Santiago de Chile, September 24, 2022 – With the aim of defining strategic priorities for the next five years, improving shared governance mechanisms and analyzing the current implementation of projects, representatives of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( ABC/MRE), the cooperating Brazilian institutions and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) met, from September 12 to 14, in Santiago, Chile, for the 3rd Meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme.  

The ABC/MRE Director, Ambassador Ruy Pereira, highlighted that the strengthening of family farming and the fight against food insecurity are fundamental themes for the Brazilian South-South cooperation. He emphasized that ABC “will continue to combine efforts and resources to build innovative solutions to the great difficulties of this moment of recovery of economic and social activity after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic”.

On the occasion, the Representative of the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mário Lubetkin, highlighted the importance of the cooperation program. “We were able to work together with the objective of eradicating hunger in the region and advancing towards sustainable rural development, based on successful experiences in Brazil”. Lubetkin also assessed the current scenario, stating that the harsh effects of the pandemic pose new challenges for the future, especially given the increase in hunger in the region. "Inequality and poverty persist and grow again."

During three days, presentations were made about the Brazilian Technical Cooperation Programme coordinated by ABC/MRE and the new FAO programmatic framework. Spaces for dialogue and group work were promoted, sharing lessons learned, risks and strengths in common, and priorities and prospects for the future were discussed. 

On the last day of the meeting, priority lines were agreed for the new phase (2023-2027) of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Programme, which will be validated among all cooperating institutions. The topics of the Technical Cooperation Programme agreed were: deepening the agenda related to support for family farming; promoting access to healthy foods, including school feeding; promotion of sustainability and successful agro-environmental policies; and acting in the area of ​​intelligence and territorial management. 

These themes are also aligned with FAO's new strategic framework and its four betters: better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life.

Cooperating Brazilian Institutions

On behalf of the Cooperating Brazilian Institutions, the following entities took part: Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE), Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA), Brazilian Association of Cotton Producers (Abrapa), Brazilian Association of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Companies (Asbraer) and the Paraíba Research, Rural Extension and Land Regularization Company (Empaer-PB). On behalf of FAO, teams from the Regional Office for LAC, the Central America Office and the Brazilian office took part.

Projects

The Consolidation of School Feeding Programmes has already implemented the Sustainable Schools methodology in 23,000 educational centers, from 12 countries, reaching 1,6 million students. Five countries have passed legal frameworks on food: Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala and Paraguay. The project, carried out jointly by ABC/MRE, FNDE and FAO, has also supported market opportunities for more than 9,300 smallholder farmers who have managed to sell their productions for school feeding programmes in the region. The project also promotes the Sustainable School Food Network (RAES), which was created in 2018, and already has the participation of 22 countries.

Executed by ABC/MRE and FAO, the +Cotton project has been investing in sustainable technologies, such as a cotton harvester developed by Embrapa Algodão, backpacks used to harvest cotton validated in Peru and Ecuador, and a mini cotton machine to remove cottonseeds in use in Ecuador. About 10,000 male and female farmers and 3,000 technicians strengthened their capacities. Bolivia approved its National Cotton Program, Peru and Colombia approved National Cotton Plans, and Paraguay reactivated the cotton table.

The project Support for the strengthening of responsible governance of land tenure, a partnership between ABC/MRE, Incra and FAO, has promoted the exchange of experiences between countries in the region. It has also generated regional studies on the topic of land administration and carried out systematization of good practices. The objective is to build a work agenda that makes it possible to identify needs and potential for institutional improvements, policies and legal frameworks on topics such as access to land, registration, among others.

Executed by ABC/MRE and FAO, the Latin America and the Caribbean Without Hunger Initiative project has contributed to strengthening family farming in the region. The first initiative – Sowing Capabilities – carried out for two years together with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia promoted the exchange of knowledge through a series of actions aimed at developing technical capabilities. It also contributed with recommendations for the formulation and improvement of programs and public policies for family farming in Colombia.

Another action of the Latin America and the Caribbean Without Hunger Initiative project, which is in the elaboration phase, aims to contribute to the mitigation of the effects of droughts in the Central American Dry Corridor countries (El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala) and to enable agricultural production, complementing the efforts of the Brazilian government and FAO in the areas of and rural development and family farming.

As a result of the alliance between ABC/MRE, Mapa and FAO, the project Strengthening Family Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Settlers aims to strengthen regional spaces and influence global agendas, such as REAF Mercosur. It has also been working on market access, innovation in rural services, mapping of public policies, organization of family farming, cooperativism and innovation. Its objective is to consolidate the knowledge of technicians and managers of governmental institutions and of representatives of farmers for the development of differentiated policies.