The Land for Prosperity activity supports the Government of Colombia in improving rural households’ conditions to achieve licit economic development through land tenure strengthening, based on massive access to land titles, development of local government capacity for land administration, and citizens’ integration to licit socioeconomic opportunities.
USAID facilitated partner commitments to revitalize three Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to improve coffee, cacao, and ñame value chains. The campaign to re-launch these partnerships, which were facilitated by USAID, gained an important commitment from the Agency for Territorial Renovation (ART), which will help link infrastructure development initiatives, like tertiary roads and economic reactivation programs, to the needs of producers and private sector members of the coffee and cacao value chains in Tolima.
USAID launched four new Municipal Land Offices (MLO) in Cáceres, Chaparral, Sardinata and Planadas, building local capacity for land formalization. USAID held re-launch events for six MLOs previously created by USAID in San Jacinto, Fuentedeoro, Tumaco, El Carmen de Bolívar, Ovejas, and Ataco. Since USAID supported the creation of the first Municipal Land Office in Ovejas, Sucre, more than two dozen municipalities have followed suit, allowing local mayors to formalize and title public parcels in the name of their municipalities. In addition, MLOs prepare and arm public servants with the skills and knowledge to understand where and what land conflicts are preventing property from being formalized and registered. MLOs also create a link between residents and the national government in land and property matters. Each office includes an average of five public servants specialized in law, land surveying, and social work.
USAID inks agreement with Tolima’s largest coffee cooperative Cafisur to support land formalization activities among coffee growers. Under the agreement, Cafisur has committed to covering at least 15 percent of the costs associated with titling and registering coffee farms of smallholder farmers in Southern Tolima. This partnership is indicative of the private sector’s willingness to contribute to improving the land tenure security in Colombia, especially for their clients. After mapping support for massive formalization efforts, the Activity identified potential partners in every region.
