The Ambassador of the European Union in Colombia, Gilles Bertrand, participated in the Farmers' Convention on December 4, 2022.

PRINT

The Ambassador of the European Union in Colombia, Gilles Bertrand, participated in the Farmers' Convention on December 4, 2022.

30.01.2023 Press and information team of the Delegation to COLOMBIA

Your Excellency, President of the Republic,

Ministers, representatives of the State,

Colleagues of the diplomatic corps,

Dear everyone,

It is an honour for the European Union to participate in the closing ceremony of this massive National Convention of Farmers.

For the European Union, peace, the protection of nature and the rights and welfare of communities living in the countryside are wheels of the same gear. I have had the privilege of traveling to several rural areas of Colombia, getting to know the projects we support there, their impressive natural wealth and also, perhaps most important of all, their people.

From each of these visits, I return with lessons of perseverance, talent, human quality, transforming will, and the love that the farmers of Colombia, young and old, have for their territory.

And I also return more and more convinced that the solutions and the opportunities for the synchronized functioning of peace, nature, and well-being of farmers are already in place.

About a month ago, the European Union had the privilege of being the guest of honour at Expo AgroFuturo. Among several initiatives, we developed an academic agenda under the theme "Transforming the countryside for a sustainable, inclusive and peaceful future". It sought to promote the conversation between government actors, academia, farmers' organizations, the private sector, and international cooperation.

We addressed issues of inclusion, the role of family, farmer and community agriculture, as well as women and youth in the future of agriculture. The agroecological transition and the role of agri-food systems. The role of the agricultural sector in peace building. And, the articulation of national and territorial efforts.

We are pleased to see that all these issues are fully in force in the agenda that has been discussed during the last two days of this Convention. And, that several of the farmers' organizations that have accompanied us in this and other events, as well as many of our cooperation partners in the rural territories of the country, are represented here.

As an international companion of the implementation of the point 1 of the Peace Agreement, the integral rural reform, we would like to praise the unprecedented organizational and political deployment in the country that this Convention constitutes. We reiterate our full support for their efforts to reduce gaps and inequalities and to generate dignified, fair, and legal sources of income and employment. Also, our support to the efforts to bring the integral presence of the State, connectivity, and the private sector to the most remote rural territories with the rest of the country. And, of course, our commitment to continue defending the lives and rights of their social and environmental leaders.

We believe that today's meeting can be the first step towards the profound reconnection between Colombia and its countryside, between rural and urban Colombia, which is indispensable to achieve 'Total Peace'. In this process, please know that the European Union will continue to be your ally, your friend, and the tireless advocate of the Colombian countryside, its women and men, and of its impressive potential.