Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of the United Nations Decade for Family Farming

Opening - Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Decade for Family Farming

Day 2 - Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of Decade for Family Farming

In recent years, the challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean have intensified as a result of the impact of global crises, such as the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of family farmers and the consequences of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on global food and input markets. Theses crises interact with the region´s own social, economic and environmental conditions, and require specifically designed interventions to mitigate their impacts.

Despite the adverse scenario, Latin America and the Caribbean region has been key to avoiding a larger-scale food crisis, managing to overcome food security problems derived from the pandemic, war and the intensification of the impacts of an increasingly present climate change. The effects observed in the number of people suffering from hunger, which has reached its highest level in the last 20 years, and the sustained increases in price indices, with historical highs so far in 2022, account for a critical situation that requires immediate action, and in which family farming must take a leading role.

In the post-pandemic recovery scenario, family farming has played a fundamental role in the necessary transformation of rural territories, especially by promoting more innovative, efficient, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems. To this end, the countries of the region and the world are strengthening national, subregional and regional dialogues, with the aim of placing family farming at the center of public policies for the sustainability of agri-food systems.

The United Nations Decade of Family Farming

The United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (DNUAF) was launched on May 29, 2019, aiming to present a new vision on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world, highlighting more than ever the important role played by family farmers in eradicating hunger and shaping our food future. The DNUAF is set out as a framework for countries to develop public policies and to support family farming from a holistic perspective, stimulating the transformative potential of family farmers to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have been called upon to support its implementation and have established a joint secretariat to facilitate this process, under the leadership of an International Steering Committee composed of Member States and Family Farming Organizations.

Objective of the event

This regional meeting seeks to promote a joint reflection on how to enhance the role of family farming towards sustainable, inclusive and resilient agri-food systems, facing current and future crises through a transformative recovery. The main results of this discussion will be systematized in a joint declaration of the countries as a commitment to strengthen the actions framed under the seven pillars of work of the DNUAF Global Action Plan. They may also serve as an input for technical or policy dialogues at different levels (regional, national or territorial), offering updated content and proposals, and positioning family farming at the center of the recovery agenda with transformation of agri-food systems.

Who participates?

The Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of the United Nations Decade for Family Farming is an event that brings together representatives of governments, civil society organizations, farmers' organizations, the academic and scientific community, and international agencies.

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