Introducing the Agroecology Fund of the Yucatan Peninsula

In 2020, Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula was ravaged by intense drought, flooding from tropical storm Cristobal, hurricanes, and frequent pest outbreaks, in addition to the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis. These events have taken a toll on food security and livelihoods, elevating the risk of hunger, especially among families of small-scale producers.

At this crucial time, we’re honored to announce the launch of the Fondo Agroecológico Península de Yucatán (FAPY) to support community organizations dedicated to recovering from a brutal hurricane season and promoting agroecology and food sovereignty in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Agroecology Fund of the Yucatan Peninsula (FAPY) is AEF’s first regional agroecology fund.

Our partners had suggested further decentralizing our grantmaking process to go deeper into territories and provide resources to small and agile local grassroots organizations doing essential work on the ground, when we gathered together for AEF’s learning exchange in India. We listened.

With funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation, FAPY will be managed by AEF’s local partner Túumben K’ooben, a cooperative of primarily Mayan women that supports sustainable community development in the Yucatan Peninsula. FAPY’s mission is to support innovative projects that focus on strengthening agroecological production, deepening agroecology research and knowledge, improving access to markets, and building a just and more climate-resilient food system in the states of Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo. The regional fund will identify and provide funding to projects led by legally constituted community-based organizations (cooperatives, civil associations, rural production societies, etc.) or community groups that have an allied organization legally constituted to receive funding. 

FAPY has just announced a call for proposals (in Spanish), and will give priority to community projects that demonstrate collective impact, are developed by organizations in a participatory manner, and integrate vulnerable populations, such as women, Indigenous people, youth, and the elderly without access to land.

Please welcome FAPY to the AEF community! Follow their Facebook page for updates and visit fapyaef.org/e7j to view the call for proposals.

Photographs courtesy Túumben K’ooben.