Digital Agriculture Week

What is it?

The Digital Agriculture Week is an annual event organized by IICA since 2022, bringing together key players from the digital agricultural innovation ecosystem across the Americas.

STRENGTHENING THE DIGITAL INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM IN THE AMERICAS

DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF DIGITAL SOLUTIONS IN AGRICULTURE

FACILITATING KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE ON BEST PRACTICES AND POLICIES

Context

Digital Agriculture Week is an IICA initiative within its Hemispheric Agri-Food Digitalization Program, aimed at promoting a dynamic and inclusive digital transformation of the agriculture in the Americas.

SADA

Agenda

Monday 23rd
Opening

Agriculture of the future
Digital innovation ecosystems

Horario/Time	Tema/Theme	Participantes/Participants
8:30 - 9:30	Opening of the Week Objectives and expectations	Manuel Otero / Lloyd Day (IICA General Directorate) Fernando Mattos (Minister of GAyP of UY) Representatives of ECLAC, CGIAR, Bayer and CAF Muhammad Ibrahim and Federico Bert (Technical Cooperation Directorate, IICA)
9:30 - 10:00	Coffee Break
10:00 -12:00	Dialogue on Digitalization and the Future of Agriculture and Rurality	Laurens Klerkx (Univ. of Talca and Wageningen) Mariana Vasconcelos (CEO Agrosmart) Michael Kremer (Univ. Chicago) Federico Trucco (Bioceres) Lloyd Day (IICA Deputy Director General)
12:00 - 13:30	Working lunch. CGIAR-Seedstars-Technoserve program launch
13:30 - 14:00	Round of individual presentations by those present	Oriana Gómez y Brian Bulla Caro (Visualiti SAS)
14:00 - 14:30	Setting up and strengthening digital innovation ecosystems in the Americas	Jeremías Lachman José Emilio Guerrero (University of Cordoba, SP)
14:30 - 15:30	Science, Technology and Education Centers in digital innovation ecosystems	Andrea Gardeazabal (CGIAR/CIMMYT), Guadalupe Tiscornia (Proyecto PROCISUR, INIA UY), Stanley Best (RIDAG- INIA Chile), Representantes de institutos de 8 países
15:30 - 16:00	Coffee Break
16:00 - 17:00	Tour and presentation - Bosque de las Américas and Casita Típica	Karen Montiel (TCD, IICA), Antonieta Barrientos (IICA)

Tuesday 24th

Public policies for agri-food digitalization

Horario/Time	Tema/Theme	Participantes/Participants
8:00 - 8:10	Welcome and introduction	Mónica Rodrigues (CEPAL), Federico Bert (IICA)
8:10 - 8:40	Overview of agricultural digitalization policies in Latin America	Alice Alcantara (IICA), Mónica Rodrigues (CEPAL)
8:40 - 9:30	Challenges and initiatives for the digitalization of the agricultural sector: the role of the Ministries of Agriculture	María Teresa Ambrós Mendioroz (MAPA, SP) Pedro Neto (MAPA, BR) Rodrigo Ramirez (MINAGRI, CH) César Santisteban (MIDAGRI, PE)
9:30 - 10:00	Coffee Break
10:00 - 10:50	Business networks and public-private partnerships for the digitalisation of agriculture	To be defined (Chamber of Innovation Agrodigital, BR) María Fernanda Quiñones Zapata (CCE Electrónico, CO) Francisco Astaburuaga (Chamber of Agtech, CH) Gabriela Tallarico (INTA, AR)Francine Brossard (FIA, CH)
10:50 -12:10	Closing	Mónica Rodrigues (CEPAL), Federico Bert (IICA)
12:10 - 13:30	Working lunch. Presentations by: Agtechs App, SIMA, Neltume, Visualiti, WEIA, Dimitra
13:30 - 15:00	Pitch Agtechs - Group 1	Hola Tractor, Plataforma Puma, Tracify, Vega Monitoramento, InnTerra SAS, Verge technologies
15:00 - 15:30	Coffee Break
15:30 - 17:00	Tour of FABLab and CIMAG	Emmanuel Picado (ITC-DA); Jonathan Castro (FabLab, IICA)

Thursday 26th

Youth and digitalization
Leveraging technologies

Horario/Time	Tema/Theme	Participantes/Participants
8:00 - 8:45	Dreams and realities of an entrepreneur	Emprendedor Endeavor (to be defined)
8:45 - 9:15	DAW Institutional Photo
9:15 - 11:15	Experiences and recommendations to promote the development and use of agtechs	Rosa Gallardo (UCO, SP) In-person and virtual participants Laurens Klerkx y Jenny Melo
10:30 - 11:15	Coffee Break (during group work)
11:15 - 12:30	Institutionalization of the Agtech Network of the Americas: Plenary discussion and definitions	Francisco Astaburuaga (Agtech Chamber, CH) Eliana Camargo Niño (Agtech Guild of Colombia) Carlos Ruiz Macho (IICA)
12:30 - 14:00	Working lunch. Presentations by: Indigo Drones, Ucrop.it, Bloomspal, Agroconsultas, Campo Green, Calice
14:00 - 15:15	Pitch Agtechs - Group 2	SmartSoil, Demeter lab, Curuba Tech, Satellites on fire, Tech4Agri360
15:15 - 15:45	Coffee Break
15:45 - 17:00	Financing digital agricultural innovation: where is it going and how can it be strengthened?	Teresita Di Marco (TYL), Vladimir Valera (CATIE), Carla Berquo (Bioenterprise), Mayco Mansilla (Innventure), Scott Day (FLC), Eduardo Chomali (CAF), Ariadne Caballero (SP Ventures), Daniel Anavitarte (FIDA), Daniel Block (Mercy Corps), Federico Bert (IICA)

Thursday 26th

Youth and digitalization
Leveraging technologies

Horario/Time	Tema/Theme	Participantes/Participants
8:00 - 8:45	Externalities of digitalisation: How do we ensure positive and inclusive digitalisation?	Jenny Melo
8:45 - 10:45	Youth and digitalization in agri-food systems	Octavio Sotomayor (CEPAL), Edgar Maestre (YABT), Rebeca Sánchez (FabLab, IICA), Matías Centeno (INTA-PROCISUR), Emmanuel Picado (AgriSteam, IICA), Danilo Miranda (Bloomspal) Youth representatives CGIAR-YOMA Priscila Zuñiga (IICA)
10:45 - 11:15	Coffee Break
11:15 - 12:30	Pitch Agtechs - Group 3	Miido, MetaBIX Biotech, Infoagro, Ahau-x, AgroCognitive
12:30 - 14:00	Working lunch. Presentations by: Farmer Box, BeeMore, Gestión Ganadera, Disagro, Hispatec, Sensify
14:00 - 16:00	Digitalization cases: level of use and good practices to improve the use of technologies	Tim Lillie y Ana Luiza Mokodsi (McKinsey), José Pradet (ARG), Elena Loaces (UY), Yessica Yana (BO), Joelin Santos (Rep. Dom), Raymond Rojas (CR), Nicolás Romagnoli (ARG) Jeremías Lachman and Sandra Ziegler
16:00 - 16:15	Coffee Break
16:15 - 17:00	Will agtech startups lead the transformation of agri-food systems?	Laurens Klerkx (Talca University)
17:30 - 19:00	Cocktail

Friday 27th

Responsible digitalization
Artificial Intelligence

Horario/Time	Tema/Theme	Participantes/Participants
8:00 - 9:15	Responsible digitalisation: inclusive, safe and ethical	David Rose, Andrea Gardeazabal (CGIAR/CIMMYT)
9:15 - 9:30	Coffee Break
9:30 - 10:50	Experiences of AI applications in agri-food systems	Cristina Martinez Rueda (UCO, SP) Francisco Javier Mesas Carrascosa (UCO, SP) Miguel Angel Marques (Hispatec, SP) Jawoo Koo (CGIAR/IFPRI) José Cuevas Valenzuela (Mumulkan)
10:50 - 11:30	Elements for a dynamic and responsible development and use of AI	José Emilio Guerrero (UCO, SP) José Lisandro Aguilar Castro (MDs InvesEA Network Institute)
11:30 - 12:30	Roundtable: What role will AI play and how can we make the most of it?	Rosa Gallardo (UCO, SP) Laurens Klerkx (Univ. Talca, CH) Martín Oesterheld (Univ. Bs As, AR) Federico Bert, Caterina Dalmasso (IICA)
12:30 - 14:00	Almuerzo
14:00 - 15:00	DAW Closing	Muhammad Ibrahim, Federico Bert and Carlos Ruiz (Technical Cooperation Directorate, IICA)

Who will participate in the Digital Agriculture Week?

A selected group of AgTech startups
International experts
Public and private multinational organizations
Officials from Ministries of Agriculture and their agencies
Investment funds, accelerators, and incubators

What activities will take place?

Networking sessions
Panel discussions
Working groups
Presentations from top industry leaders
AgTech startup pitches
Showcases from international organizations

Do you have an AgTech startup?

Learn about the call for proposals and apply!

Call for proposals

+ SADA

Application Details

AgTech startups from across the Americas that offer digital solutions for agriculture and are in the growth stage (with a consolidated product) are invited to apply for Digital Agriculture Week 2025.

A jury of experts from various sectors will select 10 agtechs to participate in person at IICA’s headquarters in Costa Rica, with all expenses covered.
Another group of AgTech startups will be selected through nominations by IICA’s country offices. As part of Digital Agriculture Week 2025, IICA’s offices will organize one-day digital agriculture events in different countries, bringing together AgTech startups and key local players. These events will generate valuable insights that will expand the impact of the event. A calendar with event dates will be published as the countries finalize their schedules.
This year’s call for applications prioritizes digital solutions aligned with six key agricultural areas currently undergoing digitalization or addressing challenges that digital transformation could help solve:
- Digitalization of trade and markets
- Digitalization of field data records
- Traceability and regulatory oversight
- Digitalization of technical assistance and extension services
- Digitalization of climate services
- Digitalization of financial services
Application period: May 6 – June 30
Important: Only agtechs originating from countries in the Americas will be considered.

To participate, you must complete this form:

Link to form

The selected startups will travel to Costa Rica to participate in DAW, with all expenses paid, from September 22 to 25, 2025. There, they will be able to:

Present your solution to an audience from all the countries of the Americas and the rest of the world, especially interested in taking advantage of digital solutions.