In the rural community of Magdalena Alto in Coelemu, Chile, connectivity is beginning to transform daily life for small scale farmers.
For years, many producers in the area relied mainly on experience, observation, and knowledge passed down through generations to manage their crops. Access to technical information, digital tools, and real time agricultural data was limited. Today, through the "Connected Communities" initiative supported by the Joint SDG Fund, new technologies are helping farmers better understand their land, improve production, and strengthen their livelihoods.
“Connected Communities” brings together the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Bringing Connectivity to Rural Communities
On 17 October 2025, the first community connectivity point of the Connected Communities project was installed at the Magdalena Alto community centre in Coelemu. The space now allows residents to access internet services, participate in training activities, and stay connected with technical support networks.
For local grape grower Rosa Isabel Ruiz Torres, the arrival of connectivity is closely tied to the future of rural agriculture.
“Until now it has gone well for us with FAO and INIA, who look at the issue of heat, frost, humidity, drought, the soil and also pests,” she says.
Rosa depends on grape production to support her household. She says that access to new technologies is already helping her better understand the needs of her vineyard and improve the quality of production.
“With this technology that has arrived, we have more possibilities to see everything that we as producers have to have,” she explains. “I have seen my vineyard and with everything that we have put on the vineyard, better production can be seen.”
From Traditional Knowledge to Digital Tools
For many small producers in Magdalena Alto, this is the first time they have had access to this kind of agricultural technology.
“I believe it is an advance for us as small producers,” Rosa says. “Before we did not have this technology. We did it manually. If there were diseases, we had no idea.”
Through the project’s Smartfield component, farmers now receive information that helps them monitor environmental conditions and respond earlier to potential threats to their crops.
Monitoring stations installed in the vineyards track soil humidity, temperature, environmental conditions, and the presence of pests such as Lobesia botrana, one of the main threats affecting grape production in the region.
The information is then shared directly with farmers through digital communication channels, helping them make more informed decisions about their crops.
Turning Data Into Practical Support
For agricultural engineer Héctor Chavarría, connectivity is helping create a more connected model of rural extension services.
Héctor coordinates technical support for a group of 40 grape growers in the area and works closely with producers to interpret the data generated through the monitoring systems.
“All of this reaches me in weekly reports where I pass this information on to a WhatsApp group where the 40 farmers are,” he explains.
The system combines field monitoring with satellite information to provide farmers with updates on soil conditions, humidity, crop development, and pest risks. This allows producers to react earlier and manage their vineyards more efficiently.
For communities where technical assistance and connectivity were once limited, this represents a significant shift in how agricultural support reaches rural territories.
Connectivity Beyond the Internet
The Connected Communities initiative is designed not only to expand internet access, but also to strengthen opportunities for rural populations through better access to services, knowledge, and economic opportunities.
Under the Joint SDG Fund programme, the initiative aims to directly benefit more than 8,500 people with broadband access, train nearly 4,000 people in digital services, and improve access to telehealth and other essential services across rural Chile.
For Rosa, the hope is that these opportunities continue reaching more farming families in the years ahead.
“We want many farmers also to be able to have all this,” she says. “Later our children will also be here, our grandchildren will be here.”
In communities like Magdalena Alto, connectivity is already proving to be much more than infrastructure alone. It is becoming a tool that helps rural families stay connected, strengthen their livelihoods, and build greater resilience for the future.
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds, and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
