Lima, Peru, May 12, 2025 – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Brazil, represented by the Ministry of Social Development and Assistance, Family and Fight Against Hunger (MDS), and the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), launched the project "Strengthening the Regional Food Systems Agenda for the Urban-Rural Continuum in Latin America and the Caribbean," within the framework of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Program.

The project’s launch ceremony took place in Lima, Peru, during the International Forum on Urban Agrifood Systems, which brought together national and subnational teams from seven Latin American countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Peru.

About 480 people participated in the event both in person and virtually, with the aim of creating a space for exchange and cooperation among stakeholders involved in the sustainability and transformation of food systems in the urban-rural continuum.

The actions of this South-South cooperation initiative will be implemented over the next two years in Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, and Peru, aiming to improve policies and programs that promote the sustainable production, supply, access, and consumption of healthy food in urban areas, prioritizing vulnerable populations and gender equity.

The new project is inspired by Brazil’s agenda to revitalize food and nutritional security policies, particularly the National Strategy for Food and Nutritional Security in Cities, led by the MDS.

“About 81% of the population lives in urban areas, which presents a challenge for accessing healthy food, as well as for including family farmers in value chains. In this sense, transforming agrifood systems is essential to ensure equitable access to healthy food. To achieve this, integrated policies connecting rural and urban areas are necessary,” emphasized João Intini, FAO Food Systems and Policy Officer.

Lilian Rahal, Secretary of Food and Nutritional Security at the MDS, pointed out that living in urban areas is a reality for 85% of Brazil’s population and, in most countries, if this is not yet the case, it will likely be by 2050. “Therefore, urban food systems urgently need to be transformed to address the interconnected challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution,” she said.

The Minister of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) of Peru, Manuel Manero, was present and commented that “in Peru, advancing toward efficient agrifood systems means strengthening both private production and the State’s social programs. It is a joint effort to ensure healthy and sustainable food.”

South-South Cooperation: Shared Experiences

As part of the activities in Peru, a technical field visit was carried out with FAO specialists from Argentina, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, and Peru, along with representatives from the Brazilian government. They observed initiatives that are transforming food systems in the district of Pachacámac, benefiting vulnerable populations amid the increasing urbanization of Lima’s last green valley.

As part of this, they visited the Olla Común Manos Milagrosas, where vegetables and poultry are used as ingredients to prepare healthy meals distributed to vulnerable people in the area. Another experience visited was Olla Común Villa Jesús, where a solidarity store offers recovered fruits and vegetables at fair prices and includes a community bakery. The agroecological initiative Fundo Casablanca promotes circular economy actions that protect biodiversity, ecosystems, and the environment.