Climate-smart Farming in Colombia’s Last Agricultural Frontier
When cattle rancher Jorge Rodriguez established his farm years ago in the Meta Department of Colombia’s Orinoquía region, he decided to call it La Esperanza, meaning hope.
Rodriguez was not alone. Between 1990 and 2015, more than 1 million hectares of Orinoquía’s forests, mostly in the Meta Department, were cleared to create pasture land. Colombia’s Orinoquía region is a massive, 25-million-hectare savanna and wetland area in the east of the country, bordering Venezuela. It is home to almost 1.5 million people. In recent years, large-scale land conversion has happened throughout the region to increase the production of livestock, palm oil, cacao, rubber, and rice.
Many rural and indigenous farmers in Orinoquía are dependent on agriculture and natural ecosystems for their livelihoods. Noticing declining productivity and environmental impacts, some of them, like Rodriguez have made important changes to the way they manage their farm land. He says, “Forests are the lungs of the earth. By planting trees and closing off some areas for natural regeneration while rotating my livestock, I have learned to increase the productivity of my farmland. Before, I had one animal per hectare and now, thanks to better forage and shade structures, I can have three animals per hectare. In addition, they are better fed and healthier.”
The Orinoquía is considered Colombia’s last agricultural frontier, with the potential to serve as a food source for Colombia, and the world. While exploiting this potential is vital for the livelihood of farmers, it is also a crucial part of Colombia’s development agenda. But agricultural expansion comes at a cost.
photo credit: szeke