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

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) had a strong and active presence at the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2025, held in Santiago de Chile this April. Organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Forum convened over 1 000 participants, including delegates from 24 member countries, to assess regional progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). FAO contributed substantively throughout the Forum, participating in nearly every session, sharing technical SDG expertise and engaging directly with governments and stakeholders.

FAO's urgent call for agrifood systems transformation

At the Forum’s opening session, Maya Takagi, FAO Regional Technical Leader for Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasized the urgency of transformative action: “Some progress has been made, however not at the scale and speed to achieve the necessary systemic transformation by 2030.”  She urged accelerated efforts across interconnected SDGs. [Read statement]

She also invited  countries to join PLACA—the Regional Platform for Climate Action in Agriculture. With FAO serving as Secretariat and Guatemala as Chair, PLACA facilitates knowledge sharing and policy coordination to build resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. 

Eva Crowley, FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted FAO’s contributions to SDG acceleration through its Strategic Framework and four regional priorities: achieving efficient, inclusive and sustainable production, reducing hunger and malnutrition, sustainable management of natural resources and adaptation to climate change, and reducing inequalities and building resilience. 

Supporting Voluntary National Reviews

Six countries from the region are preparing Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) which they will present at the 2025 High-Level Political Forum in July. Speaking during a dedicated session, Natalia Galat, Senior Technical Officer at the FAO Office of SDGs, stressed the importance of analysing with a systems perspective. “The shift from an SDG-by-SDG review to an integrated analysis is essential for understanding the interconnectedness of challenges and identifying comprehensive solutions for transformation”, Galat explained. [Read statement]

To support this process, FAO has developed a suite of tools, including an eLearning course series and a guide to help countries preparing their reviews.

SDG panels

FAO experts contributed to five specialized panels examining regional progress on the specific SDGs under review at the 2025 HLPF:

SDG 3 - Good Health and Wellbeing: Daniela Godoy, FAO Senior Policy Officer (Food Security and Nutrition), highlighted the One Health approach to address the links between human, animal, plant, and environmental health. She noted a major barrier to better health in the region is that healthy diets remain unaffordable for 182 million people in the region. She called for stronger food control systems and improved access to nutritious food. [Read statement]

SDG 5 - Gender Equality: Claudia Brito, FAO Policy Officer, Expert in Gender and Social and Institutional Systems, highlighted alarming disparities, such as higher food insecurity and anemia rates among women, particularly in rural and Caribbean areas. She called for gender-transformative policies, better access to finance, stronger land rights, and inclusive climate responses. [Read statement]

SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth: Focusing on youth engagement in agrifood systems, Luiz Beduschi, FAO Senior Policy Officer in Territorial Development, called for modern education, youth-led agribusiness, and inclusive labour policies to address structural barriers, especially for young women and marginalized communities. He also stressed the urgency of eradicating child labour in agriculture, protecting migrant workers’ rights, and promoting financial inclusion. [Read statement]

SDG 14 - Life Below Water: Speaking as a panellist, Maya Takagi emphasized that “sustainable aquatic food systems are a long-term solution to hunger, malnutrition, and environmental degradation”, highlighting FAO's Blue Transformation initiative. She called for urgent action to restore fish stocks, combat illegal fishing, and support small-scale and Indigenous fishers through inclusive policies. [Read statement]

SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals: Duclair Sternadt, Regional Partnerships Officer, called for enhanced collaboration and innovative financing to address persistent funding gaps in food security. [Read statement]

Side events on targeted solutions

FAO also organized five side events aimed at fostering dialogue to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda across multiple thematic areas:  

• Due diligence for sustainable trade between Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union: Addressed challenges and opportunities for coffee and cocoa producers, in relation to European Union’s deforestation regulation, spotlighting the FAO/OECD Deforestation Due Diligence Manual for Agricultural Value Chains.
• The role of women in healthy diets: challenges, solutions, and opportunities for equitable food systems transformation: Presented successful case studies including Uruguay’s national plan and Chile’s food-based dietary guidelines, aimed at advancing rural women’s rights to healthy diets.
• Youth and women leading change in agrifood systems: Convened regional young leaders to expand youth participation in agrifood systems governance.
• Afro-descendant peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean: exploring social and territorial realities in rural areas: Launched a report of the same examining the challenges and contributions of Afro-descendant peoples in rural areas across the region.
  

Reimagining the future of women in food systems

A further side event focusing on women in food systems, hosted by FAO, the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the Inter-Agency Working Group for Latin America and the Caribbean, showcased case studies of initiatives and tools utilizing science, technology, and data analytics to break barriers and empower women in the region.

In her opening remarks, FAO’s Eve Crowley, called for the increased development of and investment in public policies that guarantee equitable access to productive resources, financing technologies, technical assistance and training for women-  particularly those in rural areas.

Claudia Brito, presented compelling statistics highlighting persistent inequalities:

• Rural women in the region face higher poverty rates (42.2 percent) than men (39.9 percent);
• Women experience up to 6.6 percentage points higher food insecurity rates than men;
• Female-headed households lose 8 percent more income from heat stress and 3 percent more from floods than male-headed households;
• The region faces the highest healthy diet costs globally, with women bearing the disproportionate nutritional consequences.
  

Innovative regional initiatives

A panel moderated by Khaled Eltaweel, Senior Coordinator at FAO and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, showcased powerful regional initiatives leaving science and technology:

• Carolina Marzán, Member of Parliament, Chile and President of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger, highlighted key legislative initiatives improving women's access to healthy food and employment, including the Food Security and Sovereignty Law Project and the law to combat food loss and waste. She also highlighted an upcoming Parliamentary Guide on how to legislate on gender and food.
• Lorena Rodríguez, Director, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile discussed academia’s role, through the Right to Food Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean, which provides critical gender-disaggregated data to guide policy decisions across the continent.
• Carla Grados, Latam Co-Head, 60_decibels, explored how digital platforms can support women's and youth education, employment and leadership in agrifood systems. She emphasized their dual role in implementing solutions and identifying barriers for rural women. By enabling real-time feedback through phone and digital surveys, these tools prioritize quality and impact, ensuring interventions foster empowerment and leadership.
• Luz Haro, Executive Secretary of RedLAC emphasized the need for coordinated action across government, the private sector and civil society to break down structural barriers for women in agrifood systems. Focusing on rural women in Ecuador, she called for reimagining agrifood systems through technology to support systemic investment in education and training—including for those without formal access—and policy reforms that encourage space and create opportunities for women’s empowerment.

Khaled Eltaweel concluded the session by synthesizing key insights, emphasizing that legislation is a critical entry point for driving transformative change—particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, where addressing both macro-level policies and sector-specific challenges is essential to meet diverse needs. He underscored that political will is indispensable; without it, progress stalls. Equally important, he noted, are public-private partnerships, which are key to developing and sustaining effective, long-term solutions.