Climate Week: CATIE and CTCN will share solutions to promote more resilient food systems

• In a side event on October 25, they will address innovation to promote adapted, sustainable and fair food systems in the region.

October 18, 2023. During the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2023, the Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN) and CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) will hold a joint side event entitled: Transforming food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean through innovation: adapted, sustainable and fair food systems.

This event, scheduled for October 25 at the Contadora I Room, Hotel Marriot Panama, at 2:30 p.m., will focus on addressing the challenges of food systems in the region in the face of the impacts of climate change.

The initiative seeks innovative solutions to promote sustainable and resilient food systems in the region.

The vulnerability of Latin America and the Caribbean to extreme weather events has highlighted the need to transform the region's food systems. This implies not only addressing food insecurity, but also tackling environmental degradation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

During the event, innovative solutions that promote diversification, sustainability, inclusiveness, health and resilience of food systems in the face of climate change will be discussed.

The event also seeks to achieve key objectives aligned with those proposed in Climate Week. These include the identification of relevant innovations for the transformation of food systems, as well as the dissemination of lessons learned and the creation of opportunities for collaboration between different actors, including governments, the private sector, investors and indigenous peoples.

Leida Mercado, Director of Research for Inclusive Green Development at CATIE, will moderate the event, which will be led by a diverse panel that includes representatives from CATIE and CTCN, as well as Muhammad Ibrahim, Director General of CATIE, and government representatives from countries such as Jamaica, Guatemala and Paraguay.

"This event promises to be a space to promote concrete actions towards the transformation of food systems in Latin America and the Caribbean," Mercado emphasized.

Previous participation

During the morning of October 25, Mercado and Rolando Cerda, leader of CATIE's Agroforestry, Coffee and Cocoa Unit, will participate in a panel, also organized by CTCN, on the National Innovation and Digitalization System. In this space, they will talk about relevant technologies for the region. Both Mercado and Cerda will present innovative digital solutions that CATIE has developed, for example through the National Information Platform on Nutrition project, known as PiNN, and digital platforms on drought, blue carbon and mangroves.