The Panorama of Rural Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, an FAO publication published in 2018, reported that for the first time in a decade, poverty in the rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean has increased. It further stated that rural poverty in the region increased by two million between 2014 and 2016, reaching a total of 59 million. 

The Family Farming and Rural Territorial Development Initiative is a priority program in Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at addressing rural poverty in the region. In particular, it intends to “reduce rural poverty and improve food security in the region through family farming and territorial development” (FAO, 2014) to:

• Enhance capacities of government institutions and producer organizations to design and implement family farming and rural territorial development policies;
• Improve access for small scale farmers to natural resources, productive resources and services, with emphasis on collective territorial rights of indigenous peoples;
• Strengthen agri-food value chains;
• Develop social protection systems and align them with agriculture and rural development policies;
• Empower women farmers socially and economically; and
• Improve the resilience of rural communities through improved technologies.

Focus countries identified in the initiative include: Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Columbia. The initiative works closely with the Latin American and Caribbean Community of States (CELAC) in the implementation of the Plan for Food and Nutritional Security and Hunger Eradication 2025 by supporting the creation of the CELAC Regional Integration Agenda on Family Farming and Rural Development.

For more information on the initiative, please visit the Family Farming Knowledge Platform on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Source: FAO (2014)

Photo credit: FAO