Promoting food security during the pandemic: Neighborhood planning, urban agriculture, and food production enterprises

Original Blurb: Families from rural Bolivia have been migrating in great numbers to the urban center of El Alto. These migrants?especially women and youth?often struggle to earn a living or access healthy and affordable food.

Many suffer domestic violence without the protective factors of economic independence and strong ties with their neighbors.

The IAF supports community-led solutions that improve food security, expand economic opportunity, and increase civic engagement in Bolivia.

Our grantee partner Centro de Formacin y Capacitacin para la Participacin Ciudadana (FOCAPACI) works with producer and consumer groups and other local civil society organizations, as well as public and private sector actors, to develop neighborhood plans.

Neighborhood plans identify community priorities such as addressing food security, climate impacts, and social and health emergencies such as COVID-19 and domestic violence.

FOCAPACI will work to improve food production and access to healthy food, strengthen producers? access to local markets, generate income, and strengthen women?s and young people?s leadership skills.

Amendment FY24: This amendment provides FOCAPACI an additional 18 months and $158,000 to enhance leadership skills among women and youth in El Alto, supporting their capacity to communicate their priorities for local plans and practices that improve food security and promote healthy eating habits.

FOCAPACI is also supporting women and youth to implement sustainable urban agriculture and promoting community water management.

As part of this amendment, FOCAPACI is mobilizing an additional $882,145 in counterpart resources to the grant agreement.