The Specialist in Technological Innovation at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Viviana Palmieri, has assumed the position of Executive Secretary of the Forum for the Americas on Agricultural Research and Technology Development (FORAGRO).

The appointment was announced by the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, who indicated that the Secretariat is responsible for the operational leadership of FORAGRO’s actions, as well as advising and supporting its steering committee.

Established in 1997, FORAGRO is the hemispheric mechanism for discussion and promotion of agreements on topics related to research and innovation that impact the agricultural sector in the Americas.

FORAGRO is a Partner in GFAR and is one of three Regional Research Fora that have requested that GFAR help facilitate coherent and strategic processes of change in their own governance and roles. GFAR is therefore now launching a Collective Action on Reforming and Strengthening the Regional Research Fora and Regional partners in GFAR, using a common approach and learning system, to help these bodies evolve into truly multi-stakeholder Fora, taking on board the principles of multi-stakeholder action required in strengthening and transforming agricultural innovation. Read more about these reform processes in this blog post.