The Institutional Strategy for International Cooperation is the roadmap to manage cooperation actions oriented to priorities identified by UPRA, for their institutional strengthening. It is prepared every four years, in accordance with the priorities set by the National Development Plan of each Government.
The Institutional Strategy for International Cooperation 2019-2022 was prepared taking into account the Sustainable Development Goals, the challenges required by the National Development Plan 2019-2022 and the institutional strategic plan. It contains elements of context and the tree of problems related to cooperation needs of the entity; in addition, it formulates strategic areas of cooperation, including the offer that the entity has, and the demand for cooperation needs.
Institutional Strategy for International Cooperation 2019-2022
UPRA identifies the following strategic lines to strengthen its capacity:
- Knowledge Management
- Information Systems for Agricultural Sector Planning
- Design of National Agricultural Planning
- Design of Agricultural Land-use Planning
- Land Use Planner Tool: European Forest Institute (EFI)
Land Use Planner is a tool that was used to prepare guidelines for productive reconversion programs in rice areas in the departments of Tolima and Sucre. The application allowed to identify changes in land use, differences between the scenarios of change in area, yield and rotation of rice with respect to other crops. The project ran between 2019 and 2020.
- Guidelines for strengthening and managing a comprehensive rural and agricultural information system in Colombia-World Bank:
At the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR - according to its acronym in Spanish), the World Bank supported UPRA in the preparation of a roadmap to strengthen management of agricultural information in the country. In this context, a characterization and evaluation of the main information tools of the sector was developed under the powers of MADR and DANE (National Administrative Department of Statistics) and normative and institutional arrangements for the management of agricultural information in Colombia, with the purpose of providing technical recommendations to strengthen institutional capacities of UPRA as the managing entity of an integrated agricultural information system.
-Non-reimbursable Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR) and the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA), for the development of Sigra -
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In 2020, a non-reimbursable technical cooperation agreement was signed, which aims to strengthen Colombian agricultural insurance markets, through the design and construction of the Agricultural Risk Management Information System (Sigra - according to its acronym in Spanish) in its agroclimatic component. The project started in July 2020 and ends in August 2022.
- Study of International Markets for Colombian Beef and Dairy Products: GIRA-World Bank-UPRA.
The objective of this World Bank consultancy was to provide analytical inputs from international markets for the process of formulating a National Plan for Productive Management of the dairy and meat chain.
- Roadmap of Agricultural Landscapes - Orinoquia Biocarbon Project, sustainable low-carbon landscapes: World Bank-MADR Agreement
This project aims to promote management of Roadmaps of Agricultural Landscapes in areas of the Colombian Orinoquia, as a strategy of social appropriation and sustainable agricultural production, with low-carbon development criteria, through the formulation of two agricultural landscape roadmaps in the municipalities of Acacías (Meta) and Paz de Ariporo (Casanare). The project ends in November 2021.
- Data infrastructure project for the Orinoquia region and monitoring of agricultural uses for planning and efficient use of rural land with low-carbon production criteria in the Colombian Orinoquia region, within the framework of the Orinoquia Biocarbon Project, low-carbon sustainable landscapes: World Bank-MADR Agreement.
Its objective is to consolidate data infrastructure, framed in the comprehensive information management strategy, harmonized with the National Unified Rural Agricultural Information System (SNUIRA - according to its acronym in Spanish), and with an emphasis on monitoring agricultural uses at a scale of 1:100,000 for the Colombian Orinoquia region, as a contribution to the planning and efficient use of rural land with low-carbon production criteria.
- Determination of commercial prices of rural land in Orinoquia, within the framework of the Orinoquia Biocarbon Project, sustainable low-carbon landscapes: World Bank-MADR Agreement.
Its objective is to prepare a map of commercial prices of rural land at a scale of 1:100,000 in the departments of Arauca, Casanare and Vichada.
- Formulation of the strategy for regularization of rural land ownership in Orinoquia, within the framework of the Orinoquia Biocarbon Project, sustainable low-carbon landscapes: World Bank-MADR Agreement.
Its objective is to develop a strategy to harmonize inter-institutional actions (MADR, ANT, IGAC, SNR, UPRA, and Jurisdictional Branch) and territorial management of regularization of rural land ownership, in accordance with its competences focused on the Colombian Orinoquia.
- Analysis of property distribution in the Orinoquia
Its objective is to carry out an analysis of the distribution of rural property in Colombia for year 2019 with a specialized chapter on the Orinoquia.
- Memorandum of Understanding between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Unit for Rural Land Planning, Land Adaptation, and Agricultural Uses (UPRA).
In October 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the aim of supporting the knowledge transfer for the application of methodologies developed by UPRA in the context of territorial management. UN Women, on its part, will share experiences that can contribute to strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality. Under this agreement, working sessions were held with Red Adelco (an operator of UN Women) with the goal of sharing UPRA's methodologies for prioritizing productive alternatives and financial evaluation and to provide support in the development and review of these studies in two PDET regions of Colombia.
- Skillshares in Monitoring Agricultural Activities with the British Prosperity Fund - Camnexus.
This skill-sharing initiative began in May 2022 with the objective of monitoring agricultural activities in the Guerrero Paramo. It contributed to expanding the spectrum of different data sources and mechanisms for identifying the recognition processes of agricultural land uses in the territory and enhancing UPRA's technical skills. This initiative concluded in October 2022 with the identification of areas, priority zones, and result analysis using the R Studio tool.
- Infrastructure Data Project for the Orinoco Region and Monitoring of Agricultural Uses for Rural Land Planning with Low Carbon Production Criteria in the Colombian Orinoco Region, within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Biocarbon Orinoco Project, Sustainable Low Carbon Landscapes: World Bank-Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The project made progress in developing machine learning algorithms on cloud computing platforms for monitoring prioritized value chains: rice, oil palm, cocoa, cashew, forestry, and livestock pastures. Over 1,300 radar and optical satellite images were analyzed for monitoring purposes.
UPRA has developed important skills that it can share or offer through different cooperation mechanisms. The following topics stand out:
- Production of sectoral information and Information System for Rural Agricultural Planning (Sipra - according to its acronym in Spanish)
UPRA manages the Strategy of the National Unified Rural and Agricultural Information System; the administration of Agronet; development of Sipra as the first geographic viewer with open information on the sector; design and implementation of the Information System for the Management of Agricultural Risks (Sigra - according to its acronym in Spanish), and other statistical information of the sector.
- Definition of the national agricultural frontier
Construction and definition of the national agricultural frontier constitutes a milestone for the country and for other countries in the region, insofar as this instrument helps the Government to focus investments in the agricultural sector, aids to a more efficient use of rural agriculture land, and the protection of ecosystems of special environmental interest.
- Development and application of land evaluation and planning methodologies for productive management
UPRA has succeeded in adapting a methodology for the identification of suitable areas with application for more than 35 types of land use. This methodology has a holistic approach when considering physical, socio-ecosystem and socioeconomic components, the resulting maps of which have been widely accepted by government entities and unions to guide their productive and investment initiatives. Likewise, UPRA supports producer unions and associations in the formulation of production management strategies with a medium and long-term vision to improve their competitiveness and sustainability. On the other hand, it provides technical support to governorates to strengthen an adequate inclusion of the rural agricultural component within their land-use planning processes.
- Tools for social planning of rural property
UPRA conducts analysis of land tenure and distribution, formalization of rural property, rural land market, identification of family farming areas, Zidres reference areas, which aid to guide policies and regulations on the matter.
