The Next Global Breadbasket: How Latin America Can Feed the World: A Call to Action for Addressing Challenges & Developing Solutions

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has a third of the world's fresh water resources, and more than a quarter of the world's medium to high potential farmland. The region as a whole is already the largest net food exporting region in the world, and it still has achieved only a small fraction of its potential to expand agricultural production for regional consumption and global export. The essential building blocks for massive and sustainable agricultural growth are already in place. But in order for the entire LAC region to deliver on its enormous agricultural potential, many 'moving parts' will have to be brought into harmony. How to do that is the subject of this report. Drawing on the knowledge and experience of over 30 partners, including the private sector, academia, multilaterals, and NGOs, this policy paper offers a compelling multi-stakeholder set of issues, recommendations and action items for governments and policy makers, the donor community, farmers, agribusiness, and civil society aimed at supporting global food security.