In Colombia, the land ownership tends to be concentrated, with consequent effects on agricultural production, including reduced cultivation which has led to food crisis. 1 In order to address this problem, the Government passed an agricultural reform law in 1994, Law 160, which established the figure of the Peasant Farmer Reserve Zone.  In addition to promoting both increased and more equitable access to land for peasant farmers, the ZRC was intended to protect natural resources and promote the peasant farmer economy. 2

The ZRC´s primary objectives

• Contain the expansion of the agricultural border (the border between land dedicated to agricultural production and that which is maintained in its natural state).
• Correct the inequitable concentration of land ownership;
• Create conditions  for strengthening and sustainably developing the peasant farmer economy;
• Regulate land use and tenancy, granting preferential distribution to peasant farmers with scarce resources;
• Establish a comprehensive model for sustainable development;
• Protect the peasant farmer economy and as food sovereignty.

Based on Law 160, the Government initiated a pilot project. Between 1997 and 2002, six ZRCs were established.  The ZRC of the Cimitarra River Valley was initiated in December 2002. Its reach included territory in the municipalities of Yondo and Remedios (Antioquia) as well as Cantagallo and San Pablo (Southern Bolívar).

However, on April 10, 2003 the Government of Alvaro Uribe, arguing that the ZRC generated social conflict in the region, suspended its legal recognition.3 In turn, the ACVC demanded that the suspension be lifted in order to defend the rights of peasant farmers. Their resistance prevailed in February 2011 when the Government of Juan Manuel Santos reactivated the Peasant Farmer Reserve Zone of the Cimitarra River Valley, which now benefits some 8,935 families.

Miguel Cifuentes, a spokesperson for the ACVC, points out that the reactivation of the ZRC authorizes the economic development projects carried out there. Cifuentes adds:  “The economic development projects have as their priority proper land use planning, improvements in quality of life, the strengthening of the peasant farmer economy, food security, and respect for human rights.”4

The Cimitarra River Valley ZRC covers some 550,000 hectares, 370,000 of which are designated as Forest Reserve. For the ACVC, the purpose of the ZRC is to grant land rights to the population within the reserve and to prevent new forced displacements. Members of the ACVC affirm that, “the State should invest in the ZRC because [the population within the zone] deserves to have its rights recognized. Which rights?  The right to life, the right to land, the right to housing, health, and education, the right to freedom of expression, and the right to have access to markets and investment as peasant farmers.”5

Extrajudicial Killings in the ZRC

According to the ACVC, 16 extrajudicial killings have been committed in the ZRC of the Cimitarra River Valley.6  Initially, the majority of these cases were being processed within the military justice system. Only recently have they been transferred to the civilian justice system, specifically to the National Public Prosecutor´s Human Rights Unit. 7

Natural Resources in the Cimitarra River Valley

• The region is rich in natural resources such as gold, petroleum, fresh water, forest reserves, and plant and animal life. According to Jesuit Priest Francisco de Roux, “This is a vital part of the north central region of the country. It is where the majority of petroleum refinery takes place, and a crossroads that unites the roadways to the Andean cities. It represents access to the Caribbean, to Venezuela, and to the Southern valleys. It´s the route that links Caracas to the Pacific; a land of gold and ecological diversity.”8
• The hydrocarbon industry has played a fundamental role in the economic activity of the region, generating approximately 70% of the total economic value produced there.  According to documents produced the Magdalena Medio Peace and Development Programme, agriculture is the second-ranking productive activity. Crops include corn, cacao, yucca, plantain, and sorghum—often produced on a small-scale, but crucial to providing food staples for family consumption.
• Cattle ranching and palm oil cultivation have also increased as economic activities in the region, but rather than bringing about improvements in quality of life they have been associated with increased inequality and the intensification of the armed conflict.9

In Northeast Antioquia, thousands of families have made their living on artisanal mining, primarily gold. Small-scale miners have survived in the midst of armed conflict and State abandonment with the minimal production they were able to extract from their mines.  However, according to plans laid out in Project Vision Colombia 2019,10 the Government proposes converting Northeast Antioquia into the primary mining region for multinational corporations while reducing artisanal mining. The entry of large mining companies into the region became a reality in late 2010. At the same time, 70 small-scale mines were shut down and 118 people were detained for participating in unlicensed mining.11

Violence and militarisation have also increased in this region. There have been threats from illegal armed groups such as the “Black Eagles”, the “Rostrojos”, and the “Paisas”12; paramilitary presence in rural areas of the Remedios municipality13; and killings of mining leaders in Segovia14 among other incidents of aggression and tension. Given these threats, the miners have organised committees to promote their rights. The ACVC works with these committees offering workshops about current legislation, environmentally-sustainable mining practices, and human rights.   Their objective is to provide the necessary tools for small-scale miners to defend themselves and seek an alternative through the Peasant Farmer Reserve Zone of the Cimitarra River Valley.15