The Proposal

At the 2024 Investment Forum, a new regional initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean, Amazon, will be officially presented. The Investment Plan of the Regional Initiative has been prepared by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), which includes Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, in partnership with FAO's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The 2023 Belém Declaration explicitly established that “ACTO is the sole intergovernmental coordination body of the eight Amazonian countries for the joint development of projects and actions that produce equitable and beneficial results for the Amazonian countries, due to its institutional framework, its extensive knowledge of the region, and the relevant experience of its Permanent Secretariat in coordinating dialogue and implementing development cooperation initiatives.”

The investment proposal of the regional initiative has as its structuring principle the adoption of an Amazonian agrifood model that addresses the need for inclusive rural transformation. The proposal leverages the Amazonian bioeconomy, defined as the sustainable use of biodiversity to combat hunger and poverty, as a catalyst to improve the living conditions of both rural and urban populations.

The investment plan proposes enabling public goods and catalyzing value chains as interventions to propagate the transition towards an inclusive and sustainable Amazonian agrifood system. Regarding public goods, the investment notes seek to close regional information and digital accessibility gaps. In its approach to value chains, the proposal seeks to ensure resilience and boost the commercial potential of staple food and income sources like migratory Amazonian Catfish.

Its total expected cost is USD 89.9 million, with an estimated average internal rate of return (IRR) of 20.4%. The proposals will directly benefit 14,500 people and indirectly support the livelihoods of 57,000 people.

Amazonia Typologies

Click on individual maps to get detailed view on FAO GIS platform

Agro-informatics connects information technology with the management, analysis and application of agricultural data to design more accurate and targeted agricultural interventions. The use of new technologies and techniques in agriculture, such as satellite imagery, remote sensing, and geographic information systems, enable the transformation of data into actionable information.

Initiative of Amazonia: Investment cases in the Amazonia

Amazonia Investment Cases and Interventions

Strengthening of information management systems linked to the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA)

The first investment note involves strengthening the Amazon Regional Observatory (ORA) of ACTO and the management of territorial information. Specifically, advanced data collection instruments (including software and the technical assistance required for its effective use) will be implemented to expand ORA's organic information-gathering capabilities, with an emphasis on mapping agri-food production and natural resources throughout the Pan-Amazon region. Next, technical assistance will be provided to elaborate an information governance and technological diplomacy framework, enabling ACTO's eight member countries to access ORA information and incorporating robust evidence into policy decisions and planning, strengthening capacities at the national level in turn. Lastly, outreach and communication support will underpin ORA's consolidation as a referential actor for knowledge regarding Pan-Amazon. 

The combination of these interventions is expected to reduce uncertainty for a broad spectrum of investors and decision-makers engaging with the Amazonian bioeconomy. Information, understood as a regional public good, will contribute elements for decision-making, policy formulation, plans, and programs, and promote the capacities of the countries. Strengthening the interoperability of territorial information management as an enabling investment will consolidate new opportunities in the region, allowing for more effective territorial management and governance, and attracting more external actors to the region's sustainable economic and development opportunities. 
The total cost of this investment is expected to be just under USD 19.2 million. Its IRR is estimated to be 26%, at a net present value (NPV) of USD 34.6 million. It is intended to directly benefit the eight ACTO member country governments. 

Territorial Digital Ecosystems

The second proposal focuses on expanding access to digital services, which are critical for rural Amazonian producers of non-deforestation products to participate in sustainable agrifood markets. 100 digital ecosystems, connecting users with infrastructure, services, and applications, will be implemented across the target territory. In the context of this proposal, investments will empower smallholders and enable their access to a wider range of services digital banking and e-commerce, supporting value-added productivity. 

Furthermore, the implementation of traceability technology for certain non-timber forest products is intended to generate new opportunities by aligning local value chains with heightened import requirements in the European Union, increasing productivity levels and value-added production, finally providing access to new employment and income opportunities. These investments will directly benefit 5,000 families who produce açaí and cocoa in the Brazilian Amazon, and indirectly support up to 45,000 people.

At a cost of approximately USD 29.2 million, the IRR is estimated to be 12% and NPV will be USD 25.5 million.

Sustainable management of Amazonian fisheries resources

The third proposal aims to improve the joint management of river basins in relation to migratory Amazonian Catfish fisheries, seeking to establish a sustainable, profitable, and ecosystem-based management approach in the Amazon. Migratory catfish have cross-border significance in the region, given their international breeding, migration, capture, and consumption patterns. Beyond serving as a staple food across the region, artisanal fishing and gradual expansion to new international markets sustains approximately 168,000 livelihoods. 

Investments will facilitate the delivery of technical assistance, building the capacities of smallholders and their producer organizations to manage fish stocks responsibly and productively under a common framework. Significant funding will be provided to strengthen research capabilities, enabling local stakeholders to track and monitor fish stocks, and supporting the health of native fish populations. Processing plants will be modernized to expand processing and storage capacity by as much as 17%, helping reduce waste by up to 10%. High logistical costs will also be addressed through the delivery of improved transportation equipment. This effort will support the long-term sustainability and viability of an Amazonian aquaculture value chain, whose exploration will directly support the per capita income growth of 9,500 producer families, and indirectly benefit another 12,000 people. The initiative is also aimed at significantly enhancing biodiversity conservation in the long-term. Throughout the project, additional opportunities regarding the value-addition and sustainability of large catfish will be identified.

This investment is expected to cost USD 40.9 million, with an IRR of 23.3% and a NPV of USD 20.6 million.

Contact