Post Type: Blog

By Land and Rural Development Program in Colombia

Discussions about land tenure in development aid often end up like this: a question mark whether land titles are enough to alleviate poverty. Property titles—people tend to argue—provide landowners with an asset, which can be used as collateral to access credit and create capital to improve productivity and adopt new technologies. But are they enough to lift families out of poverty?

Experts say land titles strengthen the bond between farmers and land and create incentives to invest more in their patrimony, including their children’s future. Study after study demonstrates improvement in the factors that contribute to poverty, from reduced child labor to higher spending on education and food.

These studies are hard to dismiss, but the road to prosperity has many detours, especially for women.

In rural agriculture, ensuring land tenure for women is of particular relevance, especially where women are the main breadwinners or where antiquated land policies undermine women’s rights. The truth is that without investments in infrastructure, robust policies, and economic opportunities, a land title is little more than a small step up a big mountain.

Colombia is no stranger to the issues of land informality. A five-decade conflict often revolved around access to and the acquisition of land, and six of every 10 land parcels is informally owned. Indeed, the inequity and poverty born from the conflict led to land reform schemes that sought to go beyond “just a land title.”

For example, during several years, Colombia’s former land authority, INCODER, doled out more than 1,000 land tracts— each one known as a parcelación—to some 28,000 families. Each parcelación groups 20-plus families together and requires them to work together through a farmers’ association. The catch: they must manage their land under one land title. As one might expect, the attempt to ensure land tenure and create economic success fell short on both fronts. 

By Land and Rural Development Program in Colombia

When Colombia held Chocoshow, its first national cacao trade show, at the end of 2018, growers readied their finest cacaos to compete for recognition and fame on the nation’s stage. A victory for any lot of high-grade cacao would be a welcome boost to a sector constantly struggling with price fluctuations.

Meta-based cacao growers’ association Asopcari was prepared. After two years of fundamental changes in how its producers harvest and process cacao, the association came to Chocoshow with high hopes. In the end, it walked away with one gold and one silver medal, a triumphant showing for a group of 90-plus growers scattered about the Ariari river valley.

The growers have not always been great at production, Lopez admits, but it is not for lack of trying. The history of cacao in Meta is one of success and tragedy. By the mid-eighties, cacao was a cash crop for thousands of farmers, and annual production peaked at 5,000 tons. By 2000, illicit crops had essentially gutted Meta’s cacao future, destroying more than 7.5 million trees and leaving families in a far more vulnerable state.

In 2000, Asopcari was created and started with 300 hectares of quality cacao clones. In 2004, Meta cacaoteros produced a meager 400 tons of cacao. For Asopcari and others, it was going to be an uphill battle. Since then, the efforts to recuperate cacao cultivation in Meta have been slow. For more than a decade, much of Meta was off limits due to conflict, the drug trade, and an overwhelming distrust of anyone and everyone, making it especially difficult to establish sustainable marketing channels.

To make matters worse, the government delivered little necessary technical assistance to improve growing and harvesting techniques. Farmers soon lost track of which trees were improved varieties and bundled all cacao together, regardless of origin or type.

How a public-private partnership is solving several problems for Meta’s plantain growers and winning support in unlikely places.

By Land and Rural Development Program in Colombia

When Meta-based plantain growers’ association Asoplagran made its second shipment of plantain to Grupo Éxito, the Colombian multinational firm returned 30 kilograms of fruit that did not meet its standards. Edilson Aguilar and his colleagues were overjoyed, since they had originally delivered more than three tons.

“Grupo Éxito’s inspectors gave us good feedback and were quite impressed with our plantains,” explains Aguilar. “We are building our relationship with Grupo Éxito. The negotiation is straightforward, and they are not the same type of tyrant you see with traders in the local market.”

Thanks to the PPP, Asoplagran and three additional growers’ associations sat face-to-face with Colombian buyers—including Grupo Éxito and Cencosud—Colombia’s largest food retailers. The business conference, set up by thanks to the Meta Chamber of Commerce, is an example of USAID’s power to convene market players and broker new relationships.

USAID helped create the plantain PPP in early 2018 to leverage government support, gain interest from the private sector, and give producers the chance to continue improving their skills and knowledge. The partnership is valued at approximately US$400,000 (COP1,180 million), includes investments from four municipal governments, and benefits 130 growers from four plantain growers’ associations, such as Asoplagran.