The Politics of Food Provisioning in Colombia: Agrarian Movements and Negotiations with the State (Earthscan Food and Agriculture)

This book explores food provisioning in Colombia by examining the role and impact of the agrarian negotiations which took place in the aftermath of the 2013–2014 national strikes. Most of the research in the field of agrarian studies in Colombia has focused on inequalities in land distribution, the impacts of violent conflict, and most recently, the first phase of the peace agreement implementation. This book links and complements these literatures by critically engaging with an original framework that uncovers the conflicts and politics of food provisioning: who produces what and where, and with what socio-economic effects. This analytical lens is used to explain the re-emergence of national agrarian movements, their contestation of the dominant development narratives and their engagement in discussions about food sovereignty with the state. The analysis incorporates a wide range of voices from high-level government representatives and leaders from national agrarian movements. Their narratives of food provisioning and the broader role of the food industry are reviewed and the key findings show an underlying conflict within food provisioning based on the struggle of marginalised smallholders to develop alternative agri-food systems that can be included in the local and domestic food markets in the context of a state dominated by an export and import approach. Overall, the book argues that the battle ground of agrarian conflicts has moved to the fi eld of food provisioning and using this approach has the potential to reframe the debate about the future of food and agriculture in Colombia and beyond. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and agriculture, rural development, peasant studies, and Latin American Studies. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Figures Tables Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1 Introduction: The Emerging Debates of Food Provisioning Introduction The Agrarian Strikes That Changed Everything Argument of this Book Reconfiguration and Tensions Within and Between Agrarian Movements and the State New and Competing Narratives of Food Provisioning Have Emerged A More Complex Debate and Politics of Food Is Unfolding The Approach of this Book Global and Regional Challenges of Food and Agriculture Five Key Challenges of Colombia’s Unfolding Food-Provisioning Debates Persistent Rural Poverty and Inequality Persisting Hunger and Malnutrition A Biodiversity Hotspot Threatened By Food The Long Road to Peace and Rural Transformation The Battle for Mouths, Minds, and Markets Research Design Book Structure Note References 2 A Framework for Analysing Dynamics of Food and Agriculture in Colombia Introduction Complex Agri-Food System Dynamics Agri-food Systems as a Social Construction Colombia in the Global and Historical Context Food-regime Analysis Criticism, Tensions, and Debate Agrarian Movements and Peasants Emergence of the Food-Sovereignty Movement Gaps in Colombia Peasants as Food Providers in Colombia Food Security and Food Sovereignty: Towards a Food-Provisioning Debate National–contemporary Dynamics Narratives and Competing Visions Policy Change Putting It All Together Notes References 3 The Hidden Battles of Food Provisioning: Background to a Central Debate Introduction Conventional Frameworks Do Not Explain the Food Question Historicising Food: Fluctuations and Consolidation of a Model The First Half of the Twentieth Century: 1900–1945 Post-war to Green Revolution and Structural Adjustment, 1945–1990 Import-substitution Policies, 1945–1967 Exports Promotion With Protection of the Internal Market, 1968–1989 Consolidation of an Agricultural Model: the Neoliberal Globalisation, 1990–2010 Consolidation of a Model Peasants’ Role in Food Provisioning The Intertwined Trajectories of the State and Agrarian Movements The Trajectory of the State: Food-Provisioning Policies Agrarian Movements’ Trajectory: Land for What Purpose? Colombia (And the World) Has Changed Notes References 4 A Restless Journey and the Emergence of the Food-Provisioning Debate Introduction Background to the Agrarian Strikes Peace and Trade (For the Benefit of Others) The Seeds of a Food Conflict Food Arrives in Congress A Year of Unrest: August 2013–August 2014 Disentangling the Strikes: Framings and Their Protagonists The (Urban) Force Awakens “El Tal Paro No Existe” But It Was Just the Beginning Presidential and Congress Elections Agrarian Movements Organising New Strikes and Mobilisations Government Action A Fresh Start Two Agrarian Movements Rise Movements of Movements Cumbre Agraria, Campesina, Étnica Y Popular Dignidad Agropecuaria Colombiana Interests and Agendas Identity: So Far, So Close A New Beginning Mobilisation, Negotiation, and Discursive Power Differentiation, Diversity, and Heterogeneity of Agrarian Movements Food Provisioning as National Development Debate Notes References 5 Agrarian Negotiations in 2014–2018 and the Competing Narratives of Food and Agriculture Introduction Negotiation Settings and Dynamics Case Study (1): Negotiations With Cumbre Agraria, Campesina, Étnica Y Popular (CACEP) Observing a Negotiation Session Case Study (2): Negotiations With Dignidad Agropecuaria Colombiana (DAC) Case Study (3): Agrarian CONPES in Nariño – an Inclusive Space for Negotiation The Narratives On Food Provision Meet at the Table The Mainstream Narrative Conflicting Visions The Conflict of Export-Led Agriculture and the “Chagra” The Conflict of Chain Versus System Alternative Narratives The National-Market Narrative: Feeding the Country The Peasant-Economy Narrative: Feeding the Village and the Nation The Clash of the Narratives Linking Narratives of Food and Agriculture Missing Parts in the Debates Notes References 6 Negotiating Food Sovereignty in Colombia Introduction Food Sovereignty in Colombia: the Perspectives of Agrarian Movements Cumbre Agraria Campesina Étnica Y Popular Dignidad Agropecuaria Colombiana A Peasant Leader From Nariño An Indigenous Perspective The State’s Perspective On Food Sovereignty The National Government’s Responses The Departmental Government Food Sovereignty as a Key Link Between the Agrarian Negotiations and the Government–FARC Peace Process The Rural Reform Forum of 2012 Tensions in Havana Networks and International Support for the Peace Agreement What Do the Peace Negotiations Tell Us About Food Sovereignty? The State of Food Sovereignty in Colombia Advocates and Practitioners Food Sovereignty as Re-Territorialisation of the Agri-Food System From Food Sovereignty to the Right to Food and the Role of Consumers Notes References 7 Broadening the Conversation: Food Consumption and Corporate Food Sector Dynamics Introduction Urban Citizens and Consumption Dynamics, a Key Part of the Puzzle Feeding a Growing Urban Population, and Their Changing Diets The Rise of Supermarkets and Restaurants The Growing Importance of the Food Industry A Snapshot of Grupo Nutresa What Do These Trends Tell Us About Food Provisioning? What Could Be the Future Pathways? References 8 Conclusions: What Could Be Future Pathways of Food and Agriculture in Colombia? Introduction Were the Agrarian Negotiations Successful? From 2018 to 2021 Areas of Future Research What Could Be Future Pathways of Food in Colombia? In What Directions Are the Food-Provisioning Debates in Colombia Heading? Is There a Sufficient Diversity of Pathways? What Are the Implications for Distribution? What Are the Implications for Democracy? Notes References Appendix: History of Grupo Nutresa Index "This book explores food provisioning in Colombia by examining the role and impact of the agrarian negotiations which took place in the aftermath of the 2013-2014 national strikes. Most of the research in the field of agrarian studies in Colombia has focused on inequalities in land distribution, the impacts of violent conflict, and most recently, the first phase of the peace agreement implementation. This book links and complements these literatures by critically engaging with an original framework that uncovers the conflicts and politics of food provisioning: who produces what and where, and with what socio-economic effects. This analytical lens is used to explain the re-emergence of national agrarian movements, their contestation of the dominant development narratives and their engagement in discussions about food sovereignty with the state. The analysis incorporates a wide range of voices from high-level government representatives and leaders from national agrarian movements. Their narratives of food provisioning and the broader role of the food industry are reviewed and the key findings show an underlying conflict within food provisioning based on the struggle of marginalised smallholders to develop alternative agri-food systems that can be included in the local and domestic food markets in the context of a state dominated by an export and import approach. Overall, the book argues that the battle ground of agrarian conflicts has moved to the field of food provisioning and using this approach has the potential to reframe the debate about the future of food and agriculture in Colombia and beyond. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food and agriculture, rural development, peasant studies and Latin American Studies"-- Provided by publisher