Rapid urbanization represents a major challenge for food security, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), where 81% of the population already lives in urban areas. This growth impacts the production, distribution, and access to healthy food, primarily affecting vulnerable groups such as women, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, and children. This is compounded by the challenge of including family farming products in both public and private supply systems that provide food to cities.

Given this scenario, the Strengthening Urban and Peri-Urban Food Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean project, within the framework of the Brazil-FAO International Cooperation Program, seeks to strengthen urban and peri-urban food systems in the region.

The objective is to promote food and nutrition security, as well as poverty reduction, by building more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient food systems. To this end, the project seeks to support and develop strategies to promote food systems that transform food production, supply, access, and consumption across the urban-rural continuum.

The project will be implemented jointly by FAO, the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ABC/MRE), and the Brazilian Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and the Fight against Hunger (MDS). The project will be implemented nationally in Colombia, Cuba, Costa Rica, Peru, and Chile, in addition to regional and international initiatives, strengthening individual, organizational, and institutional capacities.