BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has launched a new digital tool aimed at strengthening the capacities, leadership, and full exercise of the rights of rural, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and young women across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The FAO said that the initiative is part of its broader efforts to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 2 Zero Hunger, and SDG 5 Gender Equality, recognising that the empowerment of rural women is essential to achieving food security, conserving biodiversity, and addressing the impacts of climate change.

It said that the regional platform for the empowerment of rural women, has been developed within the framework of the Rural Women’s Empowerment and Environmental Sustainability Acceleration Programme and the regional campaign “Rural Women, Women with Rights”, both led by FAO.

The new digital tool aims to support governments, organisations, and communities in developing inclusive public policies and concrete actions that promote leadership, rights, and the comprehensive empowerment of rural, indigenous, Afro-descendant, and young women in the region.

Designed with gender-transformative and intersectional approaches, the platform supports the design and implementation of inclusive, evidence-based public policies that address the structural challenges faced by women in rural territories.

Senior policy officer at the FAO regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean, Luiz Beduschi, said that this innovative platform is a key instrument to transform realities through knowledge, cooperation, and collective action.

“It will allow us to coordinate efforts across the region and move towards more just, sustainable, and resilient agrifood systems,” Beduschi added.

The platform features five main sections: a repository of good practices and successful experiences; a technical library with key resources for governments, organisations, and academia, including guidelines, reports, policy briefs, and diagnostic tools; a section with news and updates on the gender agenda in rural contexts; free training courses through FAO Campus; and a space dedicated to regional coordination events.

It also hosts the official site of the campaign “Rural Women, Women with Rights”.

“The platform responds to an urgent need for tools that strengthen the comprehensive empowerment of rural women and support the commitments made in the lead-up to the International Year of Women Farmers in 2026,” said Maya Takagi, regional programme leader at the FAO regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean.