60% of rural households obtain income from the livestock sector (FAO, 2024).

The study examines the options available to Latin America and the Caribbean for reducing emissions from the agricultural sector and land use change, with the aim of achieving the goal of net-zero emissions. It analyzes mitigation scenarios, sustainable technologies, and public policies needed to reconcile agricultural production with environmental conservation, highlighting the role of low-carbon agriculture and sustainable management of rural ecosystems.

The article reviews successful agroecological experiences in tropical livestock systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting cases in Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, and Guadeloupe. It analyzes how integrated practices—such as adapted genetic management, nutrition with local resources, hormone-free reproductive management, and natural parasite control—improve sustainability, resilience, and animal productivity. It includes emblematic studies such as Finca Tosoly (Colombia) and the “Lèt Agogo” program (Haiti), which combine food production, energy, and ecosystem services. The research proposes a framework for transitioning to resilient, multifunctional, low-emission livestock systems based on biodiversity and the circular economy.

This regional technical cooperation seeks to facilitate the transition from conventional livestock practices to sustainable livestock management models in the Amazon biome, integrating biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration with economic, social, and environmental benefits. To do so, it will foster a regional platform of key stakeholders with nodes and networks that promote collaboration and knowledge exchange on sustainable livestock management in the Amazon. It will also compile and systematize existing evidence, identify information gaps, and document best practices, lessons learned, and indicators to measure progress in sustainability. Based on that knowledge, it will produce communication materials and organize dissemination events to support evidence-based decision-making and enable adoption of sustainable practices by regional actors. Finally, it will implement one demonstration farm as a successful production model to apply and showcase sustainable livestock practices and encourage replication or adaptation across other Amazon territories.

Regional technical cooperation to strengthen the capacity of Latin American and Caribbean countries to implement strategies, policies, and effective techniques to comply with international deforestation-free trade rules, including the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). It aims to improve competent authorities’ ability to assess deforestation risks and to support public and private sector readiness for requirements on georeferencing, traceability, production legality, and due diligence. It finances practical tools (a risk benchmarking template, five national roadmaps, and a lessons-learned monograph) and regional and national dialogue spaces to foster public–private coordination. It prioritizes closing information and capacity gaps—especially for smallholders and MSMEs/intermediaries—to prevent exclusion from EU-oriented supply chains. It will be executed by the IDB over 24 months with OC-SDP Window 2 resources (Sustainability and Integration) totaling US$350,000 and includes coordination with FAO and IICA, and articulation with IDB Invest and IDB Lab where relevant.

The Great Forests of Mesoamerica (GFM) Program is a five-year (2023–2027) European Union initiative under the #TeamEurope approach to strengthen the protection and sustainable use of Mesoamerica’s great forests and other relevant areas such as the Trifinio Region. Its overall objective is to improve conservation and sustainability through four components: (1) data and transparency for decision-making, (2) forest governance and biodiversity conservation, (3) sustainable and deforestation-free production and trade, and (4) environmental rights and forest defense. The program operates at regional, national and sub-national levels, combining technical assistance, work with regional partners, and cascading grants with local partners. It is designed to complement national and sub-national actions and to integrate synergies with more than 100 ongoing actions across Mesoamerican forests. Additionally, it includes a Program Secretariat within the #EURECA framework to ensure coordination, coherence and alignment with the EU’s strategic objectives in the region.

Law 2539 of 2025 amends Law 160 of 1994 and Decree Law 902 of 2017 to explicitly include rural youth in the National System of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. The law guarantees and prioritizes their progressive access to land, to productive projects aligned with their life plans, to sustainable rural productive activities, academic and technical training, financing mechanisms and associativity. It also secures their participation in territorial governance bodies, creates a specific budget tracer for rural youth, promotes innovation, the use of ICTs, cultural rootedness and special measures for young people who are victims of armed conflict, thereby contributing to comprehensive rural reform with a territorial, generational and ethnic approach.

The due diligence system established in Articles 8-13 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 constitutes the central implementation mechanism that requires operators to verify that commodities and products are deforestation-free and legal before placing them on the EU market. The system comprises three mandatory stages: information collection (geolocation, quantity, country of production, legality), risk assessment using specific criteria, and risk mitigation until achieving a negligible level. Operators sourcing products exclusively from areas classified as low risk are subject to simplified due diligence obligations, exempting them from assessing and mitigating risks unless they receive relevant information indicating non-compliance. Companies may refer to due diligence statements already submitted in the supply chain, with minimum obligations to collect supplier reference numbers, without needing to verify each individual upstream statement. This three-step system ensures complete traceability from the production plot to the European market through the mandatory Due Diligence Statement submitted via the centralized information system.

The European Commission's Guidance Document published on August 12, 2025, provides non-binding guidelines to facilitate harmonized implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 on deforestation-free products (EUDR). This instrument clarifies fundamental aspects of the Regulation including definitions of placing on the market, export, due diligence, agricultural use, and the role of certification schemes, establishing that covered products (wood, cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, and soya) can only be marketed or exported in the EU if they are deforestation-free after December 31, 2020, and were produced legally. The document, developed in cooperation with Member State representatives, guides operators, traders, competent authorities, and national courts on the traceability, geolocation, risk assessment, and mitigation requirements necessary to ensure supply chains do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation. The second edition improves clarity on application timelines (December 30, 2025, for large and medium enterprises, June 30, 2026, for micro and small enterprises), precision of provisions, and facilitation of efficient due diligence.

This regional technical cooperation seeks to facilitate the transition from conventional livestock practices to sustainable livestock management models in the Amazon biome, integrating biodiversity protection and ecosystem restoration with economic, social, and environmental benefits. To do so, it will foster a regional platform of key stakeholders with nodes and networks that promote collaboration and knowledge exchange on sustainable livestock management in the Amazon. It will also compile and systematize existing evidence, identify information gaps, and document best practices, lessons learned, and indicators to measure progress in sustainability. Based on that knowledge, it will produce communication materials and organize dissemination events to support evidence-based decision-making and enable adoption of sustainable practices by regional actors. Finally, it will implement one demonstration farm as a successful production model to apply and showcase sustainable livestock practices and encourage replication or adaptation across other Amazon territories.

The Rural Development and Agricultural Productivity Fund was created to promote the comprehensive and equitable development of rural areas, ensuring food security and the growth of the agricultural sector. It establishes that resources will be allocated to productive projects—preferably those of community interest—that enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and profitability of production units.

Increase milk production in the Municipality of Tiahuanacu by 20%, from 33,019.80 to 39,623.76 liters of milk per year, to ensure supply to the domestic market.