Colombia: The Altillanura – An Uncertain Future
The tens of thousands of hectares of land currently being cultivated in the Altillanura, or eastern plains of Colombia, are under threat of dissolution by Colombian courts over the question of land rights. Given the restriction placed on the size of land holdings and the provenance of the owners, major international agribusiness companies may be unable to retain the thousands of hectares of land that they purchased and invested millions of dollars into developing. At the heart of the issue is the longstanding problem of land rights for small farmers or campesinos, which the government is attempting to address through the “ZIDRE” initiative. This initiative seeks to promote development partnerships between agribusiness and small landowners in the Altillanura.
