculture”.

This technological solution measures soil humidity at a low cost, improving resilience to the effects of climate change for 200 farmers across Colombia, Honduras and Nicaragua. 

Agtech “Advice system for irrigation and ICT”.

The efficient use of water is fundamental to increasing in a sustainable manner the productivity of agriculture with irrigation. The Irrigation Advice Service (IAS) answers the two basic questions of irrigation planning: when and where to irrigate? 

Scaling up continued improvement in family exports of organic bananas 

In order to reduce banana losses from Panama disease and increase productivity family farms are being worked with through the application “Ma$ Banano” that facilitates data recording and analysis. 

Multi-agency platform for Latin America and the Caribbean “Cacao 2030-2050”

Multidisciplinary technologies and methodologies for cadmium reduction in cacao beans promote market access and contribute to the sustainability of cacao in the region. 

Innovation and intensification for climate change adaptation in extensive family livestock farming. 

Sustainable intensification increases the adaptive capacity and resilience of family and indigenous livestock systems in the face of climate change in Argentina and Peru.

Early warning for management of late blight in potatoes. 

The early warning system is a key tool for integrated management of late blight in potatoes, reducing losses and improving productivity in a sustainable way.

FONTAGRO promotes the development of new biomaterial technologies for Latin America and the Caribbean, together with the Western Growers Association (USA) 

During June 19th and 21st 2023 the Salinas Biological Summit was celebrated, organized by the Western Growers Association and Whart42 from New Zealand. FONTAGRO participated as an associate of its Innovation Commission, looking to join technical forces in the search for new biological solutions to increase resilience and sustainability of agri-food systems together with a reduced environmental impact.

During the summit there were diverse panels sessions, FONTAGRO participated in the panel “The Research Community Panel Discussion” where Helen R Dillard PhD (Professor and Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of California Davis), Alex Cochran PhD (Chief Technology Officer, DPH Biologicals), and Eugenia Saini, Dr. (Executive Director, FONTAGRO) also participated, with moderation by Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Youtsey (CIO, University of California, Agriculture & Natural Resources). 

The summit was organized in a timely manner, aiming to understand and take on the main local and global challenges that agricultural producers face around the need for new proposals of new biological development alternatives, as well as for agriculture that has a reduced environmental impact. Furthermore, there were demonstrations by start-ups and initiatives with new biological developments, providing and international platform and forum  for exchanges between producers, scientists, technicians, venture capital, government representatives, among many others. One stand-out event was the launch of the Global Biological Accelerator, driven by Western Growers  as a program that looks to identify demand from regulation agencies and consumers, support the scaling of start-ups and validation of different key biomaterial crops and environments, in order to secure their access for producers. 

As a result of the summit, there is greater international recognition of the importance of biomaterials in new agri-food production systems, especially focused on soil and crop requirements. Opportunities for technical and commercial link-ups for the Latin America and Caribbean region were established, undoubtedly formalizing the summit as an international network of experts in the subject of biomaterials. Other notable aspects of conversations had was the need to revise the linked business and agribusiness models, in particular the need to find new alternatives for international and inter-institutional scientific-technical collaboration, as well as for start-ups the need to increase the speed of development and new product registration. The importance of public-private collaborations in scaling up initiatives was highlighted regarding biological products that had been validated and were ready for commercialization. In this regard, FONTAGRO’s participation was key as a facilitator of potential collaborations for the development of the biomaterial agroindustry.

FONTAGRO celebrates 25 years in Madrid 

Radio Hoy 

Panamá 24 horas

Towards more productive and sustainable rice for Latin America and the Caribbean

Ser Campo

Closure of the successful cases contest

On July 16th 2023 the IV Bioeconomy Innovation Successful Cases Contest came to a close. The objective of the contest is to identify and document successful experiences and lessons learned that can contribute to a better understanding of how, through the process of bioeconomy innovation, the strengthening and transformation of agri-food systems can be supported in Latin America and the Caribbean. From July 17th 2023 the selected profiles will be shared.

XVIII Annual Technical project follow-up Workshop

The new edition of the FONTAGRO Week of Knowledge took place from June 5th to 7th in Madrid, Spain. Over three days more than 25 researchers from 21 countries of Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain met to share their advances, results and challenges in agri-food research. Spain’s National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) hosted the event in coordination with FONTAGRO’s Administrative Technical Secretariat (STA).

Celebrating 25 years of FONTAGRO

Under the motto “Expanding frontiers towards Europe and the world” and within the context of the development of the XVIII Annual Technical project follow-up Workshop  FONTAGRO’s 25 years were celebrated as the only mechanism for the cooperation and advancement of science, development and innovation in agriculture and food for Latin America and the Caribbean. In the ceremony were members of FONTAGRO’s Board of Directors and its Executive Secretary, together with special guests and high-level officials such as ambassadors and representatives of prominent institutions including IICA, BID, CGIAR, FAO, CSIC, AECID, IRTA, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia among others, where results relevant to this mechanism since its creation were presented.

Support for the institutional strengthening of Agrosavia

Eugenia Saini, FONTAGRO’s Executive Secretary, was invited to participate as a member of an external panel for the institutional evaluation of Agrosavia in Colombia, a process carried out every four years, according to the Statute of the Institution. The evaluation process was enriching given the opportunity to witness the demand from producers and other public and private actors in the region, as well as the interactions between actors and how to agree on roadmap going forward. 

FONTAGRO participated in the 2023 Salinas Biological Summit

The meeting took place in California, United States, and brought together scientists and researchers who debated how to help producers expand their knowledge about available biological solutions for improving soil and plant health. The summit featured high-level international speakers, plenary sessions and specific discussion panels. Furthermore, it provided a platform for producers to gather and interact with colleagues from around the world.

Memorandum of Understanding between IDIAP and Argentina’s INTA

Dr Arnulfo Gutiérrez, General Director of the Agricultural Research Institute of Panama (IDIAP) and President of FONTAGRO, and Dr Carlos Parera, National Director of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) of Argentina and Vice president of FONTAGRO, signed a memorandum of understanding between the two institutions. 

Thanks to the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), sponsors of FONTAGRO

During the 25 Year celebration and the development of the XVIII Annual Technical Project Workshop a plague was presented to the sponsors IICA and the Inter-American Development Bank as a display of gratitude for the support provided during all these years.

INIA of Chile and the University of Castilla-La Mancha signed an agreement.

Within the Week of Knowledge that took place in Madrid, Spain, the Director of INIA Chile, Dr Iris Lobos Ortega, met with Julián Garde, Rector of the University of Castilla-La Mancha to sign an agreement covering development and research of common topics between the two countries. 

We toured the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) of Spain.  

In the presence of its Director General, Dr Esther Esteban, we visited the National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) of Spain, part of the State Agency the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid.

Copyright 2023 – Inter American Development Bank / All rights reserved.