In 2023, the government proposed an agrarian reform project that aims to grant campesino farmers 1.5 million hectares by 2026.  As of March 2025, the government is in the process of redistributing – or has already redistributed – over 1 million hectares of land.  But the reform, by their own account, is going more slowly than they’d hoped.

WHAT WE’RE ASKING

We’re asking the Colombian state to sustain and expand its Agrarian Reform plans. In implementing it, campesinos, Indigenous, black, Afro-descendant, raizal, palanquero Peoples and fisherfolk should be included, with special attention to young people and women. This plan should recognise their right to a dignified life and their role in protecting and managing the country’s biodiversity and food sovereignty.

WHAT SPECIFICALLY NEEDS TO HAPPEN

1. Establish annual redistribution targets, including the active participation of and protections for rural women and youth
2. Clearly define institutional responsibilities
3. Enforce implementation and monitoring mechanisms
4. Allocate sufficient economic resources and establish a roadmap to revitalise Colombia’s rural economy
5. Establish protections against foreign ownership and control over land
6. Implement effective protocols to monitor and respond to cases of land-grabbing

WHAT WE’RE ASKING

The State must commit to implementing mechanisms to strengthen family farming as practised by campesinos, Indigenous peoples, Black, Afro-descendant, Raizal, Palenquero, and other communities, as well as traditional agricultural production systems and the promotion of local food practices, as part of a sustainable transformation of the agri-food system. 

 This transformation must prioritize environmental protection, food sovereignty, and social equity, strengthening the communities and collectives that have historically practiced traditional, ancestral, and agroecological methods of food production—including Indigenous peoples, Palenquero communities, Afro-descendants, campesinos, and other populations that require special protection.

THE STATE SHOULD SPECIFICALLY

1. Implement the public policy on agroecology with an emphasis on recognising and strengthening the communities and collectives that have historically engaged in traditional, ancestral, and agroecological food production practices.
   
2. Further protect native and heirloom seeds to safeguard biodiversity and the rights of farmers
   
3. Establish regulatory frameworks that support Indigenous and local communities in the sustainable production, processing, and marketing of food.
   
4. Recognize and protect the role of rural women in sustainable food system practices.
   
5. Increase public procurement targets for food sourced from Indigenous peoples and local communities, and implement mechanisms to ensure these targets are met.

Petro’s government has prioritised environmental protection and biodiversity conservation with notable success. Under former Minister of Environment Susana Muhamad, deforestation dropped by 40% between 2022 and 2024—surpassing national targets—and 28 Forest and Biodiversity Development Hubs were created, incentivising sustainable livelihoods, especially in the Amazon. At CBD COP16, Colombia also launched a new environmental financing model, the “Fondo para la Vida y la Biodiversidad, which has already helped structure and secure 3 trillion pesos for community-driven environmental projects across 15 strategic ecoregions.

The government’s initiative to address the climate crisis is ambitious and far-reaching, and its focus on community-driven environmental projects is laudible. However, to achieve a just energy transition, a more rights-based approach is needed: one that recognises the role and rights of rural communities as custodians and defenders of nature.

WHAT WE’RE ASKING THE STATE TO DO

• Securing land and territorial rights for the people who live on and from the land: Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendants, Black communities, Raizales, Palenqueros, peasants, and artisanal fishermen 
• Institutional and financial reforms for a people-centred energy transition built from grass-roots leadership

THESE REFORMS SHOULD ESTABLISH BOTH MECHANISMS AND RESOURCES FOR:

1. Supporting local land governance, respecting the autonomy of Indigenous Peoples, Afrodescendants, Black communities, Raizales, Palenqueros, peasants, and artisanal fishermen  
2. Integrating community-led natural resource management models, Indigenous and traditional conservation models, and participatory ecological restoration initiatives –  including the restoration and management of watersheds, rivers, wetlands, streams, and swamps– into national environmental policies 
3. Promoting decentralised and democratic decision-making in environmental policy construction and implementation
4. Ensuring transparency and accountability in the allocation and management of public and international environmental funds  
5. Directing the allocation of environmental funding to Indigenous Peoples, Palenquero communities, Afro-descendants, campesinos, and other populations that require special protection.