Food Systems In Latin America And The Caribbean

The book has been prepared by authors from different international organizations – including FAO, IFPRI, UNCTAD and ECLAC, as well as legislators and academics from prestigious Latin American universities – seeking to foster reflections for the Global Food Systems Summit, to be held in September 2021. It contextualizes the region’s food systems within a post COVID-19 pandemic scenario and raises new challenges (and opportunities) for policy makers, decision makers, the private sector, and the general public. Likewise, it offers important reflections on sustainability, from production to consumption, with the call to promote better governance of the global and regional food system. In order to face what some authors have deemed “the Syndemic of the century”, the participation of companies, research centres, academia, NGOs, government agencies and international organizations will be necessary.

Solving the problem of hunger and malnutrition, producing and guaranteeing access to healthy food, preserving the environment, valuing local cultures and ensuring citizen participation are some of the challenges that permeate the dynamics of food systems. From different scales and perspectives of analysis, the book addresses the role of Latin American public policies and actions in the configuration of healthy and sustainable food systems.

On 23 September 2021, the Food Systems Summit convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, was held. Latin America and the Caribbean played an essential role in this event. The official proposals and recommendations presented at the Summit are part of the official reports of the national dialogues and the speeches of their official representatives. In this publication, we reproduce the transcripts of these 23 speeches. This publication is an invitation to those who want to learn about Latin America and the Caribbean proposals at the Summit.

Latin America and the Caribbean deviates from its path toward the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. The number of undernourished people increased for the third consecutive year reaching 39.3 million, 6.1% of the population. The social and economic inequalities that characterize the region aggravate the problem of malnutrition. Vulnerable groups, such as the population living in poverty, children, women, indigenous peoples and rural inhabitants, tend to experience more severe problems of hunger and malnutrition. Inequality of malnutrition is also seen in gender. The problems of malnutrition in the region are the result of the profound changes that have affected its food systems, which determine the quantity, quality and diversity of food available for consumption, a transformation that has been driven by growing urbanization, changes in diets and new ways of producing and processing food. The solution to the problems of hunger and malnutrition in the region requires changes to its food systems.

This publication sets out a detailed systems analysis approach to the small and medium agro-food industries sector in Latin America and the Caribbean region, in order to promote food safety and quality as well as enterprise productivity and competitiveness. The issues are discussed from food engineering and technology perspectives, in light of the complex issues faced by small food industries in the current trading system.

The agrifood transport sector in Latin America and the Caribbean is a key component of the food supply chain, making a significant contribution to gross domestic product in these countries. Well-developed, efficient food transport systems are crucial to the survival of thousands of people, and pivotal to the success or failure of key economic sectors such as agriculture and other major national and international commercial activities. This publication presents a detailed study of problems encountered, covering seventeen countries. The study focuses primarily on stumbling-blocks faced by small farmers, and suggests possible policy and programme interventions to improve the situation in the neediest areas, with repercussions for the population as a whole. (Also published in Spanish)