Cogua, Cundinamarca, (@UPRAColombia). With the presence of various community representatives, including producers, entrepreneurs, guilds, local authorities, and other local actors, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MinAgricultura), together with the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA), shared the process of identifying Areas of Protection for Food Production (APPA) in six municipalities of the Sabana Centro region.
During the session, the technical teams from the Ministry and UPRA explained what APPAs are, their objectives, benefits, and scope. These areas aim to protect rural soil and guarantee the human right to adequate food.
APPAs are rural areas located within the agricultural frontier that possess favorable conditions for food production. Given their priority status for the State, it is essential to protect them. The objectives of these areas are: to promote the efficient use of rural agricultural land and water resources; to protect soils for food production and prevent their loss; to ensure the permanent availability of adequate, nutritious, and culturally accepted food; and to drive rural development to guarantee the human right to adequate food.
The municipalities where the APPA concepts and criteria were shared during the first and second weeks of December were Nemocón, Tocancipá, Sopó, Tenjo, Zipaquirá, and Cogua.
Producers and attendees at these sessions highlighted that APPAs will allow them to protect their land and ensure they can continue producing food.
According to Ricardo Galler, a resident of the rural area of Cogua, “The issue of protecting the soil is extremely important. APPAs represent a very interesting way to protect the environment and the soil for food production.”
Similarly, José Julio Rojas, president of the community action board of Churuguaco Alto in the rural area of Tenjo, emphasized “the protection of this territory because, in previous administrations, urban expansion has been widely promoted. When we change land use from rural to urban, we are depriving Bogotá of its food supply because we are prioritizing brick production over food production.”
Daniela Bastidas, a council member of the municipality of Zipaquirá, stated that “this socialization space led by UPRA and MinAgricultura is very important, as it raises awareness about this significant initiative of the National Government: the Areas of Protection for Food Production.”
Bastidas added, “It is necessary for the territories of the Sabana de Bogotá, including a municipality like Zipaquirá, to have designated areas for food production. The urban expansion has already brought serious challenges to the region, so we must recognize and strengthen the agricultural potential and vocation of these lands. Additionally, we need to address the issues and gaps in rural areas and respond to the pressing needs of rural inhabitants today.”
MinAgricultura and UPRA will continue the process of identifying APPAs through the end of 2024 and into early 2025.
