November 18, 2024, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE), and Brazil’s Ministry of Social Development, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS) signed the project Strengthening the regional agenda of food systems for the urban-rural continuum in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) indicates that 81% of the region’s population lives in urban areas, posing challenges for access to healthy food and the inclusion of family farmers in value chains. Therefore, this project seeks to enhance food security and reduce poverty among the most vulnerable populations in urban and peri-urban areas of cities in Latin America and the Caribbean. It also aims to promote urban food systems that are more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient.  

South-South Cooperation for Sustainable Food Systems 

This trilateral South-South cooperation initiative was signed by FAO’s Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mario Lubetkin, and the Director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), Ambassador Ruy Pereira. The ceremony also featured the participation of FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu; Brazil’s Minister of Social Development, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), Wellington Dias; Brazil’s Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA), Paulo Teixeira; Brazil’s National Secretary for Artisanal Fisheries, Cristiano Ramalho; and Chief Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representation Office (MRE) in Rio de Janeiro, Márcia Maro.  

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu emphasized the importance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation as a flexible mechanism for strengthening international collaboration. He also celebrated the creation of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. “Let’s work together to make this great initiative a major benefit for people,” said Qu Dongyu. 

FAO Assistant Director-General Mario Lubetkin highlighted Brazil’s key role in advancing food and nutrition security. “Brazil has been fundamental in this journey. Through this project, we will develop strategies to integrate small farmers into the context of urban expansion and promote access to healthy food for the population,” he stated.  

MDS Minister Wellington Dias underscored the critical role of strengthening food systems “to achieve urban-rural balance, making better use of urban spaces and their peripheries, enabling progress similar to what Brazil and other countries have already achieved in improving income conditions for rural populations,” he said.  

Ruy Pereira, Director of ABC, highlighted the importance of cooperation over the past decades, “which has become a key element for Brazil’s external projection and the functioning of the United Nations. The South-South cooperation model developed by Brazil is based on horizontality, solidarity, unconditionality, knowledge exchange, and shared governance,” he noted. 

The new project of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Program is inspired by Brazil’s agenda for revitalizing food and nutrition security policies, particularly the National Strategy for Food and Nutrition Security in Cities, led by the Ministry of Social Development (MDS). This strategy seeks to improve access to and consumption of healthy food, reduce inequalities, strengthen sustainable and resilient food systems, and foster cooperation among cities.

This cooperation initiative aims to promote more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient urban food systems to eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition in countries across the region.

To achieve this, the Government of Brazil and FAO will work together to strengthen the capacities of national and subnational governments in three key areas: (i) the production, supply, consumption, and access to healthy food; (ii) the resilience of urban and peri-urban food systems; and (iii) participatory, intersectoral, and multi-level governance of food and nutrition security (FNS) within the framework of strategic discussions on food systems.

With a duration of 30 months, the project will be implemented at both national and regional levels, fostering the development of individual, organizational, and institutional capacities in partner countries.

The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) is responsible for coordinating international technical cooperation in Brazil, while the MDS contributes its expertise, as well as financial, technical, and human resources, to oversee and execute project actions. FAO facilitates the cooperation processes by providing technical, operational, and administrative support. Partner countries actively participate in implementation and the formulation of strategic actions throughout the project.