In the context of the global financial crisis, the recent food crisis, far from diminishing in importance, has become a strategic factor that requires continuous monitoring, analysis and action by public and private agents involved in the promotion of development, who have an interest in avoiding the possibility of much of the population succumbing to poverty and, thus, seeing its ability to access quality foods reduced. Since every country in the hemisphere faces similar challenges, and bearing in mind the actions they are taking, the main purpose of this article is to propose a new development model centered on the potential that exists and the contributions that agriculture and the rural economy can make towards promoting integral human development in the rural areas of the hemisphere.    see more....