During the prominent workshop “Strategic Dialogues for the Future: Advancing Agricultural Science to Deliver Societal Value in LAC and the U.S.”, held from May 13 to 15, 2025, at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, FONTAGRO emphasized the importance of institutional diversity and global collaboration among researchers, development banks, and key actors in the agri-food sector.
This event brought together representatives from multiple institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, Corteva Agriscience, the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), and the Western Growers Center for Innovation & Technology, who highlighted the crucial role of international partnerships and financing in scaling up local technologies and innovations.
Through these collaborations, the aim is to facilitate the rapid transfer of technologies through startups and spinoffs, thus driving the development of solutions tailored to the specific needs of rural communities. Adequate financing is essential to catalyze these initiatives, allowing emerging technologies to be quickly integrated into agri-food systems and contributing to the sustainability and resilience of the sector.
Participants discussed the need for rural cities to establish strategic alliances to improve both infrastructure and agriculture. These partnerships are essential for transforming research in agriculture into practical solutions that address current challenges. Additionally, the topic of financing and cross-sector collaboration was addressed, highlighting the new generation of fund models that enable effective partnerships between the public and private sectors. This integrated approach is fundamental to overcoming persistent challenges and ensuring a sustainable future for agriculture in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The workshop reaffirms FONTAGRO’s commitment to driving innovation in the agri-food sector and its dedication to building a robust ecosystem through international collaboration.
Learn more at: https://digital.fontagro.org/en/medium-term-plan-2025-2030-en/
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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 27 years 204 regional agricultural innovation platforms have been co-financed for an amount of US $ 150.7 million, which has reached 531 institutions and 35 countries worldwide.