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News > Latin America

Ecuador's Congress Passes Law to End Land Hoarding by Rich

  • Ecuador’s Land Law seeks to adequately redistribute land and give greater rights to campesinos.

    Ecuador’s Land Law seeks to adequately redistribute land and give greater rights to campesinos. | Photo: Andes

Published 3 March 2016
Opinion

The Land Law seeks to redistribute land and support family agriculture.

The Ecuadorean National Assembly approved on Thursday new modifications to the country’s proposed Land Law. The legislative measure was passed with 92 votes in favor and will go to President Rafael Correa for final approval.

The Director of the Commission for Food Sovereignty Miguel Carvajal highlighted the important aspects of the bill, which aim to improve agricultural production, the redistribution of idle land, and to end the concentration of land in the hands of a few.

RELATED: Land Grabs in Crosshairs as Ecuador Passes Major Land Reforms

“There are many benefits of this bill, including the guarantee of property, increased production, along with sanctions against land speculators,” Carvajal stated.

RELATED: The Struggle for Land Reforms and Food Sovereignty in Ecuador

He went on to note that the latest draft seeks to regulate the use of and access to rural land, so that it meets social and environmental norms. If approved the bill would also grant access to lands to small-scale farmers through a credit fund set up through the National Assembly.

The legislation also specifies that foreign state companies may only invest in agricultural production inside Ecuador in conjunction with a state enterprise or with an Ecuadorean business approved by the National Agrarian Authority.

Agriculture is very important part of the Ecuadorian economy, representing 2 percent of the country’s GDP and comprises 30 percent of the total workforce.

WATCH: With Land Law, Ecuador Seeks to Boost Agricultural Output

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