NUTRITION

Family agriculture. At the end of November, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with more than 80 representatives of governments and institutions, civil society organizations, producers and regional bodies of the Central American Integration System (SICA, in Spanish) held a virtual meeting with the objective of sharing proposals and kickstarting the creation of an action plan for the Decade of Family Farming. It is expected that this plan be presented in the medium term, to serve as the basis for the implementation of public policies focused on agriculture in the region.

Although Central America currently has regulatory frameworks or specific laws on family-run agriculture, participants stressed the need to ensure compliance and provide the sector with useful tools to strengthen its development and generate greater efficiency. Thus, some of the ideas proposed in this area include the development of registration systems for the identification and characterization of family agriculture and its dynamics. Additionally, it was considered necessary to channel resources towards research and innovation in the production and commercialization of products from family agriculture, and the management of knowledge on environmental conservation and adaptation to climate change.

At the meeting, participants also mentioned and discussed the importance of products obtained through family agriculture being present in markets and in public purchasing mechanisms, in order to boost the sector and give it greater visibility. To this end, the possibilities of differentiation or certification of origin of these products were discussed.

The meeting took place after the passage of hurricanes Eta and Iota, which seriously damaged the region and highlighted the challenges faced by agriculture in the face of natural phenomena aggravated by climate change. Thus, the different representatives shared their experiences and information from their respective countries to update the situation table, with a view to clearly defining the objectives and priorities for action for the sector. According to Roberto Harrison, Executive Secretary of the Central American Agricultural Council, “This meeting is an opportunity to deepen the strategic contributions of the sector to the SICA region in terms of food security and territorial development, strengthen the regional dialogue platform and contribute to a more prosperous and inclusive family agriculture”.

Next steps 

Through the exchange of proposals and experiences, participants of the meeting established some of the priorities of the region regarding the promotion and development of family agriculture. These points are expected to be considered by the representatives who lead the process of preparing the Regional Family Agriculture Plan and the public policies that will be implemented in each country in this matter during 2021.