Transitioning to sustainable agrifood systems in Colombia: a territorial focus on three regions

As Colombia prepares its agrifood systems transformation, initial workshops with local agriculture and food stakeholders were organized in the three selected pilot territories of Nariño Centro, Montes de María, and the Altiplano Cundiboyacense. A first step to identify the main transition challenges to reach agrifood system inclusivity and sustainability.

Building on the Colombia Food System Assessment published in 2022, identifying opportunities and gaps in the agrifood sector; as well as the national dialogue following the spirit of the 2021 UN Food Summit, the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) is supporting the Colombian Government in translating the country’s agrifood systems objectives into policies, operational programmes and investments that change the trajectory towards food systems sustainability, both at national and regional levels.

The Sustainable Agrifood System Initiative (SASI) led by the European Union (EU) and FAO encourages this approach, alongside with research partners of the Agrinatura consortium and the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation AgroSavia.

SASI will support the characterization of agrifood systems in Colombia, with a clear diagnosis of their challenges, and inform policymakers through participatory research. The project works with national and territorial stakeholders to design territorial profiles, create a shared roadmap for addressing the challenges and identify sources of financing.

From May 8th to May 23rd, a team from the FAO Investment Centre co-organized three workshops in Nariño Centro, Montes de María and the Altiplano Cundiboyacence. About thirty stakeholders on average participated in each workshop: farmers' organizations, women’s groups, policymakers, academia, private sector, agriculture support services, NGOs and projects.

They discussed the specificities in the territorial agrifood systems and key sustainability challenges to inform comprehensive municipal investment plans.

Why those three territories?

The chosen territories—Nariño Centro, Montes de María, and Altiplano Cundiboyacense—were selected based on several criteria linked to government priorities and ongoing initiatives. The three territories include areas heavily impacted by past conflicts and prioritized for comprehensive rural reforms. At the same time, these regions are not currently affected by armed conflict, providing a stable environment for project implementation.

“Some of these territories feature designated agricultural reserve zones aimed at promoting rural economies, protecting the environment and preventing land grabbing. The selected regions also exhibit diverse agroclimatic conditions—Nariño Centro in the Southern Andean region, Montes de María in the Caribbean, and Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Central Andean region—offering a rich basis for analysing food systems,” said Agustin Zimmerman, FAO representative in Bogota.

Moreover, these areas have historically suffered from limited offer of state services, high poverty levels, and institutional weaknesses. Nariño Centro and Montes de María are particularly notable for these challenges.

What are the next steps?

The workshops were a first step in the process of establishing a clear description of agrifood systems in each territory and identifying the main gaps and obstacles to reach sustainability and inclusivity.

“Once the different stakeholders agree on those challenges, a team of specialists from the FAO Investment Centre and the FAO office in Colombia will work with local Governments and stakeholders to outline a roadmap, develop an investment plan and support identification of financing sources for the transition to sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood systems,” said Hans Thiel, Senior Investment Support officer at the FAO Investment Centre.

“The SASI initiative also supports the agrifood system transformation at the national level, by generating evidence, identifying viable solutions and facilitating dialogue among key ministries, agricultural sector stakeholders and researchers in support of the national agroecology plan” completes Alberto Menghini, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Colombia.

The SASI initiative is part of a broader effort that began in 2020 with the launch of the Food Systems Assessments (FSA) by FAO, the EU, and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), which conducted large-scale agrifood system assessments and consultations in nearly 50 countries.

The SASI project aims to foster collective problem-solving and new institutional partnerships, and develop innovative frameworks and strengthen intersectoral policies, for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive agrifood system in Colombia.