With the aim of starting the agrarian reform With which land will be delivered to the peasants, the National Government will operate an agreement last year with the Colombian Federation of Cattlemen (Fedegán) to directly buy 3 million hectares from them.
Even though the guild he leads Jose Felix Lafaurie It has already offered land for this purpose, according to the Government it is not enough and it is not where it is being requested the most.
(You can also read: ‘We are ready to start buying land’: Cecilia López)
«Is for you; it is not for 20 years from now”, sentenced President Gustavo Petro regarding the proposal of the ranchers. And he added: «If Fedegán keeps his word and we have the resources in the budget to buy the land now, we can carry out an agrarian reform and place the peasantry as subjects of rights.»
Petro’s ultimatum adds to the alert that the Minister of Agriculture, Cecilia López, he told EL TIEMPO: “All the demand for land is being concentrated in the Caribbean region and Magdalena Medio; the problem is that most of the offer is not there, ”he said.
Cecilia López, Minister of Agriculture.
Sergio Acero/Time
How many of the offers are suitable?
As of January 31, 2023, the Ministry says that Fedegán has offered 499 properties totaling 247,000 hectares throughout the country, approximately 12 percent of the total offer.
However, so far only 54,149 hectares of those have passed the filters and they are in a state of technical and legal predictability at the national level, that is, the other 192,851 have been rejected.
Regarding the offer of ranchers in the Caribbean Region and Magdalena Medio, which are the regions in which the government is going to prioritize the purchase of land, this is 11,196 hectares, of which 3,563 hectares have passed the filters.
“The goal is to take productive and underutilized land. Most of it is in the Caribbean region and in Magdalena Medio. That is what we expect. The one that they have offered us in the Altillanura and the south of the country is impossible to reform because it is very expensive”, assures the minister.
José Félix Lafaurie leads Fedegán.
Fedegan’s response
The figures it gives Fedegan they are somewhat taller. These are a more current cut. The ranchers say that they have processed 303,964 hectares before the National Land Agency (ANT), which are in the feasibility qualification processes in that entity.
In addition to this, they have established that 349 more ranchers have made offers directly to the ANT, in an amount that could already reach 400,000 hectares.
lafaurie He responded to Petro and told him that «Fedegán does not sign an agreement to not comply with it.» «The president can continue to count on the certainty of our commitment, because the ranchers are complying and we will continue to comply,» reiterated the union leader.
