Latin America and the Caribbean

Since the 1980s, CIAT has been present in the region, building together with partners and collaborators a research agenda that responds to the needs and pressing challenges that smallholders face. The current focus topics in food security and nutrition are more productive and sustainable livestock, climate change, agro-ecology, and linking farmers to markets.

Between 1983 and 2005 and as a result of teamwork with partners in the region, CIAT achieved scientific impact such as the development of 16 cultivars of grasses and 10 of legumes approved in Central America and Mexico. The 22 varieties of rice from the genetic improvement program led by the Fondo Latinoamericano para Arroz de Riego (FLAR, Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice) cover 60% of the planted area in Costa Rica and 44% in Panama and variety ANAR 2006 is the second-largest variety planted in Nicaragua, just to mention a few examples of what can be accomplished by working together with partners in the region.

Since its foundation on 17 October 1967, CIAT has maintained close collaboration with its host country, Colombia, thanks to the shared conviction that agricultural research is a key tool to generate technologies, methods, and knowledge that help farmers, especially those with limited resources, to achieve an eco-efficient agriculture that is competitive, profitable, sustainable, and resilient.

More than 90 improved varieties in four basic crops are the result of the joint achievements: rice (48), forages (11), beans (16), and cassava (18). They all help to strengthen food security and increase farmers’ family income. More than 5,000 Colombians among undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students and researchers have strengthened their knowledge through different training methods and a high-end technology bioscience platform, available to all, for a more competitive agriculture.

With a relatively fast growing economy, the following years will be crucial to supporting Peru in the sustainable development of its agricultural potential and natural resource management.

If not dealt with in time, the fast changes experienced in population growth, land coverage, and climate change could result in the stagnation of the economy and, eventually, in the proliferation of poverty and food insecurity.

The current research agenda focuses on three main priorities: landscape management (water and ecosystem services), policy analysis (deforestation and impact), and sustainable value chains (climate change, coffee, and cocoa). The goal is to expand the Center’s scientific work potential in the country, including additional research capacity through the development of innovative projects aligned with the government’s interests.

The Brazilian Amazon contains approximately 20% of the world’s flora and fauna, represents 64% of the total Amazon rainforest, and covers 60% of the Brazilian territory. Yet, the Brazilian Amazon is constantly under pressure as it is seen as the ultimate natural resource frontier to be exploited and converted for developed purposes.

The Catalyzing and Learning Platforms and Partnerships for Biodiversity Conservation (CALPP) program is funded by USAID and implemented through CIAT along with a network of local partners. By engaging the private sector through investment and their active participation in the implementation of sustainable development activities, the program’s goal is to transform the way we approach conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. To do so, CALPP is helping facilitate private sector led platforms and partnerships interested in promoting sustainable business models, as well as economic opportunities that improve the wellbeing of local communities and increase the value of products and livelihoods that require healthy forests, habitats, and natural resources to function properly.