USAID/Colombia’s Community Development and Licit Opportunities (CDLO) activity will strengthen the capacity of rural, conflict-affected communities to effectively partner with the public and private sectors to implement social and economic development activities, especially those that promote illegal crop substitution and alternative development.  CDLO will complement GOC efforts by promoting the active participation of rural citizens in the design, delivery, and monitoring of rural development policies and activities intended to help their communities. Ultimately, CDLO will build trust, foster citizen participation in local affairs, and promote licit and sustainable economies that will allow rural Colombians to live in dignity and peace.

USAID’s Rural and Economic Development Office (RED) is laying the groundwork for a sustainable peace by strengthening rural producer associations and value chains; increasing rural financial inclusion; promoting equitable and secure land tenure; and strengthening community organizations to help them become more effective advocates for their development priorities and participants in peace implementation.

Colombia is a complex country with many contrasts.  While ranked by the World Bank as an upper-middle income country, half of all rural households still live in poverty.  This is largely due to an armed conflict, lasting more than fifty years, that has devastated rural communities across the country. Despite the optimism surrounding the peace accord, the country will only truly be able to turn the page when various factors are met, including when rural Colombian communities are fully on the path towards inclusive economic growth.