FAO Advances Regional Roadmap for Rural Women’s Empowerment

FAO, alongside governments, civil society, the private sector, development banks, academia, international organizations, and rural women, including Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and youth groups, adopted a regional roadmap toward 2030 aimed at the economic, social, and political empowerment of rural women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The collective commitment seeks to accelerate gender equality and transform the region’s agri-food systems.

The adoption took place during the Regional Forum, Sustainable and Inclusive Agri-Food Systems for the Empowerment of Rural Women, held in Panama City in observance of International Rural Women’s Day.

Over three days, the forum served as a multistakeholder and intersectoral space for political dialog, experience sharing, and proposal development to guide policies, legislation, and strategic partnerships. The discussions aim to support key milestones, including the International Year of the Female Farmer 2026, the 39th FAO Regional Conference (LARC39), COP30 in Belem, Brazil, and the Inter-American Decade for the Rights of Rural Women (2024–2034).

The regional roadmap also highlights the importance of the Tlatelolco Commitment on a Care Society as a framework to advance public policies that ensure shared responsibilities in care work and strengthen social protection systems for rural communities. The forum’s outcomes reinforced the leadership of rural women as central actors in transforming agri-food systems, building resilient futures, and advancing the development of a care society across Latin America and the Caribbean.