Colombia: Colombian Agribusiness in the Wake of War

Aug 23, 2016 | Mike Wilson, Farm Future
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The Marxist guerilla group FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) is the oldest and largest group among Colombia's left-wing rebels. They claim to be fighting against unequal land ownership; according to a Businessweek article, “less than 1% of the Colombian population owns 60% of the land, one of the world’s most inequitable ratios.” An incredible 1 in 10 Colombians have been pushed off their land or out of their homes, second only to Syria in the number of internally displaced people. Some 40% of farmland was fallow last year, mainly due to confusion over ownership. When the government (President Juan Manuel Santos’ in his first four-year period) announced a peace talk process, established the office of land restitution and pledged to help owners gain back their land, the guerillas agreed to sit and negotiate.