Gloria Reyes highlights the impact of the "Shadow Houses" project

Gloria Reyes , director general of the Supérate program, highlighted the impact of family farming on reducing hunger and rural poverty in the Dominican Republic at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations ( FAO ).

Reyes participated in the panel " Future of Family Farming : Policy Innovations for Young Farmers", held during the World Food Forum 2025 , with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development ( IFAD ) and the United Nations Decade on Family Farming (UNDFF).

In his speech, he explained that the Dominican government , under the leadership of President Luis Abinader , considers the eradication of hunger a national priority.

She highlighted that Supérate promotes projects that combine social protection , productivity, and sustainability, such as Shadow Houses , cooperatives led by women and youth, and training and market access programs.

Reyes noted that these initiatives are part of the roadmap Towards Zero Hunger 2028 , designed in conjunction with more than 30 national institutions and international organizations such as the FAO , the World Food Program (WFP), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank .

During the mission to Rome, Reyes was accompanied by farmer Ámbar Rijo, representative of the María Ruiz Shadow House Project in La Altagracia province; Anthony Franco, head of Family Agriculture at Supérate; and Luis Yanuel Cordero , a social protection and youth specialist invited by FAO .

On the panel, Ámbar Rijo shared her testimony about how family farming has transformed the lives of rural women. "Being able to contribute and be useful to society is something very important and gratifying for us. Opening this market to rural women has been a great achievement," she said.

He said the project has managed to produce chili peppers and 42,000 pounds of tilapia in one year, allowing families to generate income without leaving their homes.

Reyes concluded that strengthening the participation of rural youth is key to the future of the Dominican countryside . "There is no zero hunger without family farming , nor family farming without young people in the countryside. When a young person in rural areas cultivates the land, they sow the future," he stated.

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