FAO at the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2025

	SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
	SDG 5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
	SDG 8  - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
	SDG 14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
	SDG 17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.

FAO Participation in the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2025

 

31 March

11:00-12:30

Side event: Due diligence for sustainable trade between Latin America and the European Union

Website |  FAO/OECD Deforestation Due Diligence Manual for Agricultural Value Chains

This side event explored the challenges faced by international trade, focusing particularly on the European Union’s deforestation regulation and its implications for coffee and cocoa producers and exporters.  

Tomislav Ivancic, Senior FAO Markets and Trade Advisor, highlighted the launch of the FAO/OECD Deforestation Due Diligence Manual for Agricultural Value Chains, aimed at bridging knowledge gaps on implementing highly technical standards. FAO’s Agro-food Trade Specialist for LAC, Camilo Navarro, emphasized that “coordinating trade, agriculture, and the environment is no longer optional for the region – it is a necessity for a viable future,” one that requires the commitment of the private sector, civil society, and governments.  

 

13:00-14:30

Side event: The role of women in healthy eating: challenges, solutions, and opportunities for equitably transforming food systems

Website

FAO, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Food Systems showcased tangible solutions to advance rural women’s rights to healthy diets. Key cases presented included Uruguay’s national plan and Chile’s food-based dietary guidelines, which have improved women’s access to adequate nutrition and helped drive the equitable transformation of agrifood and care systems. The event also featured contributions from academia, especially on the importance of disaggregated data to better reflect the realities of rural, Indigenous, young, and Afro-descendant women.  

 

15:00-16:30

Side event: Young people driving change in local agri-food systems

Website

FAO, PARLASUR, and the Youth and the World Action Initiative convened youth leaders from across Latin America and the Caribbean to expand and institutionalize youth participation in agrifood systems governance. The discussions focused on youth empowerment—particularly for young women—and promoted innovative platforms such as National Youth Chapters of the World Food Forum (WFF) and strategic alliances with FAO, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Mercosur-Parlasur, and the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

 

 

1 April 

14:30 - 15:30 (GMT -04:00)

Session on the thirtieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Belém do Pará, Brazil, 2025)

Speaking in this session FAO invited all countries to join PLACA—the Regional Platform for Climate Action in Agriculture—during the COP30 Session of the SDG Forum in Chile. PLACA facilitates knowledge sharing, policy harmonization, and the coordination of national and regional efforts, strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems and contributing to a transition towards more sustainable, inclusive and low-emission models.

The FAO serves as PLACA’s secretariat, with Guatemala as chair. 

2 April 

08:30-09:15

Opening of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2025

Agrifood system transformation is central to the 2030 Agenda in LAC. Speaking in this session, FAO highlighted that while some progress has been made, not at the scale and speed to achieve the necessary systemic transformation by 2030. To address this, progress must be accelerated across several critical and interconnected SDG targets: improving health outcomes through the One Health Approach (SDG 3); implementing gender-transformative policies ensuring women's access to land rights and financial services (SDG 5); creating decent employment opportunities, especially for youth and vulnerable groups, while eradicating child labour in agriculture (SDG 8); implementing ecosystem-based, science-driven fisheries management while empowering small-scale operators (SDG 14); and strengthening science-policy interfaces through multistakeholder partnerships and innovative financing (SDG 17).

Read the full FAO statement

18:00-19:30

Side event: Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean: an approach to social and territorial realities in the rural world

Website  |  Report

FAO and ECLAC launched the report “Afro-descendants in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Approach to Social and Territorial Realities in Rural Areas.” Enriched by input from governments, civil society, and Afro-descendant organizations, the report sheds light on the presence and contributions of Afro-descendant peoples in rural areas across the region. It also highlights the challenges they face—such as limited statistical visibility, lack of recognition, and barriers to accessing basic services and justice—along with persistent policy gaps.  

3 April

08:30 - 10:00

Panel 1: Goal 3 – Good health and well-being

Healthy diets are vital to combat non-communicable diseases. In 2021, unhealthy diets accounted for 10% of all deaths globally, with high sodium and low fruit and whole grain intake among the top dietary risk factors. However, despite progress, access to healthy diets remains a major challenge in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region has the world’s highest cost of a healthy diet, making it unaffordable for over 182 million people. In 2022, 27.7% of the regional population could not access such diets, with the highest rates in the Caribbean. FAO promotes sustainable agrifood systems that enhance access to nutritious food, while minimizing environmental impacts, contributing to improved health outcomes. 

Read the full FAO statement here.

10:30 - 12:00

Panel 2: Goal 5 – Gender equality

Women are central to agrifood systems, contributing through agricultural production, natural resource management, off-farm employment and unpaid care work. Despite their vital roles, women in Latin America and the Caribbean face persistent structural inequalities that limit their access to food security, resources, and economic opportunities, and increase their vulnerability to climate change.

From 2021 to 2023, women in the region experienced higher levels of moderate or severe food insecurity than men, with gender gaps reaching up to 6.6 percentage points. Additionally 17.2% of women aged 15 to 49 in the region suffer from anemia, with the highest prevalence in the Caribbean.

Rural women experience higher poverty rates and have limited access to land, credit, and technology. Despite some progress in legal protections for women’s land rights—33% of LAC countries have robust legal frameworks—gaps remain in implementation and access. Women’s access to financial services also lags behind men’s due to collateral limitations, lack of training, and discriminatory norms.

Empowering women in agrifood systems is not only a matter of rights but also an economic imperative. Closing the gender gap in farm productivity could increase global GDP by nearly USD 1 trillion and improve food security for 45 million people. Gender-transformative policies and inclusive financial models are needed to enable women’s participation and resilience.

Read the full FAO statement here.

14:30 - 16:00 

Panel 3: Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth

Transforming agrifood systems is essential for advancing SDG 8, particularly in generating decent employment and inclusive economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Agrifood systems are a major source of livelihoods—especially for youth and rural populations—and offer opportunities to address structural vulnerabilities through targeted investments and inclusive policies. Barriers to decent employment, particularly for rural youth and young women, must be addressed through inclusive labour market policies, social protection systems, and gender-sensitive programs. Empowering youth through mentorship, peer networks, and access to finance fosters agency and resilience, while employment-intensive initiatives in fragile contexts can enhance economic stability. Institutionalizing youth voices in policy processes, fostering cooperatives, and building multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for creating inclusive, resilient economies and ensuring that no one is left behind in the pursuit of decent work for all.

Read the full FAO statement here.

16:30 - 17:30

Panel 4: Goal 14 – Life below water

Oceans and aquatic food systems are vital for food security, nutrition, livelihoods, and biodiversity, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, where approximately 85 million people depend on them. Despite their importance, the region records one of the lowest per capita consumptions of aquatic animal foods globally, highlighting a need for improved policies, investments, and innovation to enhance sustainable production and access. Aquatic foods contribute significantly to healthy diets, supplying essential nutrients that improve health outcomes and reduce non-communicable diseases. Sustainable aquatic food systems present a long-term solution to global challenges including hunger, malnutrition, climate change, and environmental degradation. 

FAO’s Blue Transformation initiative offers a comprehensive framework to advance SDG 14 by aligning food security, poverty reduction, and environmental sustainability.

Read the full FAO statement here.

4 April 2025

08:30 - 10:00

Panel 5: Goal 17 – Partnerships for the goals

Achieving the 2030 Agenda requires renewed commitment to SDG 17 through enhanced partnerships, increased financing, improved data, and strengthened science-policy interfaces. Transforming agrifood systems is essential for achieving multiple SDGs, and SDG 17 provides the foundation to mobilize the political will, investments, and collaborative action required.

Read the full FAO statement here.

 

10:30-13:00

Opening of the dialogues on national action: Session on successful national experiences in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 

Speaking during this session, Eva Crowley, Deputy Regional Representative, FAO Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted FAO's work to support the national acceleration of the SDGs in Latin America and the Caribbean through the implementation of concrete actions through the FAO Strategic Framework and the four regional priorities that include achieving efficient, inclusive and sustainable production; reducing hunger and malnutrition; sustainable management of natural resources and adaptation to climate change; and finally, reducing inequalities and building resilience. There are numerous examples of programmes focused on the transformation of agrifood systems in the region where effects at a systemic level can be visualised.

 

13:00 – 14:30 (GMT -04:00)

Side event: Re-imagining the Future of Women in Food Systems: Harnessing Science and Technology, and Partnership to Advance the SDGs

Concept note (ES) |  Rewatch | Read a recap

Co-organized by FAO, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the UN Regional Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, this side event spotlighted the persistent and emerging challenges that women in agrifood systems face at the regional level, limiting their equal participation and leadership. It showcased successful initiatives that have harnessed science, technology, and gender-disaggregated data to break barriers and empower women. The discussion explored the intersections between gender equality (SDG 5) and other key SDGs under review, emphasizing the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration to develop actionable strategies and partnerships that address structural inequalities and drive progress toward gender equality in agrifood systems.

 

14:00-16:00

Good practices and challenges in the preparation of voluntary national reviews

FAO VNR Support Toolkit

Contributing to this session, FAO highlighted that shifting from an SDG-by-SDG review to an integrated analysis is essential for understanding the interconnectedness of challenges and identifying comprehensive solutions for transformation. FAO’s support for VNRs focuses on several key areas that collectively contribute to a more impactful review process. First, FAO encourages and promotes evidence-based and science-driven reviews, ensuring that the data and findings derived from these processes inform policy-making. This evidence-based approach is vital to driving integrated assessments and actions that lead to meaningful and measurable change.  To assist both countries and FAO country offices, the FAO has developed a suite of tools including an eLearning course series and a Guide, designed to support the preparation process for these reviews.

Read the full FAO statement

 

7 – 9 April 2025

UNFSS+4 Regional Preparatory Meeting

Concept Note |  Website

In preparation for the second UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in July 2025, the Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Americas and the Caribbean convened key stakeholders, including National Convenors, regional institutions, UN agencies, civil society, academia, the private sector, financial institutions, and youth organizations. The meeting contributed to the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4) by reflecting on progress, strengthening accountability, and unlocking investments for food systems transformation in the region.