December 4, 2025, San José, Costa Rica – To reflect on the challenges and opportunities to strengthen food environments in Costa Rica, the webinar Building Healthy and Sustainable Food Environments: A Shared Task was held on November 26. The event brought together more than 40 participants, including representatives from the government, municipalities, civil society and international organizations.

The event is part of the regional project Urban Agri-Food Systems, promoted by the Government of Brazil through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE) and the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and the Fight Against Hunger (MDS), in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the Brazil–FAO International Cooperation Program.

The meeting also shared the lessons learned from the interagency work carried out between FAO and the United Nations Children’s Fund, which strengthened the governance of agri-food systems in two rural cantons of Costa Rica: Buenos Aires in Puntarenas and Guatuso in Alajuela.

Even though Costa Rica is classified as a high-income country (World Bank, 2025), it faces significant disparities that directly affect food and nutrition security. In 2024, 18% of households lived in poverty (32.9% among children) and 4.8% in extreme poverty (ENAHO 2024). This is compounded by a sustained increase in inequality: the Gini index rose from 45.6 in 1997 to 50.2 in 2023.

In terms of nutrition, the country exhibits concerning figures: 71% of adults are overweight or obese, as well as 34% of children aged 6 to 12 (CCSS 2018, EMNA 2018). These conditions increase the risk of noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.

Furthermore, 16 out of every 100 households reported moderate or severe food insecurity in 2020 (ENAHO 2020). Although Costa Rica does not face a widespread crisis, inequalities persist that prevent universal access to adequate food, particularly for people in situations of greater vulnerability.

Patrícia Gentil, Director of the Department for the Promotion of Adequate and Healthy Diets at MDS, emphasized that Brazil faces the challenge of continuously advancing the urban food agenda, in a context of intense urbanization that has deeply shaped living and health conditions. She highlighted that food and nutrition insecurity is concentrated in urban areas, where high rates of overweight and obesity persist, along with physical and economic barriers to accessing healthy foods, long production-to-consumption chains, the presence of food deserts and swamps, and the growing impacts of climate change, among other factors, especially in areas with vulnerable populations.

ABC project analyst Riffat Iqbal noted that a true transformation of the food system requires ensuring people’s access to quality food in schools, communities, workplaces, markets, fairs and even digital platforms, promoting the consumption of natural foods and reducing the presence of ultra-processed products.

João Intini, Senior Food Systems Policy Officer at FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted the importance of this type of dialogue at a time when countries are especially challenged to approve essential public policies for their populations. He added that, at COP 30, it became clear that it is no longer enough to promote food and nutrition security policies without considering environmental concerns, food environments and the links between urban and rural regions.

Along these lines, UNICEF stressed the need for these spaces to generate concrete commitments aimed at transforming food environments and improving the quality of life of children and families. “May today’s conversations inspire us, challenge us and drive us to make decisions that have a real impact on people’s lives, especially those who depend on our actions,” stated Juan Manuel Baldares, Programme Manager at UNICEF Costa Rica.

Exchange of experiences and technical reflection

The webinar featured presentations by the municipality of Caxias do Sul, Brazil, and by Maynas, Peru, which shared concrete actions to transform local food environments. From Costa Rica, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, and the Institute for Municipal Development and Advisory Services (IFAM) presented initiatives to promote healthy lifestyles and strengthen interinstitutional coordination across territories.

“From the Provincial Municipality of Maynas, we are promoting a truly sustainable city by strengthening family farming, modernizing the food supply system and promoting sustainable schools that integrate ancestral knowledge and technology. Our commitment is to improve food security and the well-being of our children and adolescents by coordinating efforts with all actors in the territory,” explained Nair Burga from the Provincial Municipality of Maynas, Peru.

The experience of the canton of Mora in developing the Local Plan for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles 2025–2030 was also highlighted. This process brought together actors from different levels and demonstrated the importance of participatory governance, interinstitutional collaboration and community engagement to improve people’s well-being.

The Government of Brazil, participating institutions, FAO and UNICEF agreed that dialogue spaces such as this one are essential to drive real transformations in the region’s agri-food systems. These encounters allow the sharing of experiences, the strengthening of partnerships and progress toward public policies that respond to the current challenges of cities and rural territories.