The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized the Second Regional Dialogue on Amazon Bioeconomy and Inclusive Rural Transformation in Belém, Brazil, where technical inputs were generated for the development of a common Amazon strategy and investment plans were identified and formulated that offer opportunities to make the agrifood systems of the Amazon region more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. This is through the Mano de la Mano Initiative.
The first investment will focus on strengthening the role of the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA) and improving the management of territorial information, providing essential inputs for decision-making and the formulation of policies, plans, and programs, which will strengthen the capacities of the Amazon countries. Second, it will seek to ensure access to digital services, such as connectivity and online platforms, so that Amazonian rural communities can fully participate in the bioeconomy. Finally, in terms of investments in value chains, we will seek to improve the common management of water basins, focusing on fishery resources.
This event is part of a technical collaboration agreement between ACTO and FAO. The objective is to foster cooperation among the eight ACTO member countries (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela) to strengthen food and nutrition security and promote inclusive rural transformation in the Amazon region.
More than 80 civil society organizations, government, and academia representatives from the Amazon Basin countries attended the meeting. In addition, the dialogues included the technical participation of Benjamin Davis, director of the Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division; Jorge Meza, FAO representative in Brazil; Luiz Beduschi, senior policy officer; Vanessa Grazziotin, executive director of ACTO; Edith Paredes, managing director of ACTO; Saulo Ceolin, General Coordinator of Food and Nutrition Security of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Edmilson Rodrigues, mayor of Belém.
Vanessa Grazziotin, executive director of ACTO, underscored the countries’ commitment to advancing the Amazon Strategy for Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security: “We are committed to acting on all fronts necessary to achieve truly sustainable development in the Amazon. Each member country plays a crucial role in our joint struggle to preserve the region and transform its riches into sustainable benefits for all”.
FAO’s Senior Policy Officer, Luiz Beduschi, said, “The Amazon Strategy for Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security seeks to contribute to the human right to safe, nutritious, sufficient, and healthy food, helping to improve the living conditions of the people of the Amazon region.”
FAO’s Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, gave an online presentation in which he discussed the details of the Mano de la Mano Initiative, highlighting that “it also promotes digital infrastructure, ICT services, digital skills, and traceability. It focuses on the sustainable management of fishery resources and non-timber forest products and territorial information management.” [FAO Press Release]
