TİKA Supports Rural Development in Colombia’s Antioquia Region

In order to support the economic development through chicken farming, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided livestock and equipment aid to villages in the municipality of Briceño, which used to be controlled by the guerrilla for years, located in Colombia’s Antioquia region.

Through the collaboration between TİKA and the Colombian authorities, in the first stage, the public was given trainings on chicken farming, egg production and marketing. Simultaneously with the training, the breeding grounds were prepared for chicken farming. Once the animals were delivered to the people in the village, farming activities commenced.

Briceño Mayor Jose Danilo Agudelo Torres stated that as the conflict has ended, people have been trying to adapt to normal life. Torres offered his thanks to Turkey, pointing out that at a time, in which people’s need for stable jobs was at its peak, Turkey provided an alternative for the victims of the conflict; and together with the production and marketing stages, the contribution would be greatly beneficial for home economies.

In Colombia, years-long armed conflicts in the rural areas led to a highly unequal distribution of wealth within the country; this was true especially in regions that were under guerrilla control since it was not possible to provide stability and peace in these areas. Once the peace was achieved, particularly in the rural areas, people, who used to be engaged in illegal agricultural activities with the pressure of the guerrilla, were looking for job opportunities to provide them with stable and safe income. TİKA’s support granted around 60 families in the region a new source of income they could enjoy in the long term.

Two years ago, TİKA had also built a primary school in Orejon, which was one of the pilot zones for peace. The school symbolizing peace had been inaugurated in a ceremony attended by the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.