As a follow-up to the results of the BELLA Ideathon and to address food insecurity issues in the region, the workshop "Building Solutions for a Resilient Ecosystem in Central America" was held online. The event was coordinated by the European Union, RedCLARA, and the BELLA II project, with the support of FAO, GIZ, IICA, LACNET, and GÉANT.
More than thirty specialists from different institutions participated in the first phase of a series of efforts to establish a Digital Agenda for Food Safety. This workshop initiates a collaborative effort to develop proposals in Central America. It also serves as a preliminary stage for a forum scheduled to be held soon
The opening highlighted the value of collaboration and the strategic direction of the BELLA II project and RedCLARA investments in creating a safe digital platform.
"Central America faces multiple food challenges and to build this digital agenda is essential to address them effectively," said Luis Cadenas, executive director of RedCLARA. "The goal is to actively contribute to constructing this agenda, offering innovative and sustainable solutions. We have great capacities, but we need to promote coordination, and these activities help to sustain it," he added.
According to Leonel Tapia, technical advisor at GIZ, the workshop aimed to implement "grounded" solutions through a constructive and collaborative process. This means collaborative work, integrating agendas and projects, and paying attention to the technology opportunities in the digital transformation process. "Without resilient agri-food systems, there is no life," he said.
The workshop organized working tables around four key thematic axes: (1) agricultural policies, (2) environmental sustainability, (3) digital transformation technologies in agriculture, and (4) research and development from a gender perspective.
The ideas, perspectives, and roles inspired the working groups exchanged during the BELLA II Ideathon last March. The BELLA II Ideathon was organized by RedCLARA, the BELLA II project, and the European Union: Innovation of Agri-Food Systems in Central America and the Caribbean, with support from FAO, GIZ, IICA, LACNET, GÉANT, and ESA.
"The Ideatón has provided us with valuable ideas and technological solutions to address climate change in agriculture, and this day is the starting point as it helps us identify common areas and scalable solutions," explained Laura Castellana, RedCLARA project coordinator.
As the main conclusions of the preparatory workshop, the tables highlighted different initiatives in the region that can be promoted: in the field of digital transformation technologies in the agricultural sector, the implementation of a drought monitoring system in agriculture, the search for greater sources of funding, the creation of early warning systems with weather stations linked to sensors that monitor nitrate levels in the soil, the promotion of carbon markets and the establishment of water quality monitoring systems.
The Digital Agenda on food security for Central America and the Caribbean is developed within the framework of the BELLA II project, led by RedCLARA and funded by the European Union, one of the four pillars of the EU-LAC Digital Alliance.
