Agricultural policies in Colombia: The dilemma between food security and commodity–export agriculture (Case study of Tolima, Colombia)
Gina Rico Mendez, Guillermo Arturo Medina Frias
Is there a disconnect between food and agricultural policies in Colombia? If so, why is that the case? This paper suggests that in a scenario of the structural transformation of agricultural production, central governments no longer need to rely in their rural periphery to obtain foods, instead they can rely on external sources to do so. On the other side of the equation, rural areas are no longer existential for state consolidation, but critical for obtaining tax revenue from export-oriented agricultural production in order to sustain the provision of public goods in urban areas (Rico Mendez, 2016). Using the case of Tolima- Colombia the paper will approach the problem through the analysis of: 1) National policies for food security and agricultural production; 2) the structural transformation in food systems; and 3) institutional changes in rural areas. Results from this research are critical for the post-accords in Colombia.
Event: Land Governance in an Interconnected World_Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty_2018
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