Session 1: Access to Finance for Rural Women: Instruments, barriers, and innovative experiences in financial inclusion

Background

The FAO Regional Technical Platform for Family Farming continues its fourth Technical Exchange Cycle, consolidating a line of work that has proven effective in fostering dialogue, cooperation, and horizontal learning among countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Following three editions focused on family farming registries (2023), public procurement (2024), and rural youth (2026), this fourth edition places rural women and their fundamental role in agrifood systems at the center of the discussion.

The designation of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer by the United Nations, together with the ongoing United Nations Decade of Family Farming, provides a timely context to delve deeper into the structural challenges faced by women who live and work in rural areas.

The first session of this edition, organized jointly with the MERCOSUR Specialized Meeting on Family Farming (REAF/MERCOSUR) and UN Women, will address a key issue in the debate: access to financing adapted to their realities and needs.

Objective

This session will focus on analysing the current landscape of access to finance for rural women in family farming in Latin America and the Caribbean. It will explore the range of available financial products, the barriers women face, and the role of institutions in developing public policies and institutional adjustments that facilitate financial inclusion.

In addition, it will present successful experiences where the combination of financial services with technical assistance, organizational strengthening, and regulatory changes has contributed to expanding financing opportunities for women.

Target audience

The fourth cycle of technical exchanges provides a space for horizontal dialogue and seeks the participation of technical experts, specialists, government representatives, and especially organized rural women from different countries across the region.

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