War-Torn Territories in Colombia Return to Peace with Rural Landownership
“The Agrarian Reform advances with the individual titling of peasant properties in this area of Caquetá, historically affected by the armed conflict,” reports the Agencia Nacional de Tierras of Colombia.
On his farm in the Rovira area, Luis Felipe Cadena has been producing coffee, beans, plantains, honey, and vegetables for over 40 years. However, he did not have a land title, a situation that has now changed for his family and 150 others living in San Vicente del Caguán, department of Caquetá.
“We were waiting for this title for many farmers from the 27 villages that make up the Pato-Balsillas Peasant Reserve Zone, to have a deed for our land,” says Luis Felipe Cadena, a peasant from the Asociación Municipal De Colonos Del Pato-AMCOP.
“The State had prevented us from owning the land, but thanks to the government of President Gustavo Petro, who has focused on this area, we will now have our own title, a document that certifies that this is my land,” Luis concluded.
A total of 4,331 hectares of land were formalized by the National Land Agency, represented in 151 property titles delivered to peasant families in that peasant reserve zone, as part of the Tierras y Territorios Sostenibles para la Paz initiative, in partnership with the European Union.
The new Director of the National Land Agency, Juan Felipe Harman, reported that “the titling benefits 66 women and 85 men who now become legitimate owners of their land, thanks to which they will now have greater guarantees to strengthen the region’s peasant economy.”
The backing from the Fondo Europeo a la Política de Tierras del Gobierno Nacional has provided legal certainty to rural communities in conflict-affected municipalities. This support has enabled peasants to acquire rightful property titles, aligning with Point 1 of the Peace Agreement on Comprehensive Rural Reform.
“The land is often called the motherland because it is what provides us with sustenance day by day,” said Luis Felipe Cadena land title recipient from Manantial de la Vereda Rovira farm to ANT.
“Here, we work tirelessly collecting coffee, beans, sugarcane, corn, peas, and in these fields, as you can see, any vegetable grows: onions, tomatoes, lettuce. We are very grateful to the National Land Agency because at last we have a title. We have a deed. Thank you.
This is something that many farmers like me have been waiting for, to have something to show to a bank. With this deed I can get some money to be able to work the land. We have 27 plots that exist in this peasant reserve area.
To be able to be owners of our land, well, the truth is, I am very grateful, because I have a title to leave an inheritance to my children and to improve this land because nowadays we know that this belongs to us. And we have a title to certify it.”
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