Nanoparticle use can reduce the required dosage of fertilizer by 20% without affecting crop yield. 

20 Multipurpose Silvopastoral System modules have been established in smallholders farms of Peru and Colombia. 

The inter-institutional platform for public-private research and knowledge application for Regional Gene Editing has over 41 members, 27 of which are women. Four genotypes of healthier and more nutritious potato varieties have been regenerated.

An increased rice yield of between 20% and 100% and a 10% to 40% reduction in water use have been achieved through using the SRI method (System of Rice Intensification).

Innovations in family livestock production systems in Argentina increased the survival of lambs and kids by 30%.

The “Dairy System Simulation Model” and “Dairy Monitor 2” have been validated on 17 farms across 11 countries, benefiting more than 390 thousand producers.

FONTAGRO is part of the Advisory Committee for a FAO initiative that seeks to accelerate the transformation of agrifood systems through science, technology and innovation.

The inaugural “Agrifood Systems Technologies and Innovations Outlook” (ATIO) Advisory Committee meeting took place in Rome to debate the vision and provisional plan for the 2025 edition that will focus on smallholders within the agrifood sector and will form part of the FAO Science and Innovation Strategy. 

The FAO recognises the importance of involving science, technology and innovation (STI) stakeholders in order to support the important efforts of countries in transforming their agrifood systems and guarantee a consultative process through an advisory role.

Eugenia Saini, Executive Secretary of FONTAGRO, is part of the Advisory Committee. The Committee’s objective is to provide guidance and orientation regarding ATIO’s flagship report to close the STI information gap in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

FONTAGRO attends the III Ad Hoc Technical Group Meeting on Our Sustainable Green Future from the IX Summit of the Americas. 

FONTAGRO participated in the panel “Our sustainable green future” during which strategies for climate smart food systems during the next five years were discussed.

FONTAGRO attended the first day of the LIV Administrative Committee Meeting of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR).

The LIV Administrative Committee Meeting of the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice took place from September 5th to 8th, during which representatives from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and CIAT participated.

FONTAGRO meets Dr. Rattan Lal in te United States

On September 21st, the IICA and FONTAGRO met with the distinguished Dr. Rattan Lal, member of the “Board for International Food and Agricultural Development”, to identify areas for collaborative work in 2024.
 
During the meeting, emphasis was made regarding the need to support smallholders in Latin America and the Caribbean through economic incentive programs to promote the uptake of technologies aimed at improving soil health, productivity and food security. The need for global legislation regarding soil health was also highlighted. 

Rattan Lal currently leads the C-FARM (Carbon Farming Alliance for Research and Management) initiative that contains the project “Soil-based carbon sequestration opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean”, cofinanced by FONTAGRO , together with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) of the New Zealand Government and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA).

FONTAGRO debated Agricultural Economics and Cooperation in Ibero-America at the XIV Agrifood Economy Congress in Spain.

During the XIV Agrifood Economy Congress led by the Spanish Agrifood Economy Association (AAEA), FONTAGRO participated in the Round Table: Agricultural Economy and Cooperation in Ibero-America via its Executive Secretary, Eugenia Saini, together with Mercedes Sánchez, Executive Editor of the journal Agricultural and Resource Economics (EARN); Antonio Álvarez Pinilla, Founder of the Oviedo Efficiency GROUP (OEG); and Luiz Beduchi, Territorial Development Policy Officer for the FAO. Moderation was handled by Boris Bravo-Ureta, Emeritus Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut.

The Congress took place Wednesday 6th of September at the CIHEAM Campus of Aula Dei in Zaragoza, Spain, under the slogan “Strategies of agrifood systems in the face of global challenges”. The aim was to transmit the need for strategies to strengthen agrifood system, enabling them to deal with challenges resulting not only from new policies and community strategies, but also from global challenges.

At the Round Table, Eugenia Saini presented “FONTAGRO’s Strategies and Priorities for Research and Cooperation in Ibero-America” with the objective of highlighting the importance of bringing economic analysis and impact evaluation disciplines into science and technology projects. Simultaneously, FONTAGRO was presented as a unique global mechanism for the strategic and sustainable cofinancing of agricultural research, development and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Celebrating World Agriculture Day. 

Once again we celebrate this day that’s so important for paying tribute to those who dedicate their time to working the Earth’s natural resources and producing the food necessary for life.

At FONTAGRO we’ve spent the last 25 years being a unique global mechanism for the strategic and sustainable cofinancing of agricultural research, development and innovation in Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain so that tomorrow’s agriculture may be more prosperous, inclusive and sustainable.

Anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s IDIAF

On September 14th we joined to celebrate the Dominican Institute of Agricultural and Forest Research, which leads agricultural and forestry research and validation in the Dominican Republic. 

Over 25 years we have worked together to apply technological solutions for agriculture that guarantee food security and sustainability.

The seminar “Validation of Lecheck App for climate-smart dairy, an approach for Colombia” took place on Tuesday September 19th as part of the project “AgTech for Climate-Smart Dairy”, cofinanced by FONTAGRO, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) of New Zealand and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA).

LECHECK.APP is a digital tool developed as part of this project that enables dairy establishments to implement of good practices for increasing dairy production and foster climate change adaptation and mitigation, leading to Climate-Smart Dairy Farms.

The event was organised by Agrosavia and counted with the participation of researchers from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Argentina.

Comparing narratives on carnivore management in a dryland ecosystem: a case study of state-backed lethal control.