Press and News Colombia Agroalimentaria Sostenible: Strengthening agricultural production and climate resilience through policy and technology
Daniela Arce Gómez - Communications Coordinator for Climate Action in the Americas and the project 'Colombia Agroalimentaria Sostenible'
To follow progress of the project 'Colombia Agroalimentaria Sostenible' ('Sustainable Agrifood Colombia'), and continue aligning the Alliance's activities with the priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia (MADR), on 18-19 July 2024 a key meeting took place between representatives of the Alliance and MADR.
After exploring key issues to implement this transformative project, a roadmap was initiated on the articulation of MADR policies with different research processes, which will allow the implementation of new technologies to strengthen the country's production systems. To this end, the presence of MADR's Director of Innovation, Technological Development and Health Protection, Clarita Bustamente, was essential to strengthen collaboration between institutions and ensure that the Ministry's policies are integrated with the research and innovation of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.
On the other hand, to maximize the impact of agroecology policies, bio-inputs and promotions, aligning the project with MADR, the following participants also attended the workshops: Jonathan Arévalo, Representative of the Directorate of Technical Assistance of the Rural Development agency; David Vásquez, Representative of the Office of Agricultural Affairs of MADR; Jerónimo Pulido, Representative of the Area of Technological Development and Sanitary Protection of MADR; and Nelson Lozano, Coordinator of Sustainability and Climate Change: all members of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia.
About Colombia Agroalimentaria Sostenible
The project works to strengthen the commitment to reduce the vulnerability of agricultural production to climate hazards, seeking to maintain sufficient and stable availability of quality food in Colombia by managing climate risk, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the sector.
For the implementation of the project, the Alliance and MADR are working in coordination with 10 Colombian unions working with different agricultural products: Fedearroz (rice), Fenalce (maize), Fedegan (livestock), Fedepanela (panela sugar cane), Fedepapa (potato), Federación Nacional de Cafeteros - Cenicafe (coffee), Asocaña - Cenicaña (sugar cane), Augura, Asbama and Asohofrucol (musaceae), in collaboration with three research institutions as implementing partners: The Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (Agrosavia), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) and the Colombian Centre for Research in Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems (CIPAV).
The project is financed with a combination of resources from CAF (Development Bank of Latin America); the Government of Colombia; agricultural research institutions (the Alliance, CIMMYT and CIPAV); Colombian farmers' associations; and resources, loans and concessional funds from the Green Climate Fund.
The main strength of this initiative is the collaboration of all actors involved. The joint efforts and collective commitment will ensure that the technologies developed in the framework of the project will effectively and directly reach agricultural producers, allowing them to face climate variability and the challenges of the agricultural sector in Colombia.
