The pavilion, Casa de la Agricultura Sostenible de las Américas, will be set up by the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA) at the Conferencia de las Partes de la Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre Cambio Climático (COP27) to be held in Egypt from november 6 to 18.

Located at the Sharm-El-Sheikh Convention Center, the epicenter of the global climate summit, and under the theme "Feeding the world, caring for the planet," the venue will host some 60 high-level events, including round tables, launches and bilateral meetings.

Topics such as climate resilience, food and nutrition security, soil health, climate-smart production systems, nature-based solutions, sustainable livestock, climate-smart dairy production, the role of women and youth for climate-resilient agriculture, biofuels, technologies and productivity, among others, will be present in the various dialogues in a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual).

"We will discuss all the issues with a sense of self-criticism, knowing that agrifood systems can be improved, but they are never failed systems", said the Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero.

The Casa de la Agricultura Sostenible de las Américas  will also serve as a networking site for the main stakeholders in the agricultural sector who will meet here during COP27: ministers of agriculture, representatives of the private sector, producers, academics, experts and senior officials from other public and private sectors, who will be able to learn in depth about the current state of climate governance and the opportunities arising from it.

The pavilion will also feature a photographic exhibition on the face of agriculture and climate change in the Americas, a virtual reality tour on sustainable agriculture and robust figures and data on the sector's contribution to climate action.

"What will be on display in the pavilion is agriculture in action, as a solution to our planetary challenges. There will be talks and presentations by people who are directly involved in soil care, carbon neutral agriculture and better technologies and innovations to produce more with less", said IICA assistant director general Lloyd Day.

"There have been attempts to portray agriculture as the villain in the movie, when in fact it is the one that is helping to take care of our planet, soils and water", he said, referring to what this space is intended to raise awareness about.

The site will also be the venue for IICA's launch of the publication "Milestones for sustainable agriculture in the Americas," a compendium of seven chapters prepared with scientific rigor and in simple language, which presents relevant experiences in the region in dealing with climate change and caring for the environment and natural resources.

"The importance of no-till farming for agriculture, agrosilvopastoral systems in our subtropical areas, the management of natural pastures, the sustainable intensification of rice in several countries in the Andean and Central American region, progress in reducing waste in strategic chains for Mesoamerica, such as coffee, and advances in agriculture in the Caribbean, which shows that we are in an irreversible process of change towards sustainable agriculture, progress in reducing waste in strategic chains for Mesoamerica, such as coffee, and advances in agriculture in the Caribbean, which shows that we are in a process of irreversible change towards sustainable agriculture", said Otero, head of the hemispheric organization specializing in agriculture and rurality.

The Casa de la Agricultura Sostenible de las Américas represents a commitment by IICA, its member countries and international partners to show how agriculture in the Americas is resilient to climate change and can provide concrete examples for mitigation and adaptation to agrifood systems around the world.

This initiative has 26 strategic partners from different sectors, including the productive sector such as the United States Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and Protein Pact; key IICA allies from the private sector in the Living Soils of the Americas initiative such as Bayer, Syngenta and Pepsico; as well as crop science industry organizations such as CropLife International, among others.

"Climate change is a challenge that affects us all and involves all actors and diversities in agriculture. The climate crisis cannot be resolved with a meeting, it does not end with COP27, but requires the action of all of us. That is why agriculture in the Americas is committed to contributing in the right direction and showing what contributions agriculture can make to the solution to climate change, and that is why we will have the pavilion", said IICA's director of Technical Cooperation, Federico Villarreal.