By Mario Lubetkin

THE last few years have been one of the most challenging for Latin America and the Caribbean economically. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic and social consequences, the conflict in Ukraine, and the global economic crisis have created a perfect storm.

Projections for the coming years are not encouraging either. The most recent upward trend in international food prices began in mid-2020 primarily driven by vegetable oils and grains. On top of that we now face disruptions in key production chains such as energy and fertilizers due to the war.

As a result, today, we are facing the highest food price inflationary cycle in recent years, and, once again, the poorest are the most affected. Food currently accounts for two-thirds of inflation in lower-income households, as the poorest spend a higher proportion of their income on food. This has a direct impact on access to a healthy diet and rising hunger figures.

In this context, countries must strengthen their social protection systems to support the most vulnerable. We know that this can be complex for countries given the current economic scenario in the region, with high levels of external debt and inflation. However, COVID-19 demonstrated that implementing emergency plans and strategies such as cash transfers, subsidies, food distribution, vouchers, and other measures, generates concrete benefits for the poorest.

But we cannot limit ourselves to emergency responses. The increase in poverty and food insecurity figures in Latin America and the Caribbean demands the generation of permanent support measures and not only contingency responses. Currently, 56.5 million people in our region suffer from hunger, and we cannot allow more people to increase this figure.

This problem mainly affects the region’s rural areas. Family farmers, for example, are among the most vulnerable groups, with the lowest income figures.

FAO is convinced that family farming is crucial in recovering from the current crisis. That is why we work to support countries in developing and implementing differentiated policies for this sector based on reality and needs.

We must remember that in Latin America and the Caribbean, family farming accounts for nearly 81% of farms. Of these, 9.2 million are in South America, 5.8 million in Central America and Mexico, and 1.5 million in the Caribbean.

But we cannot do this alone. That is why it is essential to integrate the entire region to work together with the same objective: to improve food security and make progress in eradicating hunger through tangible measures.

The objective is clear: leave no one behind. At FAO, we promote ongoing dialogue among the region´s countries, providing support and technical advice at events such as the Latin American and Caribbean Meeting of the United Nations Decade for Family Farming and the Special Meeting on Family Farming of the expanded Mercosur. Both events took place at the headquarters of our organization in Santiago.

In addition, in mid-December, the meeting of CELAC ministers of agriculture is taking place, with the objective to discuss issues related to food security in the run-up to the presidential summit in Argentina at the end of January.