By Land and Rural Development Program in Colombia
President Iván Duque signs statement of commitment to deliver land titles following the USAID-supported Massive Land Formalization Pilot.
The Final Step
The President of Colombia, Iván Duque, and Mark Green, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), met and signed a joint statement of support for the Massive Land Formalization Pilot, which is nearing completion in the municipality of Ovejas, Sucre.
The Ovejas Land Formalization and Multipurpose Cadaster Pilot is an unprecedented undertaking in Colombia that reduces the overall costs of land administration by streamlining the collection and processing of land tenure and cadastral information while also providing government land agencies with comprehensive and reliable land data.
“When this government took over, less than 20% of the country had an updated cadaster. With USAID’s support and new public policy, the goal is to update the cadaster for 60% of the country by 2022, and try to reach 100% by 2024. The Ovejas Pilot in Ovejas is proof that land titling, property, financial inclusion and agriculture strengthening programs can be a reality.”
-Iván Duque, President of Colombia
Property Rights
In the signed joint statement, the Government of Colombia commits its support to bring the USAID-supported activity to completion, setting the stage for the government to continuing building on the simplification and expansion of land titling and cadaster to improve land administration in Colombia.
The Ovejas Pilot is facilitating property rights to around 2,900 campesinos, more than half of whom are rural women while simultaneously updating the cadaster information for 5,600 land parcels.
In Ovejas, six out of every 10 parcels lack property titles, creating serious impediments to a thriving environment for sustainable and inclusive rural development. The Ovejas Pilot addresses 100% of the municipality’s land informality, uses conflict resolution mechanisms, and places emphasis on women’s property rights.
“Formalizing land rights will mitigate a key driver of conflict in the countryside, and create new economic opportunity and improve quality of life for the rural population. This is an historic achievement, and I am proud of USAID’s involvement to help pilot the program; one that can be scaled throughout Colombia. It is an example of what we can accomplish together.”
-Mark Green, Administrator of USAID