Colombian Farmers Swap Coca for Palm Oil on 609,142 Hectares as Violence and Subsidies Reshape San Pablo
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
Colombian Farmers Swap Coca for Palm Oil on 609,142 Hectares as Violence and Subsidies Reshape San Pablo
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
Summary
San Pablo farmers who once grew coca say oil palm has become a safer, steadier livelihood, with growers citing less violence, more stable income and jobs for younger residents.
Government crop-substitution policy dating to 1995 has pushed the shift with subsidies, technical support and tax breaks, and new President Abelardo de la Espriella says he will keep backing palm and cacao alternatives.
In San Pablo, about 275 smallholders now grow palm, and nearly 90% of the town’s oil palm producers are independent farmers, according to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
Colombia planted 609,142 hectares of oil palm in 2024, up 2.2% from a year earlier, making it Latin America’s largest producer as demand and export-market certification standards support expansion.
That growth still raises sustainability concerns: analysts warn monoculture, deforestation, biodiversity loss and price swings could undercut gains even as farmers and buyers push for higher environmental standards.