A new report by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reveals the transformative potential of public food procurement from smallholder farmers to strengthen food security and nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Smallholder farming accounts for 81 percent of agricultural holdings in the region yet faces persistent challenges such as low productivity, limited market access, and vulnerability to extreme weather events. By channelling public spending toward this sector, governments can create structured demand that stimulates production, diversifies diets, and generates inclusive economic growth.
Despite progress-1.5 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean escaped hunger in 2024- there are 181.9 million who still cannot afford a healthy diet, and rural poverty remains entrenched. Local procurement offers a cost-effective solution: leveraging existing public budgets to deliver nutritious food while fostering economic and social development.
"Public procurement from smallholder farmers is more than a supply mechanism-it is a powerful policy tool for inclusion and resilience," said Lola Castro, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. "Local food procurement multiplies economic opportunities for communities, safeguards culinary heritage and contributes to public health, since produce is picked at peak ripeness and has a shorter travel time from the farm to the consumer, resulting in greater nutritional value", she added.
Countries that dedicate part of their public food procurement budgets to source from local family farmers see significant gains: Participating producers are able to increase their incomes up to 106 percent (in the case of Brazil), while 478 jobs are generated for every million dollars invested (in Honduras and Guatemala). This approach turns routine government spending into a powerful engine for rural development, creating stable markets for small-scale farmers and driving inclusive economic growth.
The benefits go beyond economics. In Brazil, the National School Feeding Programme sources over 97 percent fresh or minimally processed foods, improving nutrition for millions of students and female participation in public food markets has surged from 23 percent to 61 percent, proving that these policies can advance equity.
To maximize the potential impact of public procurement, it is crucial that it be framed within productive development policies that promote the productive transformation of the agricultural and food sector. This would leverage synergies between public procurement and other productive development efforts in areas such as science, technology, innovation, technological extension, human talent, financing, and quality.
As Marco Llinás, Director of the Productive and Business Development Division at ECLAC, states: "It is not enough to connect producers to markets; we need policies that transform their productive, technological, and organizational capacities so that farmers can improve their productivity, integrate into dynamic and sustainable value chains, and increase their incomes. At the same time, this will increase production, reduce prices for consumers, and thus address the population's food security needs."
With 3 percent of total public spending -around 0.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product- already allocated to food purchases, acquiring products from family farms offers a unique opportunity to strengthen food systems, increase resilience and generate a lasting social impact in the region.
FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rene Orellana Halkyer, emphasized that "Local public procurement of food from smallholder farmers is a key policy for moving in this direction, as it allows linking government demand with local supply, redefining how public spending can promote development and nutrition in our region. However, it faces structural barriers such as low productivity, limited market access, and high climate vulnerability, which calls for policies like public procurement."
The report calls on policymakers, development organizations, and civil society to adopt systemic, evidence-based approaches that integrate local procurement into national strategies for food security and rural development.
