The National Institute of Rural Development and Land (Indert) was awarded the international “Logro 2025” prize, promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The distinction recognizes significant advances in the titling of rural lands registered in favor of peasant women in Paraguay.
The award ceremony took place in Rome, Italy, where Paraguay was one of four countries highlighted for initiatives to strengthen land tenure rights. According to Indert General Manager Romina Velázquez, the country was the only one in Latin America to receive the recognition. The other three award-winning nations were not identified.
Velázquez explained that as part of the prize, Paraguay will receive non-reimbursable technical cooperation worth $300,000, with resources from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an independent financial mechanism that brings together 184 countries and UN agencies to finance projects for the protection of biodiversity, climate, and ecosystems.
The Paraguayan delegation was led by Francisco Ruiz Díaz, president of Indert; Lilian Portillo, director general of Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Mades); Romina Velázquez herself; and Fabricio Quiñónez, an FAO analyst in Paraguay.
Velázquez highlighted that the award recognizes the inclusive titling policy aimed at rural women. She noted that globally, women represent a large part of the rural workforce, but only 15% of land is in their names. In Paraguay, before the administration of President Santiago Peña, annual titling was around 900 titles, and only 28% were destined for women.
With the implementation of the Massive Rural Land Titling Program in 2023, the number of titles issued increased by 400% per year. The policy included incentives such as reducing the interest rate to 0% when the property owner is a woman, which raised the proportion of titles delivered to peasant women to 57%.
Velázquez added that studies indicate that women with property titles tend to feed their children better, invest more in education, and spend more on health. Additionally, the FAO recognized that titling in women's names also generates a positive environmental impact: lands registered by them show better conservation conditions and less degradation.