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Latin America and the Caribbean

Overview

Economic transformation has made great strides in Latin America and the Caribbean, yet wide inequalities persist. Home to 595 million people, this region offers valuable lessons, but there is still much work to do.

Most impressive is that all countries in the region, except for Haiti, are now considered middle-income. However, one person in four still lives in poverty, and the poor tend to be concentrated in rural areas. Eighty per cent of the region’s population is urban.

Among the poorest and most marginalized are women, indigenous peoples, and those of African descent. Some 15 million people live by farming a huge variety of crops; others inhabit expansive forests. However, traditional agricultural techniques are evolving in the face of economic and climate change.

Transforming rural communities

IFAD has been active in this remarkably diverse region, where we pioneered community-centric development, for four decades. By encouraging local people to identify projects that could enhance their prosperity, and then providing training and financial assistance to carry out those projects, we have helped to transform communities and demonstrate the benefits of bottom-up development strategies.

Working together, with and for the poor

IFAD partners with governments, NGOs and communities to draw up pro-poor policies that benefit rural areas, and to implement them in the most effective ways.

By the end of 2016, IFAD was working with 19 governments to deliver 37 ongoing programmes across the region, with a total investment of US$770 million.*

Our breadth of expertise and geographical reach enables us to promote knowledge-sharing between projects and regions. Partnerships are fundamental to our efforts to further expand policies that level the playing field for small farmers through policy dialogue and South-South cooperation.

Examples of our work include helping:

  • young people become entrepreneurs;
  • farmers understand and access markets; and
  • indigenous peoples manage irrigation systems more effectively.

Everywhere we work, we bring appropriate solutions that raise rural incomes and help people respond to climate change.

* This amount includes the contributions of the Spanish Trust Fund, managed by IFAD.

Learn more

Some of the most marginalized population groups can be found among the region’s 125 million rural people.

Over a quarter of the region’s population continues to live in poverty. In recent years, the absolute number of people living in poverty has increased.

Rural areas continue to experience inequality. In Bolivia, for example, poverty declined nationwide from 61 per cent in 2005 to 39 per cent in 2013. However, in rural areas, 60 per cent of the population lives in poverty and 39 per cent in extreme poverty.

Rossana Polastri

Regional Director

Rossana Polastri Director, Latin America and the Caribbean Division

Latin America and the Caribbean knowledge platform

Latin America and the Caribbean knowledge platform

Latin America and the Caribbean knowledge platform

A space for sharing lessons learned and good practices, which are essential elements for the sustainable development of rural territories.

Where we work

Projects and programmes

Projects and programmes

Mexico

Social Economy: Territory and Inclusion Project

Ecuador

Strengthening the Rural Actors of the Popular and Solidarity Economy Project (FAREPS)

Argentina

Programme for Economic Insertion of Family Producers of Northern Argentina (PROCANOR)

Related news

Related news

El FIDA impulsó la formación digital de 2,400 jóvenes en Bolivia, Colombia y Honduras para revalorizar la ruralidad en las redes sociales

September 2023 - NEWS
Con el objetivo de revalorizar la ruralidad desde el protagonismo juvenil, el FIDA premió hoy en su sede en Roma a los jóvenes ganadores del Concurso de YouTubers y TikTokers Rurales, provenientes de Bolivia, Colombia y Honduras.

ALIDE y el FIDA unen fuerzas para fortalecer el desarrollo rural en América Latina y el Caribe

September 2023 - NEWS
En el marco de la Cumbre de Finanzas en Común 2023, la Asociación Latinoamericana de Instituciones Financieras para el Desarrollo (ALIDE) y el FIDA han anunciado su nuevo partenariado para promover el desarrollo agrícola y rural, impulsar la seguridad alimentaria y combatir la pobreza rural en toda América Latina y el Caribe.

12 startups de Latinoamérica y el Caribe lideran el cierre de la brecha digital en zonas rurales

August 2023 - NEWS
Innovatech, el novedoso proyecto financiado por el FIDA e implementado por la entidad financiera alemana Sparkassenstiftung, está sentando un precedente en Latinoamérica, al lograr una exitosa vinculación entre startups tecnológicas –empresas fintech y agtech–, y el sector rural en seis países de Latinoamérica y el Caribe.

Related stories

Related stories

Saving the Amazon: The story of the indigenous women fighting climate change

November 2022 - STORY
In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a group of indigenous women are fighting climate change through reforestation and ancestral farming techniques.  

On the banks of the São Francisco, where fishing, tourism and social inclusion converge

November 2021 - STORY
Brazil’s São Francisco river is a place of convergences. The river delta, and the stunning tropical forest surrounding it, is home to many different ethnic groups who settled there in search of a fresh start. Plans for a new ecotourism route that would allow visitors to experience the area’s rich culture and traditions were well under way – and then the pandemic struck. Nevertheless, one IFAD-funded project managed to support the region’s artisans and fishers.

The woman who walks with llamas

October 2021 - STORY
Thousands of Bolivian families, particularly in the Altiplano, the high-plateau region of the Andes where Chaquilla is located, depend on breeding camelids for their livelihoods.

Meet the rural women helping Paraguay’s communities and food systems flourish

September 2021 - STORY
Ten years ago, in Paraguay’s Capiíbary district, a group of women came together to form an association of market-sellers. Today, with the support of an IFAD-financed project, they’re thriving – and their association is now integral to local food systems.

Related blogs

Related blogs

What I’ve learned about resilience from rural communities in Guatemala

October 2022 - BLOG
Faced with the impacts of climate change, small-scale producers in Guatemala urgently need to manage risk using tools like insurance. Read how INSURED promotes the use of agricultural insurance to build resilience and strengthen livelihoods.

A decade of progress for small-scale farmers in Cuba

September 2022 - BLOG
Marking ten years in Cuba, IFAD’s Country Director met small-scale farmers and partners to discuss progress made and what is yet to be done.

Seeing change happen before our eyes in Guatemala and Honduras

August 2022 - BLOG
On a recent trip to Guatemala and Honduras with the US Ambassador to the UN agencies based in Rome, IFAD Country Director, René Castro, explains how smallholder farmers are transforming rural communities despite the challenges of climate change.

Related publications

Related publications

Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022

January 2023
This publication presents: data on the cost of healthy diets in Latin America and the Caribbean; an agrifood system approach to repurpose and implement policies; and examples of effective policies.

The Free, Prior and Informed Consent Advantage: Action for empowerment in Latin America

August 2022
This publication explores how FPIC is solicited through consultation and the participation of communities and local institutions at specific stages of the project cycle.

Latin America and the Caribbean knowledge platform

December 2021
A space for sharing lessons learned and good practices, which are essential elements for the sustainable development of rural territories.