The award is part of an initiative of the organization specializing in agricultural and rural development to recognize men and women who leave their mark and make a difference in the rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition to receiving the “El Alma de la Ruralidad” award, the Leaders of Rurality highlighted by IICA will be invited to participate in various advisory bodies of the organization specializing in agricultural and rural development.

Ever Díaz, born into a farming family in western El Salvador, became interested in coffee growing as a teenager. He has a 10-hectare farm that ensures the livelihood of five other rural families, and has become a reference for his country's goal of recovering its regional leadership as a coffee producer.

"The pacamara was just beginning to be planted again when I chose it, because it caught my attention and I liked the very large size of its beans. My father told me that it was not worth planting it, but I did not listen to him, I went ahead and the pacamara was able to acclimatize to the farm", said Diaz.

As part of the program, IICA is working to ensure that the recognition facilitates links with government agencies, civil society and the private sector to obtain support for their causes.

"This is recognition for those who fulfill an irreplaceable dual role: as guarantors of food and nutritional security and at the same time guardians of the planet's biodiversity through production in all circumstances. The recognition also serves to highlight their ability to set positive examples for the region's rural areas", said IICA Director General Manuel Otero, when he presented the initiative.

"We are talking about people whose imprint is present in every food we eat, wherever it comes from, in every plot of productive land and in the communities inhabited by farmers and their families. They are men and women who leave their mark and are the soul of rural life because they produce, plant, harvest, create, innovate, teach and unite", said the general director of IICA.