The Ministry of Agriculture in the government of Gustavo petro will be led by Cecilia Lopez Montano.
(See: They seek to guarantee credits to small farmers in the countryside).
In a conversation with Yamid Amat for the newspaper EL TIEMPO, the designated minister warned that in the government, that will take office on August 7, “an agrarian reform without timidity” will be carried out.
“One million peasant families have less land than a cow (…) Much of the land currently dedicated to livestock will be used for agricultural production”, he commented.
(See: The three keys to developing the Colombian countryside, according to the SAC).
He added that one of the big changes that will occur with the agrarian reform proposal is related to corn and peasant production of food consumed in the country.
“We are importing between 13 and 14 million tons of food, which is 30% of what is consumed in the country, and we are planting 104,000 hectares of this product. We must reach a million hectares dedicated to the production of corn, because it is a critical input to lower the cost of pork, chicken, beef, milk and eggs. Animals that eat corn. We cannot continue importing corn. We have to be self-sufficient. And that will be one of the goals of the agrarian reform.“, he stated.
(See: Big step for space agriculture: they grow plants on lunar soil).
On how the new government will convert cattle land into agriculture, Lópz explained that neither owners will be forced to sell to the State, but agreements will be sought.
“There will be a multipurpose cadastre. In Colombia, taxes on rural land are almost zero, absolutely negligible. With this cadastre, which will be a vital instrument, these taxes will correspond much more to the productive capacity of the land. The methodology for this is done by experts. That is what the Agustín Codazzi Institute and cadastral managers are for“.
(See: Ingenuity and sustainability, what makes Colombian coffee special).
He already added that the owners of land must prove that it is productive or must pay high taxes.
Cecilia Lopez.
“The multipurpose cadastre will collect taxes according to what the methodology says. A tax equivalent to what a property would have to pay if it were well exploited will be set. Whoever has a head of cattle on very fertile land will incur a very high tax. What is your alternative? Make their livestock more intensive or dedicate it to agriculture if that land is suitable for that, or they sell it to the State to have a way to pay the tax. If you dedicate a part to agriculture and another to productive livestock, that gives you a much higher return with which you can pay the cadastre and, in addition, have benefits“.
(If you want to read the complete interview with Cecilia López, click here).
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