The Director Generals of IICA

In 1944, the first multilateral Convention on IICA was signed, under which its legal status was recognized by different governments in the hemisphere.

Henry A. Wallace was instrumental in the founding of IICA. He pioneered the idea of “complimentary agriculture,” focused on encouraging countries to produce crops that would not compete, but complement each other in the Americas and compete in the global market. In 1943, Wallace, as Vice President of the United States, placed the first stone of the headquarters for the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (today’s IICA). In addition to his international achievements, Wallace became a major figure in the development of hybrid corn. He founded the Hi-Bred Corn Company, now called Pioneer Hi- Bred, which is the world’s largest seed and soybean company. As U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1933-1940), Wallace created many of the federal farm programs still in existence today.

<< Previous