FAO Turns to Latin America in Fight Against Hunger

The United Nations agricultural agency announced on January 25, 2017 that it believes that Latin America and the Caribbean has the potential to become the first developing region of the world to eradicate hunger.

The proclamation came at a summit for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the Dominican Republic from the Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), José Graziano da Silva. Mr. Silva lauded the region’s recent work in the area of food security and believes that the region is well positioned to address these problems in the coming decade with its abundance of natural resources and fertile land. He also expressed the belief that CELAC’s ultimate goal of achieving food security by 2025 is achievable.

CELAC’s official agreement, entitled the ‘Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication Plan,’ tackles inequalities with respect to food access, malnourishment, and obesity in the region and expects to meet both the obligations of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The Plan encourages small-scale, family-based farming, which is the sector most affected by climate change, and environmentally friendly methods in order to craft greener societies. FAO has also pledged to work with CELAC to articulate the techniques through which rural farmers can gain access to resources and services, develop their land, and maximize output in the most sustainable way possible.

Research suggests that there exists an inseparable link between conflict and food insecurity in society. Citing the recent successful peace process in Colombia as evidence of a growing focus on addressing economic inequality in the region, Silva

believes that the region displays the necessary framework for establishing absolute food security for its people as long as it continues to pursue peace and sustainable development.