Skip to main content
PRESS ROOM
Calendar 12/6/2024

Colombia Has 42,944,940 Ha of Agricultural Frontier in Its Latest Update

Colombia dispone de 42.944.940 ha de frontera agrícola (FA), continental e insular, en su actualización más reciente

Bogotá D. C., (@UPRAColombia, @claudialili76). The Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA) has updated the national agricultural frontier (AF), which now encompasses 42,944,940 hectares. This area is available for the country to develop agricultural activities. UPRA contributes to the formulation and focus of public policy management in the agricultural sector and rural development. Agricultural activities include farming, livestock, aquaculture, fishing, and forestry.

​​

The update of the agricultural frontier for the continental and insular territories involved several actions: ​

  • Generating a new representation of the AF.
  • Adjusting the categories of the conditional AF.
  • Changing the term 'exclusions' to 'restrictions.'
  • Differe​​ntiating the restriction previously called 'natural forests and non-agricultural areas' into two categories: 1) Zero Deforestation Agreement and 2) Technical Restrictions: Non-Agricultural Areas.
  • Including new protected areas: the declaration of the Manacacías Mountain Range National Natural Park and the expansion of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta National Natural Park.
The update of the continental and insular AF incorporates changes in its chromatic coding and category differentiation. For example, the conditional area now covers 22,803,490 ha (equivalent to 53% of the AF and 20% of the continental territory) compared to 20,141,450 ha of the non-conditional area (equivalent to 47% of the AF and 17.6% of the continental territory). 

Other data from the AF update reveal the typologies of the areas conditioned for agricultural activity, enabling a comprehensive understanding of the territory under a differential approach. ​

 

Actualización de la FA

 

Definition and Objectives of the Agricultural Frontier (FA)
 

The FA is the boundary of rural land where agricultural, livestock, aquaculture, fishing, and forestry activities are permitted and promoted, and areas are recognized where activities are restricted based on legal, policy, and technical considerations as per Resolution 261 of 2018 issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 
​

The objectives of defining the FA are: 

  1. Contribute to the formulation and targeting of public policy management in the agricultural, fishing, and rural development sectors.
  2. Promote the efficient use of rural agricultural land, productive and social organization of rural property, and strengthen productivity and competitiveness of agricultural activities.​​
  3. Contribute to stabilizing and reducing the loss of environmentally important ecosystems.

​​To update the FA, the following key elements were considered: 
 

  • Reaffirm the 'Zero Deforestation Sector Agreement' and reaffirm the country's commitments.
  • Analyze in detail the conditioned FA in environmental, ethno-cultural, and risk management typologies.
  • Prioritize territories in the insular Caribbean, Pacific coast, and Colombian Amazon.
  • Incorporate analysis of the coastal and amphibious marine environment in the FA update.
  • Conduct a comprehensive analysis of environmental determinants and information from entities and sectors.
  • Develop joint working spaces with environmental authorities, entities, economic sectors, research institutes, and other strategic actors.
  • Fulfill point 1.1.10 of the Peace Agreement "Adopting the Environmental Zoning Plan". 

 Interested parties can consult the new delineation of the FA at​ www.sipr​a​.gov.co​​; they will also find cartographic information detailing typologies in conditioned FA and restrictions for agricultural activities.​