Colombia to farm 1 mln hectares of land to aid economy ahead of peace
Fri Oct 2, 2015 12:00pm EDT
Colombia to farm 1 mln hectares of land to aid economy ahead of peace
SANTA MARTA | By Nelson Bocanegra
Oct 2 Colombia will cultivate 1 million hectares (3,861 square miles) of new farmland over the next three years in a bid to get away from costly imports and organize the agriculture sector ahead of a possible peace accord with Marxist rebels.
The program, valued at 1.6 trillion pesos ($522 million), will bolster cultivated land by 14 percent from 7.1 million hectares at present, Agriculture Minister Aurelio Iragorri said during the launch in Caribbean city of Santa Marta.
The plan comes as Latin America's fourth-biggest economy is struggling to control inflation which has crept up close to 5 percent, a weakened peso, drought and a slowing economy. Inflation is above the 2 to 4 percent target range established by the central bank.
"Today we are importing 10 million tonnes of food products, much of which could be produced locally," Iragorri said late on Thursday.
More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/02/colombia-economy-agriculture-idUSL1N12212Q20151002?rpc=401