The agricultural toolbox that we can use to alleviate food insecurity in Latin America

The FAO’s latest report on the state of food security and nutrition in Latin America highlights the acute difficulties we face as a region. In 2019, there were 47.7 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean who went hungry – 13.2 million more than there were five years earlier. If this trend continues, it is estimated that hunger will affect 67 million people in the region by 2030 – though in reality, owing to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number could be far higher.

Food insecurity is a wider, more universal issue than many realize. The FAO report tells us that 191 million people – a third of the Latin American population – were affected by it in some way in 2019. It’s clear we have a lot to do to reverse the trend and give everyone access to sufficient and nutritious food.

But while it’s easy to paint a picture of a region in decline, the reality is more complex. As the FAO report points out, the rates of malnutrition and food insecurity vary wildly in different areas. One in every five areas is lagging behind in two key areas: the level of stunting and overweightness in children under five years of ago. These ‘lagging’ areas see stunting rates of 27.6% compared to 11.9% elsewhere; and child overweightness twice as high as non-lagging territories.

If we want speedy results in our battle to make nutritious food available to everyone, we need to concentrate our efforts on these lagging areas. So where do we find them? There are a number of demographic indicators that are shown to have some association to food insecurity. For example, the highest levels of stunting are found in rural areas with high levels of poverty, low income, low schooling, a greater degree of informal employment and less access to services.

Overweightness is geographically distributed more evenly – but it is more common in urban areas, with higher incomes, lower poverty, greater access to services, and greater labor formality. We should acknowledge, however, that it is the poorest people in these areas who are worst affected.

Some territories have high rates of both stunting and overweightness; they tend to be more rural and have high levels of poverty. In addition, indigenous and Afro-descendant populations are particularly affected. It’s clear that, to give Latin America lasting food security, we need to focus on its most vulnerable groups – making a holistic difference to their lives that goes beyond food.

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The FAO urges the political creation of public policies that aid these groups: policies to improve economic access, to improve production and physical access to foods, and to improve the use of food and its quality. These national-level measures will, of course, be crucial. But I believe that the role of the private sector cannot be overestimated now. We will contribute more than ever in 2021.

For a long time, agriculture companies - along with other major food chain players – have been supplying products and innovations to increase the world’s agricultural output. Now, especially after the events of 2020, businesses know that it is time to do even more: to get involved in developing the entire value chain, supporting smallholder farmers and combating the root causes of food insecurity, using every method and resource available to them.

The coming years could see a transformation for agri-businesses: a transformation from product providers to solutions providers, from taking a narrow interest in their own market to a broad interest in optimizing food systems on a global scale.

Actors in tomorrow’s value chain will do a lot more than supply new products. They will apply an entire toolbox of scientific, economic and societal actions as a way of improving the lives of the most vulnerable. I see this toolbox including:

• Investing in the development of new technologies in every sphere, with a focus on improving land efficiency, saving farmers time, and minimizing risk
• Supporting products with training and stewardship schemes, to ensure best practice is known and used in every case
• Engaging in outreach programs to give every farmer access to the right technology, equipment and education
• Using certification schemes and digital solutions to give farmers greater market access
• Re-examining our food supply chains to make them more resistant to shocks and to reduce food loss
• Disseminating key nutrition information to consumers, encouraging them to make food buying choices based on health and sustainability
•  Forming cross-industry partnerships so we can share insights and scale up our collective ability to make a difference

 Can we really achieve this transformation? I am positive that we can. The first thing we need to do is break out of a silo mentality, and act together to share scientific knowledge, technology, and resources. Partnerships are what will unlock a new level of food system resiliency and efficiency, as well as promoting investment in agriculture and awareness of what’s really at stake.

The FAO’s report reminds us that the challenges facing food systems in Latin America are large-scale and complex. We need to meet those challenges by changing, co-operating and contributing at the same scale. Science, technology and innovation, driven by the private sector, provide the ideal place to start. After that, it’s up to us to regenerate our food systems to use that innovation to its full potential and ensure no one is left out.