San Jose, 1 March 2022 (IICA)
The Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero, announced that the agency will open its professional internship programme to female Ukrainian graduates in fields related to agricultural sciences who are refugees. IICA has a scholarship programme for professional internships in agricultural research, development and innovation. The Director General decided to make the programme available to young Ukrainian women trained in a country known for its agricultural tradition and as a producer of raw materials for food processing.
“We are moved by a profoundly humanistic instinct. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Ukraine over the past few days and we must put into practice what we publicly advocate: to generate opportunities and decision-making forums in a manner that benefits migrants and women in particular,” remarked Otero. He also urged “other international and national institutions to join this initiative, offering a present and a future to generations that have been displaced and frustrated by conflict.”
The Director General also warned that the situation in Eastern Europe could have potential negative consequences for global food security and trade in agricultural goods. Ukraine, a predominantly agricultural state, is one of the largest global producers and exporters of sunflower, sunflower oil, barley and corn, as well as the European country with the largest percentage of arable land. At the global level, it is also a leading producer of potatoes, rye and wheat, among other products. Disruptions to Ukrainian agricultural exports could therefore have significant impacts on food prices worldwide.