Promote family farming for good nutrition

Supporting small rural producers, or family farms, as they are known in Latin America, and connecting them to urban supply markets, are key to providing opportunities for a healthy diet, especially now that the challenge of malnutrition and obesity has increased after the pandemic. , the FAO regional official told EFE.

The consumption of healthy food, i.e. fresh and little or not at all processed, encounters obstacles in access, either because they are not available or are expensive, or because of the habits of consumers, especially urban ones, who lead at an accelerated pace. of life and under the intense bombardment of unhealthy food propaganda.

This is the scenario facing Latin America and the Caribbean, where hunger, with 56 million people suffering from it, is an “unsolved problem”, to which is added an “alarming increase” in those suffering from overweight and obesity due to the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

This was explained to EFE by the subregional coordinator for Central America and FAO representative in Panama and Costa Rica, Adoniram Sanches, on the occasion of World Food Day.

Under the motto “Water is life. Water feeds. Leave no one behind”, this year FAO is issuing a call to action to transform agri-food systems and address the challenges of food security, sustainability and weather response.

More domestic production of healthy food
Among the factors that contribute to poor nutrition and the resulting malnutrition or obesity is the cost of food. An FAO study launched in 2022 found that a healthy diet costs $3.8 per person per day in Latin America, more than in other regions. And that is 38% more compared to the previous year’s measurement, Sanches said.

One of the ways to fight against this is to “support more” the family agricultural economy, which is largely responsible for the production of fruits, legumes and vegetables and for them to reach consumers fresh.

In Central America, for example, there is very good agri-export activity “and then the whole financing issue ends up” in that niche, Sanches said.

“The productivity of our agriculture is low. In Central America, 94% of agriculture uses rainwater. And 70% of productive land is 2 hectares or less, it’s smallholdings. It’s still very basic agriculture, with little technology,” but this must be understood as an opportunity for innovation, he said.

The family farm “can be connected to the supply center, to the fairs. There is a lot of room for growth and to increase productivity, which is now low. There is a fundamental key to action: increasing the national supply of fresh, healthy and wholesome,” He said.

“Food deserts” and consumption habits
“There is a good debate on how major capital cities in the region can revitalize public provision schemes, such as a supply centre, community markets, free fairs, to bring healthy fresh produce to the majority of the (low-income) neighborhood population.” Sanchez said.

FAO and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), he explained, detected so-called “food deserts, that is, a family, in a big city, walks in a radius of 5 kilometers and passes 8 to 10 minimarkets, where all ultra-processed products, but practically no access to fruits and legumes.

And it is also “fundamental” to open space in schools, in homes, to think “about what is consumed”, while the authorities promote campaigns against bad eating habits.

“There are no magic policies (…) the world has already experienced the smoking pandemic”, which was fought with public actions such as warnings on packages and bans on advertising at sports fields, airports or smoking in closed spaces.

“The trend with food follows the same procedure: inform, educate, especially young people and adolescents, who tend to be more susceptible to marketing campaigns in relation to sweet products, products with a high content of salt and fat,” Sanches concluded. .