Rice farming is the hope of displaced families in Tierralta, Córdoba

March 19, 2010

A group of 200 internally displaced families from Tierralta, Cordoba benefit from a USAID supported income-generation project that will sustain 80 hectares of rice and the institutional strengthening of 20 producers’ associations. The launching of this initiative was held March 4 with Lynn Vega, USAID director for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Program; Anibal Ortiz Naranjo, mayor of Tierralta; and Martin Martorell, head of Operations for the International Organization for Migrations (IOM).

This project is worth over $688 million pesos invested as follows: $511 million by USAID; $109 million by the Asociación de Desplazados de las Veredas Diamante (the Diamond, Tovolá, and La Bonita Rural District Association of IDPs) and $68 million pesos by the Colombian Agricultural Society.

It takes a lot of manual labor to grow rice and this will allow people to participate and undertake a licit activity that will provide them with a sustainable income. Simultaneously, the project includes the implementation of productive fields where they will be able to grow greens and vegetables including red beans, green beans, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers; and raise hens to lay eggs, guaranteeing that they will be able to feed themselves and their families.

Tierralta is one of the region’s most affected by violence in Cordoba. Because of the ongoing conflict, many farmers have had to abandon their lands, in search of protection and better opportunities elsewhere. This leads to greater needs that go unattended: housing, health, food, education, clothing, recreation and sports, among others.

Hopefully, this initiative will create more employment, yield greater opposition to displacement and return the confidence of investors in the region. It will also prompt the growing of rice at a time when there is a need to extend the harvest of this valuable cereal for the economic development of this region.