The American Gran Chaco as a Hub for Collaboration

Throughout the first half of 2025, the American Gran Chaco—a territory crucial due to its biodiversity and climate vulnerability—made significant strides in inter-institutional collaboration. Under the "Resilient Farms Network" project, co-financed by FONTAGRO, strategic agreements were signed in Bolivia and Paraguay aimed at accelerating the adoption of sustainable management practices that harmonize livestock production with the multiple-use of native forests.

Bolivia: Regenerative livestock farming and public policy in partnership with producers

In June 2025, in the city of Villamontes (Bolivia), the NGO *Naturaleza, Tierra y Vida* (NATIVA)—a project partner—formalized a cooperation agreement with the Gran Chaco Cattle Ranchers Federation (FEGACHACO).

This agreement targets two direct lines of action:

Productive conservation: implementing a regenerative livestock farming model tailored to local ecological, cultural, and operational conditions.

Policy advocacy: developing public policy and regulatory proposals at local, national, and regional levels to strengthen climate resilience and the competitiveness of the Chaco livestock sector.

Paraguay: Ancestral knowledge and applied research with an intercultural approach

Earlier, in April 2025, an agreement was finalized in Paraguay between the Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural Technology (IPTA)—a FONTAGRO partner institution—and the Paraguayan Indigenous Institute (INDI) through an Inter-institutional Cooperation Framework Agreement.

This collaboration prioritizes integrating scientific knowledge with the traditional practices of indigenous communities. Through technical assistance and exchange programs, the training of indigenous agricultural extension agents, and the promotion of culturally respectful production systems, the initiative seeks to strengthen families' ties to their land and ensure environmental conservation.