9 December 2016: Following the signing of a peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has announced its support for a comprehensive rural reform strategy that includes strengthening food security and peace and addressing issues of land access and restitution. In a related announcement, the World Bank Board of Directors approved a loan to strengthen land management institutions and implement regional policies to improve finances and prioritize investments throughout Colombia.

The FAO support programme was announced during an event focusing on transitional justice and land rights in Colombia that took place on the sidelines of the FAO Council, held from 5-9 December 2016 in Rome, Italy. It follows a joint request from the Government of Colombia and FARC for FAO’s support in implementing the first point of the peace agreement, which focuses on hunger, rural development and comprehensive rural reform.

Speaking at the Rome event, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva noted that the peace agreement “proposes a profound change in the rural areas of the country,” and said the UN’s support will enable Colombia to diversify agricultural production, improve incomes and promote governance of land and natural resource tenure.

Colombia’s Ambassador to Italy, Juan Mesa Zuleta, said that as a result of the conflict, Colombia is currently cultivating only about one-third of its 20 million hectares of arable land and is a net importer of food despite being “among the seven countries of the world that can best contribute to ending world hunger.”

Colombia’s Ambassador to Italy, Juan Mesa Zuleta, said that as a result of the conflict, Colombia is currently cultivating only about one-third of its 20 million hectares of arable land and is a net importer of food despite being “among the seven countries of the world that can best contribute to ending world hunger.” A representative of Colombia’s National Association of Peasant Reserve Zones stressed that these zones offer the “ideal scenario” to begin the process of securitization of seven million hectares of land, as they already have a legal framework to grant rights.

The land reform efforts will be based on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT, or The Voluntary Guidelines). FAO also announced that it will offer its expertise in monitoring and evaluating Colombia’s social protection programmes, with a particular focus on promoting family farming through public procurement measurements.

Meanwhile, the World Bank announced the approval of its first Programmatic Territorial Development Policy Financing, as part of the Bank’s Country Partnership Framework with Colombia, covering the period 2016 to 2021. The loan package will contribute towards updating land information systems, making soil use more efficient, and creating key institutions for land management and financial and budget administration in the regions.

Gerardo Corrochano, World Bank Director for Colombia and Mexico, said the Bank seeks to support the national government with public policy instruments to “strengthen and modernize local governments to contribute to their sustainable development, improve the quality of life of their inhabitants and reduce gaps between the most advanced and more backward regions.”

On 24 November 2016, the Colombian Government and FARC-EP, the main opposition group, agreed to a new peace accord meant to end violent conflict that had lasted for more than 50 years. That deal was the culmination of four years of talks between the two sides, and led to a cessation of hostilities and agreements on key issues such as political participation, illicit drugs and victims’ rights, transitional justice and land rights.

The FAO Council is the executive arm of FAO’s top-level governing body, the Conference of Members. [FAO Press Release on Colombia Support Programme] [UN News Centre Story on Signing of New Colombia Peace Agreement] [World Bank Press Release] [The Voluntary Guidelines]