German-Uruguayan Dialogue on Agriculture launched
The German-Uruguayan Dialogue on Agriculture is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and implemented by IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH (lead partner) in a consortium with AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH. After the project began its work in November, the operational kick-off meeting and planning workshop took place on Dec 6, 2023 in Montevideo, Uruguay. On the premises of the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), representatives of the MGAP, the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA), the GFA, the project team and the IAC spoke about the project's implementation strategy and the indicative work plan for the inception phase. The participants agreed that the project offers great opportunities for the exchange of knowledge and experience between political and scientific actors in Uruguay and Germany. It also became clear that the promotion of products from deforestation-free supply chains should play a special role.
The expert dialogue is intended to help promote the development of sustainable, agroecological and climate-resilient agricultural production systems in both countries. As part of the expert dialogue between political and scientific institutions, innovative, resource-conserving and climate-friendly measures in the agricultural sector will be discussed and concrete recommendations for action developed. To this end, the following measures will be implemented:
- Promotion of scientific cooperation between the Julius Kühn Institute and the INIA
- Establishment of a bilateral political and technical dialogue between the BMEL and the MGAP
- Regional networking and dissemination of the results of the dialogue in Latin America
The topics to be addressed in the dialogue include soil protection, hemp fibres, honey, agricultural advisory systems and gender equality. For the latter measure, networking with other partner projects of the BMEL's Bilateral Cooperation Programme (BKP) in South America and with supra-regional agricultural research networks is being sought. These include the German-Brazilian Agricultural Policy Dialogue and the German-Argentine Dialogue on Sustainable Agricultural Innovations, both of which are being implemented under the leadership of the IAK. The results of the project are to be made accessible to a supra-regional target group through targeted communication and public relations work.