The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) agree with the government that it is urgent to develop state policies to solve the situation of poverty and inequality in the countryside.
Shortly before restarting another day of peace talks between the two sides, the head of the guerrilla delegation, Ivan Marquez, told reporters that they also agree on the need to support long-forgotten farmers."
Marquez said at Havana's Conference Center, permanent headquarters for the talks, that this situation of abandonment is also contributing "to generating this type of problem, plus others that are very serious and that relate to the causes that motivated the conflict."
Not only for the FARC-EP, but also for the Colombian government, which resumed talks on January 14 after a more than three-week recess, the land issue is a key aspect in the solution to decades of armed conflict.
The insurgents presented just today the sixth and seventh items of 10 proposals for a policy of comprehensive agricultural and rural development.
The sixth item states the recognition of collective territories and territoriality of indigenous people, black communities and other settlements, "providing collective title deeds for their lands and territories," among other aspects.
The other item consists in the recognition and definition of rural territories and territoriality, "including the rights of rural communities and the dignity and political recognition of peasants."
About the agrarian issue, the Executive has stated that very specific solutions have been put forward to retrieve and transform the countryside, and described the government policy in this regard as advanced, brave and new.
The rural development is the first of a six-item agenda established as a basis for talks. It includes other topics such as guarantees for citizen participation, the end of armed conflict, and a solution to the problem of illegal drugs.