African-led farmer institution Agra and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen technical cooperation on inclusive agricultural transformation across Africa and the Americas.

With critical fora occurring this year, including COP30 in Brazil and G20 meetings with South Africa as the chair, advancements in food systems and climate milestones are opportune.

The organisations’ latest work plan aims to respond to growing requests from countries for deeper strategic collaboration in strengthening public- and private-sector institutions, sharing technical expertise and enhancing food security, as well as agriculture trade, while safeguarding the environment and promoting rural welfare.

Agra and the IICA’s efforts are complementary in that Agra focuses on transforming smallholder farming across the continent through partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society and farmers, while the IICA serves as a specialised agency in the Americas to promote rural development through international technical cooperation of excellence.

IICA director-general Dr Manuel Otero deems the partnership a critical step in advancing South-South cooperation. “Africa and the Americas share common agricultural challenges and opportunities. This partnership allows us to harness our mutual strengths to accelerate rural transformation, promote sustainable trade, and support communities vulnerable.”

For Otero, the partnership with Agra will help implement regenerative tropical agriculture practices as a solution to the most pressing challenges facing the African continent and transform it into the world's new agricultural frontier.

“Africa is home to 65% of the world's uncultivated arable land and 10% of the world's renewable water resources. This enormous agricultural and environmental potential offers a unique opportunity to integrate the continent into the global supply chain, positioning it as a key player in food production,” Otero explains.  

The MoU between the organisations builds on a series of high-level engagements between the two regions, including the Africa-Americas Joint Ministerial Summit in Costa Rica in July 2022, the Inter-regional Ministerial Roundtable in Vietnam in 2023 co-organized by AGRA, the IICA and others; and the launch of the Africa Living Soils Initiative in Kenya in 2024 on the eve of the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit.

These engagements reinforced the urgency and importance of inter-regional cooperation in driving food systems transformation globally.

Moreover, the Africa-Brazil Dialogue on Agricultural Research, Development and Innovation was recently held in Brasilia, the Brazilian capital, bringing together experts, representatives from associations, ambassadors and high-level officials from the Brazilian government and international agencies, as well as one of the world's leading soil experts, Nobel Prize winner and IICA goodwill ambassador Rattan Lal.

On the occasion, a letter of intent was signed between the organizers to promote the exchange of 30 researchers from scientific institutes, universities and government agencies in African countries, to exchange knowledge on technologies that promote food security, regenerative agriculture and the recovery of degraded areas.