The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an agency that leads international efforts to fight hunger and improve nutrition and food security.

Agustín Zimmermann is the FAO representative in Colombia, and during the Territorio Aguacate 2024, he presented the characteristics of avocados based on their nutritional value and their growth potential as a possible resource to regularize food security indexes, not only in Colombia but globally.

Zimmermann explained that FAO, through the transformation of agrifood systems, seeks to generate better production and nutrition, as well as a better life globally. The organization is financed by contributions from its member states and extra voluntary support from other global funds.

“Global food insecurity rates remain very high; around 713-757 million people could have suffered from hunger in 2023, that's one in 11 people, and almost 30% of the world's population suffered from food insecurity, either moderate or severe,” Zimmermann said.

In addition, people in rural areas are most at risk of suffering from food insecurity.

Food security in Colombia

According to Zimmermann, in Colombia 4.2% of the population has suffered from hunger and about 30% of the population suffers from food insecurity.

“The cost of a healthy diet in the country is US$4.13 per person per day, one of the highest globally, which is paradoxical given that Colombia is a food-producing country,” he said.

He added that globally, there are 6,000 species of plants that are grown for food consumption, however, of these only 200 contribute substantially to global food production, and 66% of the world's food is concentrated in only six species, therefore, the biodiversity used to feed the world is very limited.

Challenges and opportunities for avocados

Regarding the challenges impacting the avocado chain, he referred to deforestation as 420 million hectares of forest have been lost in recent years, and from 2015 to 2020, the deforestation rate was 10 million hectares per year.

“This context is very important because the avocado chain can and must transform agri-food systems by being more efficient, inclusive, sustainable, and resilient to climate change,” he said.

The FAO representative highlighted the growth of avocado exports, with a 10% year-on-year increase from South America, led by Mexico and Peru.

“Price volatility is also a challenge for the industry, especially in the United States, which is the main market. For example, between 2022 and 2023, the average retail price of avocado in this market decreased by 9%,” he noted.

Global market trend

Globally, Zimmermann said the biggest challenge for the avocado industry is climate change and the need to invest in the agri-food system in general to be more resilient to changes.

“Rising production costs have also been made worse by the pandemic and the disruption of the international logistics system from the conflicts in Europe,” he commented. “In the long term, they must see the opportunity that exists with the growing demand for avocados in international markets to be able to respond and capture new markets.”

Referring to Colombia, Zimmermann said that “from FAO we see that Colombia has enormous growth potential in agriculture in general and the avocado chain is one of the sectors that is contributing most to this expansion, without affecting the area of natural forests”.

He assured that this is a comparative advantage that Colombia has at a global level since it is the fourth country in Latin America with the most land available for agricultural production and the third with the greatest water resources and climatic biodiversity. It also ranks third in the region in annual precipitation rates.

“Colombia has the potential to generate that food supply that the world needs, sustainably and efficiently,” Zimmermann said.

However, he recommended that Colombian producers and exporters focus on the Asian market, which has a “gigantic” potential, and due to Colombia's access to the Pacific coast, guarantees more expeditious transport to those markets.

A true reflection of this potential is the Colombian avocado industry, which according to FAO figures has grown its production area by 431% between 2010 and 2022. Similarly, the harvested area increased by 410% and exports by 66% during the same period.

FAO contributions

The organization works in the avocado chain through a global project called “Responsible Fruits,” funded by the government of Germany, concentrating on avocado and pineapple.

“The project is built on the experiences of other fruits, especially bananas, seeking more responsible agricultural supply chains. It is also based on behavioral guidelines related to safe work and gender issues,” said Zimmermann.

The first phase, of a normative nature, was completed this year and was worked on in Colombia through Corpohass. Work is also being done on a guide for climate change and collaboration on leadership issues.

The next stage seeks to support the avocado chain in the field, seeking a more direct relationship between FAO and the private sector, incorporating the associations in the various avocado-producing and exporting countries.

FAO makes public resources available to avocado producers and exporters to help them adapt and have strategies to protect their production and grow their business in a responsible manner.

Photos Corpohass.

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