They have described the land purchase agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and the ranchers’ union, Fedegan, as historic. The document, which was finalized on October 6, will be part of the third component of the agrarian reform of the Government of President Gustavo Petro.
(Fedegan and the Government agree to purchase 3 million hectares from ranchers).
Despite this agreement, there are still inconclusive answers regarding how the project to purchase 3 million hectares will be carried out.
According to the document, “by virtue of the principles of dialogue and agreement that the National Government has enshrined to unite the country around the common goal of a Total Peace, that dignifies the lives of all Colombians, that facilitates coexistence in the midst of of differences and that makes development with equity possible”.
For her part, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cecilia López, stated that the first component had already been established: the degreeand in the same way he emphasized the aspects that he considers vital for the integral agrarian reform in Colombia.
“We are already titling a significant number of hectares, more than 600,000. A second aspect is that the SAE is in the process of leasing 125,000 hectares for peasant organizations and, today, the purchase of land begins with the offer of Fedegan”, said the portfolio manager in recent days.
Similarly, José Félix Lafaurie, president of Fedegan, outlined the principles that must inspire an agrarian reform process for it to be successful.
The union chief emphasized that total peace is not possible without the economic and social recovery of the countrysidein turn, insisted that it is “urgent to bring the field to the forefront of public policy and resource allocation.”
He also spoke that access to land, in which “the livestock sector is committed to facilitating, is a major factor for rural recovery, but not the only one.” Similarly, he stated that “the differentiating factor in the face of a history of failures, and the real challenge for the government, is comprehensiveness, starting with the tertiary roads, which are the most obvious expression of abandonment,” he said.
Finally, he explained that the comprehensive recovery of the countryside is not an easy task, but it is the best bet that the Government can make for total peace and for the future of Colombia.
(Agrarian reform: Government will buy 3 million hectares from ranchers).
The doubts
Regarding the purchase of land, different doubts have been raised regarding the execution of the project, the money that will be used, the number of hectares and the destination of these lands.
In view of the foregoing, Minister Celicia López, in statements to Caracol Radio, made known in general terms the path of the agreement with the ranchers, indicating that in relation to the money that will be used for the purchase of land, the Minister of Agriculture He assured that the price will depend on how productive the land is, so the maximum and minimum values depend on what the cadastre says.
“We are estimating the need to create a fund with resources probably from some future years. We are looking at what it would be like. But we have to be a little more prepared to know what the dynamics of that purchase will be”, explained the head of the portfolio.
In turn, he indicated that one of the critical issues for the purchase of these lands will be technical assistance, since not everything will be just land. “We are about to obtain a credit from the green fund of 100 million euros, which gives us great flexibility for other data that has not yet been considered within what would be the purchase of land,” he said.
The head of portfolio declared that the land purchase process will take place in a transparent manner since the ministry is hiring a team of expert litigators in property, dispossession, and possession to review each of the offers. She likewise stated that there is no possibility of breaking the law when the purchase process must be “absolutely transparent” and reviewed with a magnifying glass.
Looking at the number of hectares, Minister López assured that this agreement is not the end, since a number of adjustments had to be made “because the ministry has the responsibility and the government team has the information to make this operation”.
In addition, among the related entities, it will be the Upra (Agricultural Rural Planning Unit) that will be in charge of defining which of the lands are really productive and the Igac (Agustin Codazz Geographical Institute) will define which are the maximums and the minimums. “The agreement forced us to design a purchase strategy, but this is for whoever wants to sell the land, not only for ranchers and Fedegan affiliates, anyone who wants to sell follows this same process,” concluded López.
Access to the purchase of land will be for peasant, indigenous and Afro-descendant communities. “There are at least 79,000 demands in the National Land Agency of users who are potential recipients of that land and it is where the site, the place, will be chosen,” she concluded.
Diana K. Rodriguez T.
BRIEFCASE
