Santiago de Chile hosted the III EU-LAC Agrifood Dialogue, organised by AL-INVEST Verde in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). Entitled "Water and agriculture in transition: towards sustainable and resilient management in the EU and LAC", the event took place on 8 October in the framework of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Water Week 2025, which was held from 6 to 10 October at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The event was opened by Davide BonechiThe senior programme manager of AL-INVEST Verde/Component 2 thanked ECLAC for the space and stressed that this series of dialogues seeks to "promote bi-regional exchange between Europe and Latin America on different topics related to productive sustainability, innovation and green transition".
They were followed by Diana MonteroHead of the Deputy Head of Unit for Regional Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean in the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA); Hernán Chiriboga, IICA representative in Chile; and Wilson Ureta, executive director of the National Irrigation Commission of the Government of Chile.
The event continued with a presentation on "The EU Water Resilience Strategy", by Dagmar Behrendt Kaljariková, International Relations Officer of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV). The European Union Water Resilience Strategy recognises water as a strategic common good in the face of climate change, biodiversity loss and increasing tensions in water use. In agriculture, the strategy underlines the urgency of moving towards production models that are more resilient to water stress, promoting practices such as efficient irrigation, sustainable watershed management, soil protection and crop adaptation.
After this presentation, the technical dialogue "Strengthening management and governance for the sustainability of water resources in the agri-food sector" began, in which representatives from Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile, the European Commission and the CAF - Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean took the floor.
The day ended with a series of reflections to promote the transition towards sustainable water management, by Alba Llavona, regional expert on water resources at IICA. The event was closed by Andrea Damiani, programme manager of AL-INVEST Verde / Component 2.
The purpose of this event was to promote understanding of the strategic frameworks and policy instruments that support sustainable and resilient agricultural water management in the EU and LAC, and to initiate a process of dialogue to develop and scale up effective measures to strengthen agricultural water security in both territories.
About AL-INVEST Verde
AL-INVEST Verde is a European Union (EU) programme whose main objective is to promote sustainable growth and job creation in Latin America by supporting the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient and more circular economy. Through Component 2, led by FIIAPP in consortium with IILA, the programme provides assistance for strengthening public policy and multi-stakeholder dialogues on sustainable agricultural and value chains, environmental and labour standards, as well as sustainable trade and economic policy and regulatory frameworks.