Savoirs

The Latin America and the Caribbean region is a different place than it was 25 years ago. Today, every nation except Haiti is categorized as middle income. The region has reduced poverty by half, and the prevalence of hunger has declined by almost two thirds. More than half the adult population has attended secondary school.

Rural areas are changing too. They are no longer narrowly defined by their food production role, and key issues encompass many non-agricultural topics – including non-farm employment opportunities, especially for young people and women; migration and remittances; social protection; and the role of secondary cities. 

Since the 1990s, Colombia has experienced sustained, strong economic growth. However, it is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The gap between urban and rural areas is particularly wide. While the incidence of poverty is 27.8 per cent of the population at the national level, 40.3 per cent of rural people live in poverty. The percentage is even higher among indigenous peoples and communities of African descent. The agricultural sector represents 6.1 per cent of Colombia’s GDP and 16.3 per cent of employment. However, these figures could be even higher because the country has huge agricultural potential.

Projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that, in the future, warming in Latin America could range from 1-4 degrees Celsius to 2-6 degrees Celsius, depending on the various climate scenarios. As land-use changes in Latin America have intensified the use of natural resources, land degradation and desertification have accelerated. The IPCC predicts that, by the 2050s, about 50 per cent of agricultural land in the region will be subject to desertification, and in some areas salinization. From the Amazon rainforest and the high mountains of the Andes to the coral reefs of the Caribbean and the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean is host to unique ecosystems and biodiversity of global importance. Despite the region’s relatively small contribution to global warming, its natural environments and resource-dependent economies are threatened by the impact of climate change, and poor and marginalized rural communities are at greatest risk.