(26 September 2013). In the face of restrictions on using new land for agriculture, Latin America and the Caribbean can produce more food by
increasing the sector's productivity - and family farming can play a key role in this aim, according to a report presented today at the 2013 Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas in Buenos Aires.
The document The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas 2014: A Perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean was jointly produced by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
The publication includes a special chapter on the situation and expectations of family farming in Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as
analysis of the macroeconomic context; crop, livestock, forestry and fishery sectors; rural well-being; and agricultural institutions.
According to Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, despite the region's agricultural slowdown in 2013, 2014 is expected to see economic conditions conducive to economic growth and regional agricultural growth.
She stated "these trends should be underpinned by policies aimed not only at increasing yields in commercial farming, but also boosting the successful inclusion of family farming in value chains".
According to Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos, "family farming is the economic activity with the greatest potential for increasing food supply in the region, reducing unemployment and saving the most vulnerable rural population from poverty and malnutrition".
The Regional FAO Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Raúl Benítez, agreed and added that achieving this "requires promoting innovation and technology generation, as well as the inclusion of family farming in value chains and retaining young people in the countryside".
ECLAC, FAO and IICA state that, in order to increase connections with the market, family farming must adapt its production methods to new demands, for instance by using increased telecommunications coverage in rural areas to access more and better information and improve their production, management and bargaining capacities.
Macroeconomic context and agricultural analysis
Following the slowdown in the previous year, the growth rate of Latin American and Caribbean GDP is expected to stabilize at around 3% in 2013, before rising to between 3.5% and 4% in 2014.
Cereal production (the main food group in the human diet) is expected to produce record harvests in the north and south of the hemisphere. This will partially offset the negative impact that climate variability had on these and other crops in 2012.
From 2014, the region's agricultural production and exports are expected to boost by the recovery in world demand. This in turn will be the result of growth in developing countries and the expansion of their middle classes - provided there are no adverse effects due to extreme weather conditions or a weaker dollar.
The three agencies estimate that the next decade will see agricultural prices fall in real terms. Measures must therefore be implemented to increase
investment, productivity and efficiency, so that the agricultural sector is in a better position to handle climatic and economic risks (as these take a longer toll on prices).
ECLAC, FAO and IICA recommend three types of policy to guarantee growth expectations for regional agriculture: adaptation of production to world demand and climate; food health and safety; and market functioning and trade.
In the first case, agencies suggest that Latin American and Caribbean countries attempt to make use of the opportunities offered by growing world
food demand, as well as supporting policies to mitigate the impact of climate change and variability on rural populations and production.
As part of the second group of policies, the suggestion is to strengthen the training of human resources and modernize national systems for food health and safety. In the third case, the agencies emphasized the need to promote coverage of and access to agricultural insurance as a risk-management tool.
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Services Section.
E-mail: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56 2) 2210 2040.
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Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
E-mail: karen.rodriguez@fao.org
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture
E-mail: patricia.leon@iica.int
