Back on the Declaration of Eight Ministers of Agriculture at GLF 2015 during COP21, to Promote CSA across Central America and the Caribbean

During the 2015 Global Landscape Forum at COP21, eight ministers of agriculture from across Central America and the Caribbean announced an unprecedented joint effort to pool resources against the threat of climate change. 

Costa Rica’s Agriculture Minister Arauz brought together his regional counterparts and partners from research to set out the next steps. The declaration video is embedded below. 

Towards a Regional Strategy on Climate Adapted Sustainable Agriculture for Central America and the Dominican Republic: Focus on some key steps and achievements

Following the Declaration of Eight Ministers of Agriculture at GLF 2015 during COP21, to Promote CSA across Central America and the Caribbean, a regional process has been engaged to develop a Strategy on Climate Adapted Sustainable Agriculture for Central America and the Dominican Republic (Estrategia Regional sobre Agricultura Sostenible Adaptada al Clima – ERASAC).

The main steps developed so far in this process, and the associated information (in Spanish), are given hereinafter:

1. Workshop on the Guidelines to the Development of the Regional Strategy for Climate-Adapted Sustainable Agriculture for Central America and the Dominican Republic (8-9 Dec. 2016, San José, Costa Rica). This workshop gathered te representatives of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panamá and the Domiinican Republic, as part of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC - Consejo Agropecuario Centroamericano). For more information: 
1. Primeros pasos en la construcción de la Estrategia ASAC para Centroamérica y República Dominicana

2. Second Workshop to the Development of the Regional Strategy for Climate-Adapted Sustainable Agriculture for Central America and the Dominican Republic (15-17 Feb. 2017, San José, Costa Rica). For more information:

1. Segundo taller de construcción de la Estrategia ASAC para Centroamérica y la República Dominicana
2. Participe en la construcción de la estrategia regional de ASAC para Centroamérica y República Dominicana

Note from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica on the CSA Networking in Central America and the Dominican Republic

Based on the declaration to foster Climate Smart Agriculture, which was signed by the Ministers of Agriculture, the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) has been leading the process of designing a Regional Strategy on Climate Adapted Sustainable Agriculture, while promoting initiatives focused on reducing climate risks, increasing resilience and achieving mitigation goals.

CAC, supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), is leading the formulation of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Strategy for Central America and Dominican Republic with the aim of providing guidelines to governments and key stakeholders to implement concrete actions that can support farmers to diminish negative impacts of changes in climate through adaptation and risk management while promoting sustainable food production, increasing productivity, food security and nutrition and reducing GHG emissions. The formulation process of the CSA Strategy has been inclusive involving diversity of stakeholders from public and private sector, as well as research institutions. Countries involved in this process are: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Dominican Republic, all part of CAC. The Inter-agency group of technical partners that support CAC has been actively involved in the process; this group includes ECLAC, CATIE, IICA, CCAFS-CIAT and FAO, among others. 

In the following months, the CSA Strategy is expected to be approved by CAC country members, in order to start its implementation during the second semester of 2017. The CSA Strategy implementation is a critical stage of the process and will require strategic support from technical and financial institutions. The alignment of the Strategy to Sustainable Development Goals contributes to the achievement of targets and to the articulation and synergy of current and future initiatives in the region. The CSA Strategy provides a portfolio of key measures to implement at a regional level but that can support, at the same time, national level initiatives. The latter allows policy and decision makers to reduce duplication of efforts and increase efficiency in achieving targets, goals and impact.

The CSA Regional Strategy needs to be supported by initiatives and projects aligned to it and to national and subnational efforts led by both public and private sector with technical and financial support from international cooperation. CAC members will continue promoting a sustainable future for the agricultural sector in the region considering climate challenges and opportunities, given its importance for food security and nutrition, as well as economic and inclusive growth.

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Costa Rica.

For more information, please contact: 

Mr. Roberto Azofeifa, 

Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Costa Rica

email: [email protected]