Agriculture sector is part of the solution to climate change

Latin America and the Caribbean is the world's leading net food producer, with exports reaching US$238 billion (18.4% of the total), and produces food for 1.3 billion people. Despite this advantageous position, 80% of its productive units belong to family agriculture, reflecting a socially diverse base but with great challenges of scale and technification.

Faced with this problem, CAF proposes a productive development based on nature that integrates the management of strategic ecosystems -such as the Amazon, the Pantanal and the tropical Andes- with a systemic approach along the entire value chain.

These challenges were discussed at a COP30 event organized by CAF, where the institution also presented its agricultural prosperity strategy.

"The agricultural sector is a sector that suffers greatly from the effects of climate change, but also contributes greatly to global warming due to unsustainable practices. CAF has a strategy that addresses the sector through a value chain and focuses on how to generate prosperity for producers, especially small producers," said Alicia Montalvo, CAF's Climate Action and Positive Biodiversity Manager.

Montalvo also highlighted CAF's financial commitment, with the recent announcement of investments of US$40 billion for green growth.

For his part, Mohammad Ibrahim, Managing Director of IICA, said that "CAF's strategy responds to the challenges that the agrifood sector is facing, be they environmental, commercial, social and economic. We need a systemic approach to address the problem.

Ibrahim also said that IICA works in 34 countries with different scales of production, so it is necessary to think of solutions adapted to each of the local socioeconomic realities.

CAF's agricultural strategy

"Our strategy was built on a collaborative basis to take a holistic look at the issue of agricultural prosperity," said Ignacio Lorenzo, CAF's Director of Technical Advisory on Biodiversity and Climate.

Lorenzo explained the institution's vision, based on a comprehensive approach to the 15 strategic ecosystems of Latin America and the Caribbean. He also assured that "the value proposition consists of knowledge generation, technical assistance to generate new capacities and, most importantly, functional and innovative financial instruments such as loans, lines of credit, structured financing or debt-for-nature swaps, among others".

The agricultural prosperity strategy is articulated around three specific objectives: to strengthen food and nutrition security, promoting sustainable food systems; to contribute to the development of rural territories, improving infrastructure and opportunities for family farming; and to promote environmental sustainability, promoting resilient and low-emission agricultural practices.

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