FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

1000 Digital Villages in Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative

The diversification of rural economies and their connection with dynamic markets are key factors in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger) and 10 (Reduced inequalities). This need has intensified in the wake of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, after which the agri-food system chains need to be rebuilt and transformed.

Tourism provides an opportunity to diversify the sources of income of rural households in the region. Before the pandemic, this activity constituted 26% of the contribution to the generation of total added value in the Caribbean and 10% in Latin America. In addition, it is imperative to take advantage of the connectivity and information benefits offered by access to digital tools in rural areas, where it is estimated that approximately 77 million people still do not have the necessary conditions or skills to use the internet.

In September 2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Tourism Organization UNTWO agreed to support countries in promoting and boosting rural tourism as a strategy to generate off-farm income and employment. In this same spirit, FAO launched the "1000 Digital Villages Initiative" programme that promotes the digitisation of services in rural areas.

In our region, this initiative has been tied to ongoing rural tourism experiences, taking advantage of connectivity, resources and digital solutions to improve the promotion and sale of services, foster rural transformation, increase household incomes and employment opportunities.

Documents
Videos
Countries in Digital Villages
Relationship with the Sustainable Development Goals

Contact

Ricardo Rivera

Communicator FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean

Catalina Acosta

Communicator of the 1000 Digital Villages project in LAC.

[email protected]