By Carolina Lorenzo López

Every morning, Olga Vargas walks through her guava orchard listening to birdsong and checking the irrigation system that now delivers water directly to her trees. What was once a farm vulnerable to prolonged drought has become a model of climate-smart agriculture, helping her grow food year-round while conserving one of the region’s most precious resources.

Olga’s story reflects a broader transformation taking place in rural Costa Rica, where women farmers are leading efforts to strengthen food security, adapt to climate change, and build more resilient communities. Through a project to empower families and communities through local food system transformation, supported by USD 370,000 from the SDG Fund and USD 120,000 in co-financing from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), in partnership with the Costa Rican government and local authorities, vulnerable farming families are gaining the knowledge, infrastructure, and support needed to thrive despite mounting environmental challenges. Local food systems are being transformed to become more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.

This experience combines practical solutions with community-led innovation. It demonstrates that investing in rural women is not only a matter of equality. It is a practical pathway toward sustainable development. As climate change intensifies and global progress toward the SDGs slows down, community-led solutions, such as those taking shape in southern Costa Rica, offer evidence that targeted investments can produce lasting environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Enjoying this article? Make sure you always catch our coverage by subscribing to our SDG Update newsletter.

For Olga, farming has always been more than earning a livelihood. After 15 years working the land in Ujarrás, she describes her connection to nature as deeply personal. “Being able to hear the birds sing, see the green fields, and feel that the river heals me makes me happy,” she says.

Yet that connection has also exposed her to the harsh realities of climate change. Higher temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, prolonged dry seasons, and more frequent extreme weather have reduced crop yields, increased pests, and made farming increasingly uncertain. Like many rural women, Olga also faced structural barriers that limited access to credit, technical assistance, and productive assets. Nevertheless, the training provided through the project has changed how she views her land.

“I’ve learned to see the soil as something alive – not just something that’s there,” Olga explains.

She later opened her farm to neighboring producers as a learning site where practical workshops on soil management and sustainable farming could be held. Today, Olga shares the techniques she has learned with other members of her community, multiplying the impact far beyond her own property.

Infrastructure improvements proved equally transformative. A new irrigation system and water reservoir allow Olga to cultivate guavas throughout the year instead of relying solely on seasonal rainfall. Her orchard has expanded from 100 to 140 trees, while stored water enables her to irrigate during the driest months.

Efficient water management also opened the door to innovation. Olga combines aquaculture and agriculture through an aquaponics system that recycles nutrient-rich water from tilapia ponds to irrigate her guava trees. She currently raises around 600 fingerlings and has the capacity to grow between 500 and 2,000 fish, creating an additional source of food and income while reducing water waste.

Her farm illustrates how sustainable farming practices can simultaneously strengthen livelihoods, conserve natural resources, and improve resilience to climate shocks.

The project’s impact extends beyond individual farms. School and community gardens have been strengthened, agricultural infrastructure improved, and local institutions equipped with additional resources to support farming families. By integrating food systems planning with climate adaptation and social inclusion, local governments and national ministries are helping communities develop more sustainable local economies. The initiative has directly engaged 1,020 people, helping families improve nutrition, strengthen local food production, and build economic resilience.

These local successes are especially significant against a challenging global backdrop. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026, only 36% of measurable SDG targets are currently on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half (49%) are advancing too slowly and 15% have regressed from their 2015 baselines.

The annual sustainable development financing gap in developing countries remains at approximately USD 4 trillion – a challenge made even more urgent by record declines in development assistance, rising global military spending, escalating conflicts that have displaced 118 million people, and worsening climate impacts, with 2025 marking one of the hottest years on record at 1.43°C above preindustrial temperature averages.

Women remain central to meeting the global goals.

According to FAO data, agrifood systems employ 36% of working women globally, yet women continue to face significant barriers to accessing land, water, financial services, technology, and other productive resources, limiting their opportunities and potential contributions to sustainable food systems.

Due to persistent inequalities in land tenure, in more than 40% of reporting countries, men are at least twice as likely as women to own agricultural land or hold secure tenure rights. Across 40 of the 46 countries that submitted data, men consistently enjoy greater access to these rights. Addressing such disparities is critical to improving food security, enhancing rural livelihoods, and unlocking the full productive potential of agrifood systems.

For Olga, however, the impact is measured less by statistics than by the changes she witnesses every day. “Here I am, with the earth beneath my feet and my hands full of life. It isn’t easy, but when you see what you’ve planted begin to grow, you grow inside as well,” she says. Her words capture the essence of sustainable development: resilience grows when people are equipped with knowledge, resources, and opportunity.

From the fields of southern Costa Rica, women like Olga are proving that climate adaptation begins locally. Every irrigated orchard, every fishpond, every shared lesson, and every healthier harvest contributes to stronger food systems and more resilient communities. Their experience shows that when rural women receive the tools to lead, they do more than adapt to change. They become agents of transformation for future generations.

* * *

Carolina Lorenzo is a Sustainable Development Expert, member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and a United Nations Contractor.