AGRICULTURAL CHALLENGES FACING LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN REGION

The Latin America and the Caribbean region encompass 33 countries and over 680 million citizens. Having a wide range of favorable ecologies and a low average population density combined with high urbanization rate that have led to an extremely high level of biodiversity. They are also blessed with a large share of the world’s biodiversity and water resources; the region also accounts for 13% of the global food production and 45% of the net international trade in agri-food production. Despite being a blessed region, they also suffer from rural poverty according to the world bank and they have one of the most diverse and complex range of farming systems than any other region in the world. But why do they still suffer from hunger and malnourishment?

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) estimate in 2019, the prevalence of the undernourishment remains high as a result of COVID-19. Even though they experienced a decrease of 6.5% from 7% in 2022, that is; over 2million people are no longer suffering from hunger, but approximately, over 43.2 million people in the region are still suffering from hunger and undernourishment. South America saw a significant reduction of 6.1% from 7%, while the prevalence of the hunger in Meso America rose from 5% to 5.1%, and on the Caribbean, it increased from 14.7% to 16.3%. These statistics only scratch the surface of the current challenges facing agri-food system in the region, as they include; The impact of the climate crises, economic disparities, and an over-dependence on commodities.

During the 38^th session of the FAO regional conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Director General of the FAO, Qu Dongu, said “You have big potential to accelerate progress and to do even more with less within and outside your region.” This statement highlights the natural resources possessed by the region, asking their government to leverage on them. The President of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali said “that creating resilient and climate-protected agri-food systems is an imperative task going forward, and decision making must be data driven as far as possible,” calling all for a greater focus on nutrition and a shift “back to the bowl from the box.”

In tackling the issue of hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and Caribbean region, the FAO are instigating the FOUR BETTER agenda. This agenda—better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life—aim at catalyzing the transformation of agri-food system by enhancing efficiency, inclusivity, and sustainability in production. That is eradicating hunger and improving the region’s agricultural sector.

More so, the FAO tend to implement strategic initiatives to battle these challenges. Such initiatives are;

• • Hand-in-Hand initiatives: This initiative is currently collaborating with 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop investment plans totaling around $772 million and also pushing forward regional initiatives for the Dry Corridor, The Panama Hub and Amazonia.

• • The 1000 Digital Villages Initiative: This initiative is currently supporting 52 agritourism projects in 14 countries across the region.

• • The One Country One Priority Product: This initiative is promoting 11 special products in 14 countries across the region.

• • The regional technical platform on family farming has successfully connected participants from more than 40 countries around the world.

These carefully crafted comprehensive strategies aimed at advancing inclusive rural development and sustainable natural resources management, enhancing resilience among the most vulnerable populations, and shaping programmatic work across the Latin America and Caribbean region.