According to the Ministry’s plans, the displaced families, managed by Ecopetrol, will become stockholder of the project and grow sugar cane and sweet sorghum to produce ethanol, the minister said. The National Government will continue to be the official owner of the land.Farmers involved in the project will also be allowed to grow their own food on the Carimagua estate and receive a portion of the profits coming from the ethanol.The association, which will exist for fifty years, will consist of the farmers, investors such as Ecopetrol and will be accompanied on the part of development by the Colombian Agricultural Institute for Rural Development (INCODER) and the state institution of research, certification and support the national agricultural sector, Corpoica.”This must be done with caution so that we get it right and what we can replicate in the country. This is a very virtuous alliance, very productive. It will generate great benefits to displaced families and Ecopetrol, which also wins because it avoids buying land that it needs and can develop new businesses in the area of biofuels. It is a win win situation for everybody, including the government, because it avoids selling to private investors”. Arias said.The Minister had earlier come under fire after he broke his promise to distribute the land to displaced families and had agreed to sell it to private companies.Arias pointed out that the forming of the association and the development of the project still is subject to analysis of economic, agricultural and financial viability.
