Helping Displaced Farmers Secure Land Rights in Colombia

Helping Displaced Farmers Secure Land Rights in Colombia

Thirteen Farmers from San Onofre Become Formal Owners

The mountainous and isolated region of Montes de Maria experienced some of the worst violence during Colombia’s protracted internal conflict.  As a result of the violence and insecurity, the communities residing there suffered from massive displacement. More than 50% of the population in region was displaced during the conflict.
As the security situation improved, the residents of Montes de Maria began the difficult process of rebuilding their lives. Chief among these tasks is restoring land ownership to farmers and other property holders who were displaced during the conflict.
The government of Colombia estimates that 360,000 families were forced off of their lands. To address this, the government of Colombia passed the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law which aims to provide reparations to internally displaced people who have fled their homes over the past two decades. While the Victims’ and Land Restitution Law is an important first step in the process of restoring land ownership to those displaced, numerous obstacles to land restitution remain. The majority of those displaced held no formal land titles and many worked the land under unwritten sharecropping arrangements.
Through the USAID-funded Colombia Responde program, Global Communities is supporting local organizations that are working to formalize land ownership for those who have been displaced. Working with the Colombian Institute for Rural Development (INCODER), the Colombia Responde program has helped restore land ownership for 13 farmers in the community of San Onofre. Securing land ownership for these farmers has been a long uphill battle.   
Since 1981, these farmers worked as tenants on property located in the municipality of San Onofre. Some years later, the owner asked them to leave the property without giving them any compensation for the land improvements. The farmers requested support from INCODER to claim their rights. In 1991 INCODER purchased 125 hectares for the 23 farmers. Although this improved their situation, they still needed to go through registration and formalization processes. In 2012, INCODER, with support from Colombia Responde, began the titling process. Finally last April, formal titles were issued to 13 farmers. The other 10 farmers will receive their titles before the year ends. Besides becoming legal owners, the farmers will receive support to implement productive projects, which will improve their quality of life.