FAO showed the main results of an initiative that seeks to promote the digitization of rural areas.

FAO held a virtual meeting featuring the projects that the 1000 Digital Villages initiative is supporting in the region to promote the digitization of rural areas.

The 1000 Digital Villages initiative was created by FAO in 2020 to provide support to countries to expand the access and use of digital tools in agri-food systems and rural territories.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, 1000 Digital Villages is focused on rural tourism experiences. It seeks to help local communities take advantage of the digital tools provided to improve their marketing strategies and sale of their tourism services, increase their income and generate employment opportunities.

“Latin America and the Caribbean have a huge potential in rural tourism as an activity that generates income and quality jobs. More of that must be done and digitization is key to accelerating that process,” said the FAO Regional Representative, Julio Berdegué, during the virtual meeting

1000 Digital Villages is supporting 52 agritourism ventures in fourteen countries across the region (Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Granada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Venezuela).

The initiative has performed diagnoses in each of the countries and has offered a virtual course for the production of marketing videos, focused on young people.

The online meeting featured the presence of the Regional Representative of the FAO, the Chief Economist of the FAO, Máximo Torero, and the Leading Economist of the Latin American and Caribbean division of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Fabrizio Bresciani.

The meeting also counted on the participation of the General Director of the National Digital Agency of Colombia, Juan Pablo Ceballos, the Director of the Microsoft Connectivity Initiative for LATAM, Germán Otálora, the FAO Representative in Ecuador, Agustín Zimmermann, and the FAO Representative in the Dominican Republic, Rodrigo Castaneda.

1000 Digital villages in Latin America and the Caribbean

The experience supported by the FAO in Ecuador is led by the Yunguilla Corporation, which develops tourism activities and the trade of local products.

Thecoffee tourism route in Chanchamayo, Peru, is also part of 1000 Digital Villages, and promotes the landscapes and experiences of Fundo Magdalena and Chacra D’Dago.

The Ruta del Embrujo Llanero, located in the department of Meta, Colombia, is a network of producers and tour operators – who also participate in the FAO initiative – that use digital platforms as a means of marketing and advertising.

In these three experiences, FAO is training entrepreneurs in the use of videos for the digital marketing of their services and products.