Dear Editor,

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 fertilisers 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 healthy diets 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 of 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, generate 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.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (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 its reality and needs.

We must remember that in Latin America and the Caribbean family farming accounts for nearly 81 per cent 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.

Mario Lubetkin

Assistant director general and regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean

Food and Agriculture Organization