ABOUT US
About Latin American and Caribbean Food Systems:
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is the world’s largest net food-exporting region. These exports help to stabilize food supplies and reduce food price volatility at a global level. Any major disruptions in the LAC food system (from input price spikes to health crises) will have major implications for the global food system. Recent shocks (COVID-19 and the Russian invasion in Ukraine, among others) have shown the region’s resilience in food production but also many vulnerabilities. For LAC farmers to continue feeding the world, they need an enabling environment of policies and institutions that promotes investment, innovation, and market-friendly solutions that facilitate trade flows and stabilize global food supplies.
Despite consistent food production surpluses and export capacity in the region, LAC countries experience high rates of food insecurity and malnutrition. Many LAC economies rely on food exports as a source of income and foreign exchange. In some cases, agricultural exports represent over 60 percent of total exports. Recent fluctuations in fuel and food prices have undermined many families’ purchasing power, especially among poor households who spend the largest share of their incomes on food. The region also has one of the highest rates of economic inequality in the world, many people do not have access to healthy diets, and there is a growing prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes. Extreme weather events and changing climate threaten food production, and millions of migrants pursue economic opportunity in other countries or flee violence in their home countries.
LAC is also the world’s largest provider of ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation, through its forests and watersheds. Unsustainable agricultural practices pose a threat to natural processes through environmental destruction and pollution. Maintaining, preserving, and enhancing ecosystem services, which are a global public good, is a major responsibility. Investment in policies and programs to promote sustainable production are essential to ensure that this crucial element of our global food system continues to provide sustenance for a growing population while preserving the ecosystem.
IFPRI’s LAC program
The Latin American and Caribbean Regional Program supports food systems transformation in the region by analyzing data and generating insights for effective policy design and implementation. Since the 1980s, IFPRI-led research in the LAC region has produced evidence-based, innovative policies in the areas of macroeconomics, trade, social protection, and nutrition. This research has also produced an array of analytical tools to improve decision making and direct investments toward impactful interventions.
Our research activities are oriented around two pillars. 1) Ensuring food security in the region and around the world and 2) transforming food systems to be environmentally sustainable and play a leading role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Under these pillars, we work to provide better livelihoods, healthy diets, gender equity, and greater resilience to shocks all within planetary boundaries. These goals are pursued through the programs four thematic focus areas, which cater toward the unique needs and opportunities in LAC. These include Nutrition, Climate Change, Trade, and Innovation.
To enhance the impact of our work and ensure our research meets the needs of the region, the LAC program emphasizes collaboration with other institutions and strives to build a network of collaborators among governments, civil society, and the private sector.
