Letter from the President

Dear Members of the Board of Directors,

I am pleased to present the main results and highlights from the first half of 2025.

From a financial perspective, the Fund reached a value of US$99.91 million as of December 31, 2024, representing a 2.6% increase over the previous year, driven by improved valuation of financial assets and accrued interest. By June 30, 2025, total assets amounted to US$102.7 million, and by August 31 they had reached US$103.8 million, reflecting a 5.16% increase compared to December 2024. Payment commitments rose by 30%, reflecting greater project approvals.

In terms of programmatic activities, the regular call for proposals on the sustainability of agri-food systems was launched, receiving 55 submissions, of which 20 scored above 75 points. In addition, the Case Competition on Bioentrepreneurship was implemented in partnership with IICA, along with new initiatives for seed funds and joint projects.

In knowledge management and communication, 1,054 products were generated (including publications, webstories, blogs, newsletters, videos, webinars, and scientific articles), representing a 30% increase on social media, with a total of 17,464 accumulated followers. A total of 137 final project products were reviewed, and three virtual and one in-person workshop on scientific writing and strategic communication were held.

Regarding partnerships, significant progress was achieved with organizations from the United States, Brazil (EMBRAPA), the private sector (Corteva, Bayer), New Zealand (MPI), the Global Research Alliance, the Global Methane Hub, and multilateral banks (IDB, World Bank, CAF). Follow-up was also conducted on approved MOUs, and efforts continued to regularize pending contributions from some member countries.

These achievements reaffirm FONTAGRO’s institutional strength and its relevance as a regional cooperation platform. I wish to thank the Board of Directors, the Vice President, the Executive Secretary, and the staff of the Technical Administrative Secretariat for their support and commitment to our shared mission and this year’s accomplishments.

Nicolás Bronzovich
President of FONTAGRO

About FONTAGRO

FONTAGRO is a unique global mechanism dedicated to the strategic and sustainable co-financing of agricultural research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It also serves as a forum for discussing priority topics in science and innovation for LAC and the rest of the world. It was created with the purpose of increasing the competitiveness of the agri-food sector and reducing poverty through the sustainable management of natural resources.