In favor of socio-environmental and food transformation in Colombia

El CLACSO Working Group on Political Agroecology He expresses his willingness to contribute critically to this transformative process in Colombia.

The election of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez as president and vice president of Colombia, respectively, represents a milestone in the country's political history, which has been controlled by right-wing governments for over 200 years. It also represents an opportunity to generate a profound shift from the guarantees offered to the ruling class by these right-wing governments to guarantees of human and collective rights for the entire population, especially those sectors marginalized from public policy and from a sovereign and fulfilling life.

Even during the presidential campaign, Petro and Márquez's proposals made clear their commitment to working towards key socio-environmental goals such as the implementation of the Peace Agreement, comprehensive rural reform, food sovereignty, ecosystem protection, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and energy sovereignty, among others, placing farmers, women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and Afro-Colombians at the center of their political agenda. This could undoubtedly be achieved, given that the current parliamentary bloc is largely aligned with the Historical Pact, the ruling party. This presents a strategically important political juncture.

Since taking office on August 7, 2022, both the government and members of parliament have signaled significant progress toward this change, submitting proposals such as the draft legislative act "recognizing the peasantry as a subject of special constitutional protection and incorporating the text of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas into the constitutional framework." This is undoubtedly an unprecedented step toward recognizing the rights of peasants, especially after the Duque administration abstained from voting on the International Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas at the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. Furthermore, progress is being made on proposals for a law on Peasant, Family, and Community Agriculture and another law to promote Agroecology, through bills recently submitted to the legislature.

This is undoubtedly a historic moment for agroecology in the country. The transition document clearly outlines the priorities for this administration, including the need to "transform agri-food systems by promoting agroecological practices, research, applied science and technology, among other initiatives." However, this will require a political context that not only considers production methods but also moves toward transforming the national agri-food system, currently characterized by high food imports (12.5 million tons per year), among other detrimental factors.

For their part, a significant number of social and rural organizations have openly expressed their willingness to contribute their full capacity, experience, and commitment to working alongside the government in the necessary transformation of the country's rural areas. This represents a potential political agroecology movement underway, aimed at transforming a predatory, corporate agri-food system into one that is sovereign, popular, healthy, and sustainable.

Given this situation, researchers and academics from various Latin American countries, gathered in the CLACSO Working Group on Political Agroecology, express our full support for the political process promoted by the new government and endorsed by social movements in Colombia, in favor of socio-ecological transformation and the country's agri-food systems. We believe this is a historic moment to advance the widespread adoption or scaling up of agroecology in the country, through the implementation of policies focused on sustainable on-farm production, as well as processes of healthy and sovereign transformation, distribution, and consumption at the territorial level. This will require new analytical, institutional, and evaluation frameworks, as it relates to policies linked to food, health, education, and Buen Vivir (Living Well) or Vivir Sabroso (Living Well) in territories that rightfully demand better living conditions in peace.

12th October 2022
CLACSO Working Group
Political Agroecology

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group Political Agroecology and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.