Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama

FAO has supported the formulation of projects to secure financing for initiatives through the SDG Fund, which seeks to help countries get closer to achieving the SDGs. Thus, funding has been secured for initiatives in Costa Rica and El Salvador through seed projects of USD 175,000 in each country. In Panama, an SDG Fund was secured for a governance and circular economy initiative supporting the country's agenda for transforming its agrifood systems.

Uruguay, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Ecuador

In Uruguay, FAO has promoted a low-carbon economy through a climate-smart livestock project and two other initiatives on land degradation neutrality and sustainable agricultural transformation.

Additionally, FAO has supported Costa Rica in the development and implementation of the National Strategy for Carbon Neutrality 2021–2050, which aims to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Costa Rica is also implementing innovative policies such as the inclusion of agricultural soil decarbonization in its Payment for Environmental Services (PES) scheme.

In Panama, FAO, with financial support from the GEF, promoted the transformation of traditional production practices toward the adoption of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) by producers, especially in the livestock and agriculture sectors.

In Ecuador, with support from Climate Funds (GEF, GCF, AF), territorial capacities have been strengthened for the integrated management of agro-productive landscapes, focusing on management and production models that prioritize Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), ecosystem restoration, and sustainable watershed management.

Mexico is driving a climate transformation through agrifood systems with an intersectoral and territorial approach. FAO is supporting SEMARNAT in the participatory design of the National Environmental Restoration Program 2025–2030, which makes ecological restoration a structural axis of productive systems, integrating environmental governance, financing, and climate sustainability. Additionally, Mexico has submitted a proposal to the GEF for a National Livestock Policy, which aims to be free from deforestation and have low emissions (2025–2029), focusing on traceability, environmental sustainability, and green financial mechanisms.

Guyana, Uruguay, El Salvador, Ecuador

In Guyana, FAO supported the implementation of a pilot homegrown school feeding project aimed at improving the food and nutrition security of school communities, helping to strengthen local agriculture and school supply chain practices to provide nutritious meals to school-age children.

In Uruguay, FAO supported the institutional diagnosis of the School Feeding Program to enable the implementation of the Sustainable Schools Methodology.

In El Salvador, within the framework of the regional Food Coalition project "Strengthening School Feeding Programs during and after the health pandemic," training sessions on Healthy School Shops and Cafeterias are being conducted to support the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology, with FAO's technical and financial assistance. To date, 1,279 people have been trained.

In Ecuador, also as part of the regional Food Coalition project, FAO supported the localization of school feeding programs in priority municipalities. The program included the development and implementation of Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) as a mechanism to accelerate education in healthy and culturally appropriate food environments.

Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Panama

In Ecuador, the linkage of family farmers—particularly youth and rural women—to alternative marketing circuits has been strengthened, ensuring fair trade and improving livelihoods while contributing to food availability for populations.

In Guyana, family farming has been strengthened through support to farmers' organizations, enhancing their capacities to provide services to members and promoting an enabling environment for the sector. Through the project "Farmers' Organizations for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific – Action in the Caribbean," eight farmers' organizations comprising approximately 450 smallholder farmers from six regions received training and institutional support, contributing to improved incomes, livelihoods, and food and nutrition security in the country.

Mexico has promoted robust regulatory and institutional frameworks for family farming from a participatory, territorial, and inclusive approach. Under the Mesoamérica Sin Hambre AMEXCID–FAO program (2015–2024), key transformations were driven in Chiapas and Oaxaca. In Chiapas, a participatory typology of family farming and a national legal report supporting state legislative proposals were developed. In Oaxaca, the State Plan for Smallholder Family Farming was designed with a focus on women, youth, and ethnic inclusion. Bio-input strategies were also promoted, aligning with the National Bio-input Roadmap (BM–FAO), and strengthening institutional capacities at the local level.

In Panama, FAO developed a pilot project to enhance the digital capacities of men and women from the Ngäbe Buglé Indigenous Territory, implementing a territorial digital ecosystem. This initiative improved marketing and access to digital markets for the Ngäbe Buglé, reflected in increased production, better quality of life, and transformation toward more efficient agrifood systems. FAO has also supported the development of a digital farmer registration system integrated with a national rural extension system (public and private); and a digital service offering platform, with special attention to family and Indigenous agriculture in the Comarcas, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of economic recovery and resilience mechanisms for the agrifood sector.

Uruguay, El Salvador, Panama

In Uruguay, a proposal for sustainable waste management at the Metropolitan Agrifood Unit (UAM) site was developed, along with a gender analysis of the institution overseeing the market.

In El Salvador, FAO worked on urban food systems models to link production, transformation, consumption, and food marketing in the Urban Centers for Well-being and Opportunities (CUBO) in Nejapa and Colonia IVU in the San Salvador district. An interactive model was also developed to educate families on sustainable food systems. The exhibition included hydroponic and aquaponic gardens, and displays simulating markets, storage, and food preparation, promoting sustainable nutrition practices among children and their families, in line with the national roadmap.

In Panama, with financial support from the SDG Fund, actions have been implemented to develop models of sustainable gastronomy and circular economy, highlighting the role of municipal markets as epicenters of community life and sustainability. The initiative seeks to revolutionize waste management in municipal markets, promoting circular economy practices that generate environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Uruguay, Panama, and Mexico

In Uruguay, technical assistance was provided to the National Human Rights Institution and Ombudsman's Office, along with technical recommendations to the departmental coordination body for the implementation of a National Single Registry of Food, Companies, and Vehicles.

In Panama, support was provided for the design of the Food and Nutrition Security Plan of the National Secretariat. Additionally, Panama has conducted a series of national workshops analyzing the food and nutrition situation of the population over two years of age, as well as regional workshops with the participation of other countries to exchange experiences and gain a better understanding of FAO's Diet Solve tools for developing food-based dietary guidelines.

Mexico has taken key steps to institutionalize the right to food with a systemic and territorial approach. FAO has provided technical assistance in implementing the General Law on the Right to Adequate and Sustainable Food, one of the most advanced in Latin America. Within this framework, the GEF project Food Systems, Indigenous Peoples, and Biodiversity (2025–2030) contemplates the establishment of municipal food councils in indigenous territories — Gran Nayar, Comcaac, and Yoeme — as a pending legal mandate, enabling the testing of rights-based food governance models. In addition, the From Hook to Plate project (2023–2025), also financed by the GEF, strengthens local food governance frameworks in coastal contexts (Baja California, Nayarit, and Quintana Roo) by connecting artisanal fishing, processing, traceability, healthy consumption, and community participation.