Colombia’s Agriculture Ministry presented a development strategy for southern La Guajira on October 2, with an estimated investment of COP37 billion. The ministry said the proposal seeks to benefit 3,000 agricultural producer families across nine municipalities: Urumita, El Molino, San Juan del Cesar, Barrancas, La Jagua del Pilar, Distracción, Villanueva, Fonseca and Hatonuevo. COP37 billion is the estimate for the regional initiative; the announcement does not allocate it among the three workstreams or provide a confirmed spending schedule. The strategy is framed around value chains connecting production, processing, marketing and access to markets.

The first workstream is coffee under the “Café Perijá” identity. The minister said the region currently has about 4,500 hectares of coffee in production and more than 6,600 hectares with potential for expansion. The stated goal is to build recognition for the brand in domestic and international markets; the announcement does not report completed sales or export contracts. A second workstream, “Cacao Origen Guajiro,” aims to expand and modernise fine-flavour cocoa production. The ministry cited about 96,652 hectares considered suitable for cocoa, of which roughly 762 hectares are currently planted. The gap is potential, not a commitment to plant all suitable land.

For cocoa, the strategy seeks more than additional planting: it also proposes agroindustrial processing and value-added products such as origin chocolate. The minister described the principle as “market first, planting second,” with commercial alliances intended to secure outlets before cultivation expands. This does not mean buyers or sales agreements have already been secured; establishing those links is one of the plan’s aims. The value-chain approach implies connections among production, post-harvest handling, quality, processing and marketing for coffee and cocoa. Those are the priorities described in the announcement; it does not provide operational capacity targets or results from implementation.

The third workstream links economic resilience and food availability with diversified production. It would combine coffee and cocoa with crops including plantain, avocado, coconut and passion fruit, as well as livestock activities. The ministry said the approach is intended to diversify income, improve food supply, protect natural resources and strengthen environmental sustainability. The announcement does not show how investment will be distributed among the nine municipalities, set beneficiary-selection rules, give crop-by-crop hectare targets or publish a timetable. The COP37 billion estimate therefore should not be read as an equal cash payment to each family. The release describes a regional proposal and production strategy; detailed implementation decisions remain to be specified.