In response to the requests made by the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) and to help disseminate the findings of the study on the impact of CAFTA on agriculture and the rural sector in the Central American countries, including the five country studies, as well as other efforts RUTA activities pertaining to capacity building and formulation of the supplementary agenda, the following conferences have been scheduled for 2006:

The purpose of this conference is to bring together specialists from a number of institutions to address, discuss and identify potential weaknesses in the CGE models applied to research studies being conducted in the region on the impact of CAFTA on agriculture and the rural sector in the Central American countries. The specific objectives of this technical workshop are to identify the demand for and the type of information needed in the region for the design of policies and interventions in the rural sector; to determine whether the models and analytical tools developed are suitable for meeting this demand; to find out about studies that have been done in the region on this matter by issuing a call for papers; and to identify what studies are needed for the future. Invitations will be extended to specialists from research centers operating in the region, such as ECLAC, ASIES, FUNDE, NITLAPAN, Academy of Central America, academic centers and international experts on the issue.

This will be a special meeting with ministers and general directors of policy of CAC member countries. The objective is to present the findings of the study on support for national entities of Central America in efforts to improve agricultural trade capacities vis à vis DR-CAFTA.

Three videoconferences will be held on this subject with a view to facilitating the dissemination of information about the impact of NAFTA on different sectors in Mexico, so as to learn from Mexico’s experience and obtain inputs that might be useful in designing policies (complementary agendas) for the Central American countries. The discussions might focus on thematic areas such as economic impact, policies, complementary agenda, compensatory measures, migration, health, communication and others.

This workshop will be directed at the ministers and general directors of policy of CAC member countries. A critical presentation will be made of the impact of the treaties on Mexico and Chile.

This conference would be sponsored by the World Bank, IDB and USAID and will be facilitated by RUTA. The idea is to revisit the issues discussed at the meeting on International Trade and Rural Development that was held in February 2005 in Guatemala.

Presentation and discussion of preliminary findings of the research study.