In Colombia there is a chronic procrastination to carry out the actions established in the laws of the republic. If we are readers of the norms that are created and implemented, in them we can find all the tools to live in a utopian society. Actually, our Honorable Congress has established an endless number of writings with very good intentions for the welfare of all Colombians.

When we talk about agriculture, we have an extensive list of laws, procedures, resolutions and guidelines that promote progress, problem solving and welfare for rural areas.

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Currently, a launching of what promises to be a before and after in the Agrarian Reform is taking place. It hopes to impact the lives of millions of Colombians by establishing the mechanisms to create the food security we need so much and about which so much has been said.

For those who do not know this fact, on August 3, 1994 the President, César Gaviria, enacted the law that establishes the national system of Agrarian Reform and rural development. This law has the following criteria as its scope, of which I will give my opinion brought to 2023.

1. Promote and consolidate peace: it is unknown to anyone in this country that the war for property, the inequalities in the countryside and the marginalization of part of the population have unleashed violence, death and exile, especially in rural areas. Therefore, it makes sense to address these areas and provide the conditions for peace in rural regions.
2. Agrarian reform social structure: this principle focused on equity, adequate land distribution and the participation of women in rural property. Today, more than ever, I am convinced that if we give the countryside the participation of women, the transformation process will achieve greater scope.
3. Credits and subsidies for land acquisition: this number makes me want to cry. Access to capital for farmers is increasingly difficult to achieve and, when it comes to land purchase, it is an understatement to say all the difficulties that exist in practice. One of the structural problems in the countryside is access to capital, not because there are no mechanisms for this on the part of the State and the private sector, but because of the difficulties expressed in the risk systems of credit institutions. Indeed, it is difficult for a small farmer to sustain the requirement, use and return of resources, due to the uncertainty that surrounds agricultural investment (this point is so relevant that we will go into it in more detail in a future publication).
4. Generate productive employment: job creation in the countryside is one of the most impactful actions for poverty reduction, since 80% of the world’s poor live in rural areas. Therefore, stimulating formal and equitable employment in the countryside is a clear way to reduce inequalities in our country.
5. Water and land: education on the proper use of resources was already discussed 29 years ago in Law 160 of 1994, with emphasis on the use of uncultivated land (without productive process), as well as the rational management of the regions’ own natural resources. We are definitely not doing this well; there is still a lot of education and development to be done in this area.
6. Increase production: My personal goal is to see a more equitable country, using the countryside as a vehicle. We definitely have the means to increase sustainable and balanced food production. We cannot continue to think about what would become of this country if we mobilized agriculture. It must be a real action, born from all the structures of society, to increase production to guarantee our food sovereignty in the products in which we are competitive and to be able to sell the surpluses to the world, to obtain foreign currency and generate employment. The thesis is simple, but the execution is delayed.
7. Stimulus to peasant organizations: associativity works if we leave egos and protagonism aside. It is a difficult subject to discuss, since reaching an agreement for a common objective in a country that lives and enjoys polarization is a major challenge. I have seen farmers’ associations sell their crops very well, but I have also seen them go bankrupt due to internal problems, power struggles and corruption, which makes it a challenge to help find a method that works. For this, training in administrative, financial and commercial management must be a pillar that allows organizations to transcend. This is possible through alliances with fair marketers, value-adding businesses and well-selected and segmented products.
8. Gender equity: in this regard I can say that, as a society, the task of understanding that we all have the right to participate in all sectors, regardless of gender, is being done. However, in the countryside this gap is still very wide and I believe, as I have already stated, that the participation of women will be decisive for our future. Let us remember that those responsible for the domestication of plant species are the representatives of the female gender. It is to them that we owe what centuries ago began as agriculture.

9. Regulating occupation: the discussion centered on the use of land, especially uncultivated land in the hands of the nation. I do not know how many hectares of the nation’s land are still uncultivated and are currently used for agriculture. Maybe a reader of this column can give me the information, but I believe that one of the biggest inconsistencies of a country is to claim that development is in the countryside, and at the same time to have lands of its dominion without exploitation according to their vocation. We should lead by example and have the best demonstrative farms of agricultural potential, distributed throughout the length and breadth of the territory.

When we analyze the numerals that inspired the enactment, in 1994, of Law 160, one wonders what has happened. The only thing that is certain, in my opinion, is that 29 years have passed and the efforts made to implement actions have not generated the necessary impact and we are still discussing what will be best for the country with a population divided by its political currents.

Now, I believe that the steps that are being taken at this time are aimed at achieving the development of the principles of the Manifest Law.

I also believe that, with good execution and clarity, as well as the participation of all political and social actors, we can build as a nation a rural formula that works.

To do this, the State must organize the house. All ministries must be aligned to a strategic plan, dividing actions, but pursuing the same objective. We must manage the State as a company, with clear indicators, goals and objectives.

We must create the fundamental pillars that for this servant are key to the development of the countryside: roads, communications, health infrastructure, private technical assistance, financing and tax incentives for businessmen, entrepreneurs and farmers.

We are facing a unique opportunity to transform the reality of the Colombian countryside. By promoting a true Agrarian Reform that democratizes access to land and promotes sustainable development in rural areas, we will be laying the foundations for a more equitable, productive and prosperous country.

Agrarian Reform is a collective task, not the work of a political current, and only through the joint efforts of society, the State and the private sector will we succeed in building a country in which social justice and prosperity are a reality for all.

Rural women, a fundamental pillar for the development of Colombian agriculture