Iván Cepeda summons Agriculture Minister to congressional debate

Senator Iván Cepeda of the Pacto Histórico has summoned Agriculture Minister Indalecio Dangond Baquero to a political control debate in the Colombian Congress, scheduled for Tuesday, October 13.

The debate will focus on the administration's management and specifically the revocation of decrees that established Food Production Protection Areas (APPA). These zones were designed to reserve land for agriculture and restrict industrial and real estate development in regions including La Guajira, Antioquia, Santander, and Tolima.

Opposition members, including the Pacto Histórico, argue that repealing these protections could harm food production and rural stability. In La Guajira, critics have raised concerns that the move may facilitate open-pit mining for copper and silver in the Ranchería River basin. The session marks the first such debate for Cepeda in the current legislative period following a week-long recess.