Lack of territorial governance in Latam would be putting pressure on the region’s food sovereignty

Land governance in Latin America has been affected in recent years by intense political changes, some favorable and others adverse, for the land rights of the indigenous, peasant and Afro-descendant populations. Added to this are the growing impacts of climate change and the policies and measures to confront it.

As part of LAC Earth Forum 2024, the ILC LAC regional coordinator, Zulema Burneo, highlighted the critical relevance that secure land tenure acquires in a context of “great global challenges”, such as the climate crisis or the need to guarantee a sustainable supply of food. This is based on new emerging strategies that focus on the leading role that peasant and indigenous movements play in the defense of land rights.

“We live in a civilization of death and destruction of Mother Earth for the benefit of a few. Therefore, it is important to be aware that our lives depend on the others that inhabit nature. It is important to protect life and defend it thinking about future generations,” highlighted Melania Canales, representative of the ILC LAC Regional Committee and the National Organization of Andean and Amazonian Indigenous Women of Peru (Onamiap).

Meanwhile, the deputy vice president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Jo Puri, highlighted the need to ensure the land rights of indigenous peoples and communities to reduce deforestation and carbon capture and address the climate crisis. while promoting a more sustainable economy and resource management.

“Small farmers are recognized as a fundamental part of the food production system, they are the backbone of livelihoods for households. 90% of the hundreds of millions of farms in the world today depend on family farming. We must think about the importance of land and agricultural rights to address the climate crisis,” Puri asserted.

“The right to land, along with the right to territory, are the main current demands of the popular subjects of the countryside, while disputes over resources and decampenization processes increase,” added Javier Lautaro Medina, from the Collaborative Strategy for the Guarantee of Land Rights in Colombia – CINEP.

Brazil, Guatemala and Colombia: land problems in contexts of transformation

During the first session, “Agrarian reforms and transformations in Latin America: advances in the democratization of access, use and control of land”, the Director of Strategic Management of INCRA, Gustavo Noronha, pointed out that the environmental catastrophe due to climate change in Brazil and the weakening of policies that allow progress with the transformation of the countryside by previous governments have posed a challenge in budgetary matters and in the consolidation of agrarian reform.

“If we compare it to 2010 values, there is a big difference. INCRA only has 10% of the budget. We have to change the law to rebuild the institution and reduce bureaucracy to have a better stewardship. Added to this are problems with Congress, which speaks, for example, of life sentences for defenders of the land,” he said.

Alair Santos Silva, Secretary of Agrarian Reform of the National Confederation of Rural Workers and Family Farmers (CONTAG) of Brazil, stated that another of the great challenges is the land grabbers in the Amazon region, “who occupy large areas of land and then They ask that this be regularized.” He also maintained that “the Government must have conditions to confront these situations, while Congress defends the expansion of agribusiness.”

Ana Glenda Tager, private secretary of the Presidency of Guatemala, pointed out that the signature between the Government and peasant organizations is central to reducing conflict and the criminalization of the struggle for land. However, she maintained that the evictions – largely linked to the actions of the Public Ministry – continue and that they promote ungovernability.

“In terms of rural development, a proposal has been made on how to implement the National Comprehensive Rural Development Policy (Pendri), and the idea is to be able to territorialize it and work from there on development from the same territories and the priorities that they define,” Tager stressed.

In turn, Omar Jerónimo, coordinator of the Ch’orti’ Nuevo Día Campesina Central, said that the displacement of young people without access to land to the United States has become a “business for the financial sector,” since it generates income from remittances that reaches 12% of GDP, almost exceeding exports.

The Colombian case has also shown progress, but the road ahead is still long. Yolis Correa, director of the Association of Peasant Reserve Zones (ANZORC), recognized that despite President Petro’s efforts they still have problems promoting land titling and territorial recognition in favor of the development of the Colombian peasantry, grouped in reserve zones. .

“We went through a pandemic that showed that it is the peasantry that supports the basis of the economy. We have an agenda with actions and proposals, but also a diverse population that has a hard time staying in the countryside. It is thought that the peasantry is aging, but that is not the case, it is not that they want to leave, but that there are no opportunities,” Correa indicated.

LAC Earth Forum 2024: A change forward

It is clear that joining efforts between rulers and various civil organizations is critical to reducing the impact of the climate crisis and the forced displacement of communities in the territories. Furthermore, the panel considered that the food sovereignty of the region must be guaranteed through a sustainable agrarian reform that, in the Colombian case, focuses on access to land.

“The changes that are taking place in Guatemala leave interesting lessons, and the expectations that are being generated in Colombia with the current government that believes in the transformation of the rural sector allows us to analyze the agrarian transformations in progress. On the other hand, Brazil’s experience is encouraging in terms of progress in food sovereignty and agrarian reform,” highlighted Melissa Ramos, researcher at the Research System on Agrarian Problems (SIPAE, Ecuador) and Global Advisor to the ILC.

The meeting, which anticipates the Global Earth Forum 2025, in Colombia, had the participation of Michael Taylor, director of the Global Secretariat of the International Land Coalition, who highlighted that said coalition has 290 members, of which 106 are organizations of indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, peasants, pastors, youth or women that directly represent more than 185 million people around the world”

“The ILC is a solidarity network that works to support the struggle for land of popular organizations and peoples, a fundamental pillar of the 2030 Strategy. It focuses efforts on providing special support to these organizations and recognizes their representative role in decision-making. decisions. “All members of the coalition genuinely support this leadership,” he detailed.

The data

• The LAC 2024 Land Forum is organized by the International Land Coalition Latin America and the Caribbean (ILC LAC), Regional Land and SDG Initiative, Platform for the Defense of Land and Territory, Rural Women and Right to Land Initiative, Platform for Defenders of Land and Territory, Land Matrix Latin America and the Caribbean, Regional Family Farming Initiative, Semi-arid Latin America Platform, Collaborative Strategy in Colombia for the Guarantee of the Rights to Land and Territory, National Coalition for the Land of Argentina – ENI Argentina.
• The Plurales Foundation, Citizen Observatory, Institute of Ecuadorian Studies (IEE), National Family Agriculture Network – RENAF Colombia, Confederation of Family Producer Organizations of Expanded Mercosur (COPROFAM), Oxfam, United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO), Tenure Facility, DATALUTA, Church World Service (CSW), Committee to Promote the Colombian Agroecological Movement (CIMAC) and DAKI Semiarid Vivo.