Public-private coordination, through national commissions or working groups (‘mesa de trabajo’) on relevant topics

In order to facilitate articulation and coordination of relevant stakeholders for the development of the agricultural sector, national commissions or working groups (‘mesa de trabajo’) have been established in Chile for various topics to give advice to the Ministry of Agriculture, with the technical organization being provided by the Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (Oficina de Estudios y Políticas Agrarias (ODEPA)). The objective is to jointly develop strategic agenda, solve problems and address challenges in the short, medium and long term. Representatives of the private sector related to the issue/topic in question, such as trade unions and farmer associations, as well as academia and technological institutes, representatives of the agroindustry and NGOs, participate in these commissions or working groups. Some of them have worked over several decades; for the realization of Farmers’ Rights, the working groups on quinoa and genetic resources are most relevant, besides the Ministry of Agriculture’s Civil Society Council.