SUSTAINABILITY

Agrifood systems. Throughout April, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held a meeting with the Latin American Federation of Supply Markets (FLAMA) and organized the Third Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, where they discussed the promotion of healthy food supply and the promotion of innovation in agrifood systems in the region. During the meetings, FAO explained that it is necessary to promote innovation policies in the region to achieve a better post-pandemic recovery, for which the support of the private sector will be key. FLAMA anticipated the promotion of measures to analyze the functioning of regional supply markets, while the Ministers of Agriculture could take up FAO’s recommendations to promote future regulations in the medium term.

At the meeting with FLAMA, the main actions to be taken included conducting four surveys at the regional level in wholesale food markets to analyze short circuits in marketing and the collection of information on the nutritional quality of the products marketed. The purpose of these measures is to propose lines of action based on the data obtained. It was also pointed out that the alliance between FAO and FLAMA contributes to strengthening the region’s wholesale markets, making them visible so that they can be taken into account in the design of public policies by governments.

The participants in the meeting with the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, together with the organization, agreed that it is necessary to achieve a higher level of agricultural innovation and ensure investments by the private sector to create sustainable agrifood systems with a lower carbon footprint that protect and conserve the environment and biodiversity. In addition, in order to begin the road to recovery from the crisis caused by COVID 19, they concluded that progress is needed in public policies to ensure sustainable food for the population, encouraging access to healthy diets and a variety of products in rural and urban areas.

Next Steps

FAO, together with FLAMA and the Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas, undertook to promote measures to guarantee the supply of healthy foods and promote innovation in regional agrifood systems. FLAMA will promote surveys in regional food markets to obtain accurate information on the foods being marketed as a preliminary step in assessing the nutritional quality of the products offered. For their part, the ministers of agriculture could take FAO’s recommendations and promote, in the medium term, regulations to reduce the carbon footprint of national agrifood systems.