CATIE promoting agro-forestry in Latin America

• The Center was present at the 5th World Agro-forestry Congress in Quebec, Canada.

August 19, 2022. The 5th World Agro-forestry Congress took place in Quebec City, Canada, from July 17 to 20, and under the theme "In transition to a viable world" the congress gave a voice to the people who practice agro-forestry and facilitated the exchange between researchers and the voices of the countryside, establishing a constructive dialogue that provided proposals and solutions to the concerns of farmers and those who accompany them.

One of the participants in this congress was CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), through its experts: Eduardo Somarriba, Arlene López, Alejandra Martínez, Felipe Peguero and Rolando Cerda.

The institution has been promoting research and strengthening knowledge on agro-forestry-related topics in Latin America and the Caribbean for more than four decades.

During participation in the congress, CATIE experts moderated four scientific sessions and presented eight research advances in three scientific sessions of the congress. In addition, CATIE partner institutions presented at least five research papers co-authored by CATIE researchers.

CATIE also co-organized a side event of the Latin American Agro-forestry Scientific Network: AGROFORESTA, together with colleagues from the Center for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development (CIRAD) such as Philippe Vaast, Gregoire Lecrerc and Laurene Feintrenie. The session was attended by about 50 people from partner institutions of the AGROFORESTA network and other institutions working in agro-forestry. "It was a useful space to present 15 years of the network's trajectory in the prioritized research topics, to give examples of projects and research developed and to motivate more researchers to share information and join our projects," said Cerda.

Another side event in which CATIE participated was that of the Forests, Trees and Agro-forestry (FTA) consortium, of which CATIE is a member. Here the achievements of FTA were presented and participants provided ideas for the development of future projects. More than 20 senior researchers from institutions such as Seoul National University, the University of British Columbia, CIRAD, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Agro-forestry Centre (ICRAF) attended.

In the consortium meetings, before and after the side-event, several opportunities were identified where CATIE would have an important role in education (capacity building for stakeholders), evidence of the role of agro-forestry in adaptation, local knowledge, among others.

Finally, at the assembly of the International Union of Agro-forestry, Somarriba was appointed as a member of the board of the International Union of Agro-forestry. This position will allow CATIE to be linked to the main institutions, organizations and actions in agro-forestry worldwide, as well as to the organization of the next World Agro-forestry Congress to be held in Rwanda in 2025.