MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay signs deal with FAO to promote sustainable agriculture

“There are no major environmental problems in the country,” Peña explained

Uruguay's Federal Agricultural Cooperatives (CAF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a letter of agreement to promote agricultural awareness nationwide through the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries, MGAP, it was announced.

 The signing ceremony took place at the Uruguayan city of Florida during CAF board of directors meeting. The Organizational Communication and Dissemination Unit of the MGAP will oversee the program, under technical assistance and general supervision from FAO.

The agreement provides for the organization of a seminar intended for news organizations named “Communication, countryside and city” to generate a space for training, exchange of good practices and lessons on the subject.

The seminar will also allow to identify of persistent challenges and possible strategies through two virtual encounters in addition to one face-to-face meeting.

Instructional visits to agricultural cooperatives will also be arranged to raise awareness among residents of urban areas so that people who work at CAF member companies will be able to experience the situation on-site and how to handle issues from a cooperative angle.

Addressing and transmitting the commitment of agricultural cooperatives with environmental care, the production of healthy and safe food, the promotion of local development and their role as generators of job opportunities for technicians and professionals of different profiles will be one of the main objectives.

CAF and FAO also agreed to promote the integration of young people from partner cooperatives in the organization and to accompany visits to prioritized groups.

An additional series of visits is also planned for participants to put into practice whatever they might have learned through the program, with a particular focus on sustainable food systems, as well as alternatives in terms of opportunities for entrepreneurship and rural livelihoods.

The program is intended for the general population, but with a special focus on women and youth.

Members of CAF Tuesday welcomed Environment Minister Adrián Peña at the Piedra Alta wool processing plant as part of the events leading to the signing of the agreement with FAO.

Peña stressed that the wool sector should be praised for how it handled effluents from the environmental point of view, because “this type of industry has an important polluting factor and here is an example of development and continuous improvement”.

”We have a clear challenge as the Ministry of the Environment, which is to incorporate the environmental dimension into national production systems,“ he added.

Peña also highlighted “there are no major environmental problems in the country, today almost 100% of the industries are monitored in real-time by the Ministry of the Environment. It seems to us that we are in a control zone and Uruguay has been encouraged to participate in a promise to reduce methane emissions,” thanks to which Uruguay is not far from becoming a fully sustainable country.