Amazon countries forge a common agenda on food systems and climate action

Policy makers, diplomats and public officials from all eight Amazon countries convened in Brasília, Brazil, from 25 to 28 May 2026, for a four-day training and exchange on food systems transformation and climate action. Organized by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, the WFP Centre of Excellence Against Hunger in Brazil, and the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), the event – Partnerships among Amazon Countries: Food Systems Transformation and Climate Action – brought together representatives working at the intersection of food systems and climate policy to strengthen regional capacities, share country experiences, and identify concrete opportunities for cooperation.

“What happens in the Amazon does not stay in the Amazon and has global implications, which is why the convergence of food systems and climate action is not optional, but essential to deliver impact at the scale the world needs.” - Khaled Eltaweel, Senior Programme Coordinator, UN Food Systems Coordination Hub

The convening is part of the Convergence Initiative, in which the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub supports countries in aligning food systems transformation with climate action. It builds on regional political momentum generated by the Belém Declaration (2023) and the Bogotá Declaration (2025), as well as on the outcomes of COP30, which was held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025 – the first Conference of the Parties hosted in the Amazon.

“This workshop takes place at an important moment. After COP30, held in Belém, Brazil considers it essential to keep the political and technical momentum around the Amazon alive – as a strategic biome for the climate and especially, as a central territory for thinking about food security, food sovereignty, and sustainable development.” - Saulo A. Ceolin, General Coordinator for Food and Nutrition Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil

Innovations for Food Systems and Climate Action

Every Amazon country has legislation, national plans, and climate commitments that link food security and climate action. But a structural gap persists between policy design and territorial implementation: the pending step is operational integration – articulating common objectives, building shared indicators, and enabling mechanisms for sectoral ministries to work in a coordinated manner.

"In this context, ACTO has been working to strengthen regional cooperation among our eight Member Countries, guided by key political commitments such as the Belém Declaration (2023) and the Bogotá Declaration (2025), which place food security at the center of sustainable development in the Amazon.” - Edith Paredes, Administrative Director of ACTO

Discussions throughout the four days reflected a shared recognition among Amazon countries that food systems and climate action cannot be addressed through separate diplomatic portfolios. Participants examined how national climate commitments – including Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans – can more explicitly integrate food systems transformation, and how regional cooperation mechanisms under ACTO can be strengthened to support that alignment. As part of the event, participants conducted a field visit to family farming initiatives in the Federal District of Brazil, highlighting the connection between local agricultural production and Brazil’s National School Feeding Programme (PNAE). The group visited the farms of Ivone Ribeiro Machado and Anaildo Porfírio, members of the Chapadinha Family Farmers’ Association (ASTRAF). The visit provided a practical example of how public policies such as PNAE can strengthen family farming by connecting successful agricultural production with the delivery of healthy, locally produced food for school meals. Participants learned firsthand how family farmers engage with institutional markets and contribute to sustainable food systems. In addition, representatives from the Federal District Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Agency (EMATER-DF) presented the public policies and financing mechanisms that support agroecological practices in Brazil, illustrating how technical assistance and government investments can foster sustainable agricultural development.

“The issue of ending hunger in the Amazon requires nothing less than transforming the way we produce, distribute, and consume food, while protecting the ecosystems that make all of this possible.” - Daniel Balaban, Director and Representative, WFP Centre of Excellence Against Hunger in Brazil

Country Perspectives: Diverse Pathways, Shared Challenges

One of the most distinctive features of the convening was the depth of country-specific exchange it generated. Each delegation presented its national experience, challenges, and priorities – creating a comparative picture of where the region stands and where the most promising pathways for cooperation lie.

Brazil structured its contribution around three axes: the human right to adequate food, public policies, and social participation. It highlighted the PAA and PNAE public procurement programmes, as well as CONSEA as a model for civil society and Indigenous peoples' participation in food and climate policy. Ecuador stood apart as the country with the most advanced formal integration of food systems into its climate commitments, with a specific food systems sector in its NDC and its work on compensating farmers who adopt ecological practices.

Peru placed agri-food systems as a high national priority, emphasizing the direct link between climate resilience and family food security: floods, erosion, and other climate impacts directly affect the food production of rural families. Bolivia described how it is redefining its agri-food model in alignment with national plans and international commitments, combining bioeconomy, social inclusion, and silvopastoral systems for degraded area recovery. Colombia foregrounded the cultural value of Amazonian Indigenous languages and knowledge, and presented its agroecology policy as a framework for simultaneous mitigation and adaptation. Guyana linked its Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030) to concrete collaboration opportunities with ACTO and a regional innovation hub with common early warning system indicators.

Suriname emphasized its significant potential for results-based payment mechanisms and identified the strengthening of institutional capacity to access international climate finance as its most immediate priority. Venezuela presented Nutrimañoco – a food product developed in direct collaboration with Indigenous peoples – as a model for Amazonian innovation with territorial identity, and as an example of what South-South exchange under ACTO could help scale.

A Shared Vision for Amazon Food Systems and Climate Action

The Amazon Food Systems and Climate Action Convergence Vision is guided by a set of interconnected principles that place social and economic inclusion at the center of regional action. The vision promotes the meaningful participation and recognition of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, ensuring their effective engagement in food systems and climate governance at local, national, and regional levels. Through bottom-up and territorial approaches, the vision supports local dialogue platforms, territorial rights, ecosystem stewardship, and locally driven solutions.

The convergence vision is operationalized through an ecosystem-based approach that recognizes the interdependence between forests, rivers, territories, livelihoods, and food systems, while promoting the sustainable management of natural resources, food and water security, biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation, and socio-environmental resilience. The vision further emphasizes regional cooperation, recognizing that national and regional food systems and climate strategies can be strengthened through coordinated action among Amazon countries, including through financing and resource mobilization mechanisms such as the MACA-ACTO Fund, carbon markets, REDD+, and results-based payments.

To operationalize this vision, countries identified a preliminary set of regional interventions focused on strengthening governance, bioeconomy, research and innovation, agroforestry systems, capacity building, and sustainable financing. Proposed actions include establishing a Regional Amazonian Platform on Food Systems and Climate Action, promoting regional bioeconomy initiatives and sustainable value chains, strengthening research and technical cooperation, advancing agroforestry and landscape restoration, creating a South-South cooperation and capacity-building network, and mobilizing diversified financing through regional strategies and partnerships. Together, these interventions aim to accelerate food systems transformation, climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and regional cooperation across the Amazon Basin.

The workshop marks a concrete step in a longer regional process: a resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and participatory Amazonia, coordinated by robust regional mechanisms that integrate food systems transformation and climate action as complementary and inseparable agendas.