Regional strategic foresight report for Latin America and the Caribbean

This report applies FAO’s strategic foresight framework to examine the long-term transformation pathways of agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. The analysis is conducted in a context marked by structural economic fragilities, persistent inequalities, climate risks, and increasing geopolitical and trade tensions, all of which interact to constrain sustainable development in the region. The study identifies and analyses priority regional drivers to assess historic trends, emerging weak signals, and their implications for future agrifood systems. Based on these drivers, the report maps four alternative scenario narratives: “more of the same”, “race to the bottom”, “adjusted future” and “trading off for sustainability”, each illustrating how magnified weak signals could push agrifood systems along divergent pathways. Across scenarios, structural features emerge as persistent barriers to transformation. The foresight exercise identifies four strategic triggers with the potential to shift the region towards more resilient and inclusive agrifood systems: stronger institutions and governance, greater consumer and citizen awareness, improved income and wealth distribution, and accelerated technological and innovative change. The report presents a set of targeted policy options to activate these triggers, emphasizing the need for coherent, long-term strategies capable of overcoming entrenched structural constraints and enabling sustainable, equitable agrifood systems transformation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
