Guyana to tap US$89.9M investment programme for Amazonian countries

Oct 23, 2024 News

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Kaieteur News – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) last week unveiled a US$89.9M aimed at addressing food security, poverty and social gender inequalities in the Amazonian region.

Dubbed the Amazonian Bioeconomy Investment Programme, the initiative will benefit: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.  In a press release, the FAO said as part of the World Food Forum, the third edition of the Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum was held in Rome. The event brought together delegations from governments, the private sector, civil society, and financial institutions from around the world. According to the FAO, it was in that context, the programme was launched.

Participants in the session included Mario Lubetkin, FAO Deputy Director-General and Regional Representative; Máximo Torero, FAO Chief Economist; Vanessa Grazziotin, ACTO Executive Director; Esteban del Hierro, Deputy Minister of Productive and Agricultural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock; Saulo Ceolin, General Coordinator for Food and Nutrition Security at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Pedro Martel, Head of the Environment, Rural Development, and Disaster Risk Management Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The programme aims to design and implement a public-private partnership based on catalytic investments in regional public goods and key value chains to achieve the transition towards an Amazonian bioeconomy based on four key principles: reducing the high levels of food insecurity, poverty, and social and gender inequalities; respecting the rights, territories, traditional ways of life, and knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities; avoiding the Amazon rainforest’s point of no return; and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices.

The objective of this programme is to identify investment opportunities to consolidate a new bioeconomy in the Amazon, based on three specific lines of investment: strengthening information management systems at both national and regional levels, linked to the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA); strengthening digital ecosystems in the Amazon to improve rural livelihoods and enhance traceability of selected bioproducts; and improving fisheries management in the Amazon, based on existing data on the migratory catfish.

The Amazon Bioeconomy Investment Programme of the Hand-in-Hand initiative covers a wide range of public goods, services, and value chains in the eight identified countries of the region.

The FAO release said the programme is based on four essential principles: reducing the high levels of food insecurity, poverty, and social and gender inequalities; respecting the rights, territories, traditional ways of life, and knowledge systems of Indigenous peoples and other traditional communities; avoiding the Amazon rainforest from reaching its point of no return; and ensuring the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices.

FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, stated, “The areas we focus on are of high priority. It is a territorial approach that we follow in all Hand-in-Hand initiatives. Why are they of high priority? Because today, there is great poverty in those areas, but they are areas where forest activities could generate many benefits and lift people out of poverty sustainably.”

Vanessa Grazziotin, ACTO Executive Director, emphasized that “the Amazon region is very well-positioned to increase its relevance in the global bioeconomy market, especially if the right investments and short-term strategic actions are implemented.” Mario Lubetkin, FAO Deputy Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted, “FAO is implementing 125 projects in eight Amazonian countries. These projects represent an investment of $356 million, covering a wide range of issues and technical areas.”

Cooperation to boost the amazon bioeconomy

As a result of bilateral meetings between FAO and ACTO with governments and the private sector, it was possible to identify more synergies and projects being developed in the Amazon. For example, Nokia presented its innovative underwater connectivity infrastructure, which has already been implemented in 400 Amazonian communities, benefiting 500,000 users. This technology, specifically designed for the rainforest, offers a safer, more reliable solution with reduced maintenance costs and ensures service continuity in remote regions.

During the meeting, the need to better understand connectivity demands from the perspective of different users, such as hospitals or small farmers, was highlighted. Additionally, the relevance of the modularity and replicability of the proposed digital ecosystems was emphasized, and specific areas that should be prioritized in terms of connectivity were identified. The possibility of formalizing a collaboration agreement between FAO, ACTO, and Nokia will be evaluated.

 

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• Amazon Bioeconomy, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Investment Programme, Peru, Suriname

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