The outlook for agriculture and rural development in the Americas: a perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean

After the revival from the economic crisis of 2008-2009, the fundamental challenge facing Latin America and the Caribbean is how to consolidate the recovery with medium- and long-term economic development. In this respect, this report believes that by basing rural development policies on an integral view of the countryside and agriculture, economic development and recovery can be promoted. <br /><br />The paper notes that Latin America and the Caribbean as a region continues rely on a handful of agricultural products as a stable source of export revenues. However, it emphasises that excessive reliance on a few exported agricultural commodities is not a sustainable strategy for economic development in the long run. On the other hand, the author highlights that Latin America and the Caribbean&rsquo;s agro-food industry is a highly competitive sector with a tremendous potential for growth, but these opportunities are still largely unexplored. <br /><br />To help improve the performance of the agro-economic sector, the document presents the following conclusions: in terms of agricultural exports, developing niches for high-value added and non-traditional products and exploring new markets is highly recommended this requires strengthening of domestic institutions and the adoption of trade facilitation measures, such as the establishment of systems for ensuring quality and food safety standards, and modernisation of customs there is also room for greater differentiation within the traditional products through the use of geographic origins and branding strategies, as has been the case with coffee the region needs to seize the opportunity for innovation and technical progress to increase the productivity of the agricultural sector and improve the quality and variety of export products there is a need to support small producers that have export potential by setting up price risk management mechanisms and encouraging collective action by producers to cut input and marketing costs.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />